Detroit Lions draft Jeff Okudah: First round reaction and grade

The Detroit Lions didn’t do anything crazy in the NFL Draft but we should discuss the pick and how it paints the rest of the selection meeting.

The NFL’s experiment with fantasy-football style drafting started off Thursday with the first round of the NFL Draft. Vice president-general manager Bob Quinn of the Detroit Lions takes center stage … er, webcam, and gets a big chance to earn his money and turn the page on a horrible 2019 season.

Although it’s tough to judge a pick immediately, we can look at how the new prospect fits the team. And what Okudah’s selection means for the rest of the draft.

The Lions brought a laundry list of needs into Thursday night. They included cornerback, offensive line, edge rusher, and defensive tackle. To be honest, very few positions are solid going into 2020. Detroit and Quinn started off the day with the number three overall pick courtesy of their 3-12-1 record from 2019.

Rumors and hype had been building surrounding what they would do with the pick. With the 24 hours before the draft seeing dozens of trade rumors involving the Lions.

The reality is that the top half of the draft went by with the drama of a computer-generated mock draft. Everyone picked in their own slot and took the guy that they were expected to pick. If you expected Bob Quinn to be the guy to gamble with the Top-5 pick he was given, you found out how wrong you were.

Of course, with the conditions, many general managers were more conservative than usual. Jeff Okudah, the Ohio State cornerback was Quinn’s pick, as you may have heard. He’s the typical Quinn selection, big school résumé, played a lot, and has the high floor as a known commodity.