Detroit Lions: Final first impressions from the 2020 NFL Draft
No Jake in Progress?
Last year’s prevailing fear was that if Matthew Stafford was lost, the Lions might not win another game based on the other QBs on the roster. That exact scenario happened, that exact result happened, and Detroit’s backup situation has not been upgraded in any way since.
Chase Daniel has won just two games as an NFL starter in a decade as a pro, and the only statistically impressive single game showing of his whole career came against … of course, the Lions (no disrespect to Daniel, but these are facts).
Jake Fromm was there for the taking in both the fourth and fifth rounds, a guy who threw for more yards, TDs, fewer picks, and won significantly more games than pre-Lions Stafford did while at Georgia.
I get that he threw the ball really poorly at the Combine and wasn’t great for the second half of 2019, but anyone who can win 36 games in three years for an SEC team is worth a look, especially once it gets that late in the draft.
Fromm is a proven competitor and winner, both in game results (a dozen wins per year for the Bulldogs) and individual positional battles. Two massive recruits and NFL caliber QBs, 4th round pick Jacob Eason and a potential top five overall pick next year in Justin Fields, transferred from Georgia because they couldn’t beat out Fromm for the job.
That says a lot, and makes me think he would certainly give the Lions a chance to tread water without Stafford, and maybe even do more. It’s an outside chance that he turns out to be a true late round gem, but far more likely than Chase Daniel or David Blough turning out to be one. By the 5th round, I see no downside to that pick, especially as they doubled up on positions three separate times in this draft.
Next. Top 5 former Lions who won a Super Bowl after leaving Detroit. dark
Can’t cry over spilled milk now though, the draft is over and the Detroit Lions have who they have. While I feel like they went off the rails a little on the final day , I’m excited and definitely optimistic for many of the selections in rounds one through three. I’m biased towards skill position players, I’ll admit it, but one player who I can’t wait to watch in Honolulu blue this year is D’Andre Swift.