7 Senior Bowl players for the Lions to watch out for on offense

D’Wayne Eskridge, WR – Western Michigan

Lions fans were getting excited about potentially adding Corey Davis in free agency this year to bolster their receiver room. But why not return to the MAC and take a look at Western Michigan’s D’Wayne Eskridge.

Eskridge has been getting a decent amount of hype over the past couple of weeks from national draft analysts, and whilst he’s not a household name he has the potential to be a Day Three steal for whichever team is willing to take a punt on him.

A former regional track star, Eskridge was predominantly a running back for his high school team and in 2019 his primary position was cornerback for the Broncos. But he has played receiver throughout his time there and took his game up a level in 2020.

Whilst his numbers aren’t gaudy for the whole season, you can see some pretty interesting things on a per-game basis. Take Central Michigan … Eskridge put up 212 yards and 3 TDs. Not bad, right? Well, that was off only four catches averaging 53 yards per catch!

https://twitter.com/MACSports/status/1332751194591285248?s=20

And his speed is the quality that’s likely to translate most to the next level. His top-end speed is something that would have been intriguing had the NFL combine gone ahead, but his foot speed getting in and out of breaks is also impressive. He also offers return abilities on special teams as shown above.

Now, it’s not all roses. Eskridge is only 5-foot-9 and will be 24-years old by the time the draft comes around. So teams will need to see he can contribute early in his career. What better way to show that than a big week at the Senior Bowl.