2020 NFL Draft: Detroit Lions trade back in new 7-round mock
The Detroit Lions are in the final steps of 2020 NFL Draft preparation. In this mock, they drop back several spots while picking up an extra top 20 pick.
The 2020 NFL Draft is kicking off on April 23 and will be done fully virtually due to the ongoing COVID-19 worldwide pandemic. To avoid endangering any team personnel, players, or NFL personnel, each team’s draft ‘task force’ will remotely (via internet and/or phone) make their picks and communicate with the league office.
The Detroit Lions could find this situation hurtful to their 2020 NFL Draft aspirations. The team’s decision-makers need to hit on most, if not all, of their draft picks this year if they want to compete for a Super Bowl in the coming years. With the pandemic, the team will not have been able to do as much in-person workouts as they would have liked, and this applies to the other 31 NFL teams as well.
As such, teams might be hesitant to make up to the third overall pick for a quarterback in this year’s draft if they feel they don’t have all of the information they want to pull the trigger on a trade up, such as Tua Tagovailoa’s medicals. All of this could lead to the Lions being forced to stay put and pick at three overall.
Looking at positions that Detroit will need to address in the 2020 NFL Draft, an interior offensive lineman stands out the most on the team. They have no proven player on the roster capable of being even an average starter on the interior of the line.
Moving on, the Lions also need to address both the interior and the edge of their defensive line. The defensive line only has one above-average starter on it, and that’s star defensive end, Trey Flowers. If the Lions are to compete, they must be able to pressure the quarterback more quickly and more efficiently in 2020.
The last major need for the Lions is another cornerback to play opposite Desmond Trufant. They have Justin Coleman manning the slot and promising second-year player Amani Oruwariye, but the defense still needs at least one more good coverage man.
Other positions that should be looked into addressing, but wouldn’t kill Detroit if they passed on are wide receiver, tight end, running back, and linebacker. They might also possibly look into a younger, more promising back-up quarterback, but that might be able to wait one more year.
In this draft, Detroit fills in all of the major needs they have on the roster and fill in some others to complement the current roster and draft class. The mock draft simulator used was The Draft Network’s and their Mock Draft Machine. All trades that were made were accepted by the CPU and ran through an algorithm designed by the TDN team.
Speaking of trades, the Lions make two of them in this mock draft, one in the first round and one in the third. First, Detroit trades back from three overall with the Jacksonville Jaguars for the ninth and 20th overall picks. Then, in the third round, they trade up from 85th overall with the New York Jets to 79th, moving the 182nd overall pick to the Big Apple.
The picks made were based on who was available at the time in the simulation. So, even if it seems that a player falls a little too far, the best pick for the team was made based on who was available. Now, onto the picks!