Did the Detroit Lions draft reveal plan to fix more than the run game?

Offensive line upgrades continued

The Detroit Lions’ interior linemen, the guards and centers, saw the additions of Jonah Jackson via the draft, who can play both guard and center, and Logan Stenberg, a strictly left guard in college. Already there to compete were Oday Aboushi, Josh Garnett, Russell Bodine, and Beau Benzschawel.

After losing Glasgow, the unit was looking severely depleted. With fresh blood added on the inside, strengths at tackle and center, and youth at the other tackle spot, the Detroit Lions look to have overall upgraded the talent level of their blocking.

Jonah Jackson was a third-round draft pick, overall 75th, out of Ohio State but originally a starter at Rutgers; he was chosen after Jeff Okudah, D’Andre Swift, and Julian Okwara, the younger brother of another current defensive end, Romeo Okwara. While not known as a traditionally great run-blocker Jackson’s pass protection has rated high and he will get the nod to back up Ragnow and probably be in the guard rotation at right guard.

For reference, Pro Football Focus asserted that Jackson’s run-blocking grade jumped from an above-average70.3 in 2018 to a very good 78.8 in 2019, which is a good increase, while they have rated him among the elite as a pass-protector. Even if you don’t love their metrics, it shows a comparative improvement prior to being drafted to the Motor City. Jackson played both guard spots and has played center, increasing his value to the Detroit Lions.

The other guard prospect makes a living off of billing himself as, “Mr. Nasty”, because of his run-blocking prowess. Stenberg, the round-four, 121st pick, never played anything but left guard at Kentucky. The good, he gave up zero sacks; the bad, he committed ten penalties- most for holding. He’s a mauler in the run game and that seems to be the primary reason that he will be switching Kentucky blue for Honolulu Blue.

Both men offer good size at 304-pounds for Jackson and 317-pounds for Stenberg. They have both started for multiple seasons in the SEC  and Big Ten, the exact kind of prospects that Quinn loves to draft. Both men also hit every measure except one in the Quinn-approved metrics that we discussed just a few weeks ago.