Detroit Lions: Lowering the boom in my first and last 2021 mock draft
By Robert Jones
The Detroit Lions and the rest of the league are less than a week away from the 2021 NFL draft. Here are the results of my annual first and last mock draft.
Guys like Daniel Jeremiah, Todd McShay, and Mel Kiper Jr saturate the world with mock drafts each year pretty much as soon as the Super Bowl is over. If you’re a fan of one of the 31 teams that didn’t win it all, then the draft is that moment to find hope for the coming season.
If your team is the fortunate one to be crowned Super Bowl champions then I suppose you are too busy with celebrating to pay attention to the growing draft hoopla. At least that’s my guess since Lions fans haven’t ever experienced the glory of winning the Super Bowl.
Yes, the last time the Lions were world champions, it was by virtue of winning the 1957 NFL championship game. There wasn’t nearly the pomp and circumstance we see today at the Super Bowl each year.
Now over 60 years later the Lions have a brand new regime of head coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes who will attempt to build this perpetually moribund franchise into champions again.
All Lions fans are very interested in seeing what they will do when they are on the clock later this week. The selections Holmes and Campbell make will be considered the foundation of their regime. This is their starting point. Will it lead to a championship? We all hope so, but only time will tell.
Today I will unveil my own attempt at piecing together a draft class that could help turnaround these long-lost Lions. I used the Pro Football Network 2021 Draft Simulator to put myself on the clock to find some players that could be building blocks for a title contender.
As always, I will definitely point out that drafting against the computer is easier than real live crafty general managers. But with that being said, here is how I fared.