Post-Combine: Why the Detroit Lions should pass on Jeffrey Okudah

The Detroit Lions dilemma

Simply put, since the Detroit Lions have the third pick there isn’t a no-brainer, future All-Pro candidate sitting at another pick after Young. Some people feel that Okudah is that guy but what we intend to prove is that taking him at three is not our best move. Is it possible that the Lions will take him at three, regardless?

The simple answer is yes. Let’s get into why just taking the next best player off of your board isn’t always the best move.

Best move number one, trade down. Trading out of the pick, gathering more picks, and then taking a player that can help us would be beneficial for many reasons. The catch is that you need a team that needs to move up for us to move down.

Who are the teams that might move and who are the players that they want?

Let’s answer the second part, first. Quarterbacks are commodities that are difficult to find and this year’s draft has several good options for teams to consider. Namely, Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert are available at the top of the draft.

There is the next tier of talent in Jordan Love and Jacob Eason and yet a third tier with Jake Fromm and Jalen Hurts. Tier two, Love and Eason, could be in play as early as the end of the first round, although there’s no way to know for sure. Fromm and Hurts both would fall in somewhere after the tier two players, perhaps as early as the mid-to-late second round.