Replacing Matthew Stafford may not happen immediately

The Lions new GM has to find his quarterback

Fans have probably seen some of the all too early 2021 draft projections that have come out recently. A hot name connected to Detroit is BYU’s quarterback Zach Wilson. He seems to be just what the doctor ordered for a Honolulu Blue and Silver rebuild.

Now, there are never any guarantees when drafting a quarterback, even with the first pick in the draft. But Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State’s Justin Fields are considered the top bets to pan out. The Lions have no chance at this point of being in the sweepstakes for either of them since they are expected to go number one and two overall.

As far as Wilson goes, he is rising up the draft charts quickly. Despite the loss to East Carolina, Wilson at 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds is mobile, has an NFL arm, and is accurate. The knock against him is the level of competition he has faced this season.

As far as I’m concerned, I think Wilson has a chance to be pretty good in the NFL. But that doesn’t necessarily mean I would use the Lions first-round pick on him if I was their general manager. Quite frankly I would have to see who else is available, as in all positions, before I would make a choice.

So the question is; will the Lions’ new general manager be preferring to nab a play-maker he has his eyes on since the Lions have so few of them, especially on defense, rather than a quarterback?

If the Lions’ new regime is going into complete rebuild mode and they aren’t convinced that their future signal-caller is available to them in the draft, then why select a quarterback? It also means that if there is a passer in the 2022 draft they have their eyes on, then dealing Matthew Stafford is the best way to ensure they have an opportunity to get him.

Stafford will help even bad Lions’ teams win enough games to keep them out of the top end of the draft, barring an injury keeping him on the sidelines for half a season or more.

So the truth is that there will be a lot for the new Detroit Lions’ regime to consider before deciding what they will do. While keeping Matthew Stafford isn’t the end of the world, it does seem counter-productive to a franchise that desperately needs to be rebuilt from the ground up.