General manager Bob Quinn has had five drafts as head of the Detroit Lions. Which have been his best? Let’s take a look at each round.
Detroit Lions fans are anxiously awaiting the start of official football activities for 2020. These weeks of waiting give us time to look at every aspect of the team, including the performance of our front office. This week, we’ll analyze vice president-general manager Bob Quinn’s every draft since he arrived prior to the 2016 draft.
Bob Quinn has drafted 43 players, almost an entire rosters-worth of prospects. Thirty of them are currently on the team, including the nine who were just drafted in April. One way to look at these selections is to divide them up by the round that they were drafted in and see what Quinn’s best hits have been and when.
Ideally, a general manager hits on a good percentage of his later round picks and that is usually a very good indicator of his ability to find value and talent, so we at Kick In The Crotch Weekly will start with Round 7 and work our way up to Round 1, which should be the easiest round to find talent.
Bob Quinn’s Best Draft Picks – Seventh Round
This is the hardest kind of judgment to make because, by round seven, you’re really doing one of two things, either trying to find a prospect with some upside who might eventually develop into a starter or trying to find depth for areas like special teams. Of course, doing both is a bonus. Quinn has selected six men in round number seven, you can see the Detroit Lions draft history here from Pro Football Reference.
For now, Dwayne Washington has been his best pick in the last session. Washington was a backup running back and return man out of the University of Washington. While he never saw large chunks of carries, he did rush for 265 yards as a rookie. Washington started two games and appeared in twelve with also returning two kickoffs on the year.
Washington possesses good speed at 6-1, 223 pounds, running a 4.48-second forty-yard dash. His athleticism has always stood out among late draft picks as NFL-caliber.
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His last year with the Lions was 2017, where his role diminished to only 20 carries and 2 receptions. His special teams impact was less, as well. However, another good measure of this pick is whether or not he is still in the league. Washington is currently on the New Orleans Saints roster where he has contributed to their special teams and ground game.
The competition here in this slot is not fierce, as only Isaac Nauta, Nick Bawden, and Jashon Cornell remain on the Detroit Lions roster and none have made a real contribution to the team. Bawden is a blocking fullback who has started two games and had a grand total of four receptions since being drafted in 2018. Nauta is an H-back/tight end who has two receptions in his career being drafted last year, while Cornell is a rookie with no official team activities under his belt.