Detroit Lions: Lowering the boom in my first and last 2021 mock draft
By Robert Jones
2021 Detroit Lions Mock Draft, Fourth Round
At the top of the fourth round, I am contemplating the options for the Lions’ next move, but as we get on the clock at pick number 112, the Baltimore Ravens come calling with a trade offer.
I am blown away by the Ravens offering three choices in exchange for the number 112 pick.
The offer is pick number 131 at the bottom of the fourth round and two fifth-round selections at numbers 171 and 184 respectively. I waste little time in accepting the trade and expand the Lions draft haul to 10 overall picks.
Volume is great for a team that needs talent, but the additional picks simply mean the need to keep focus and get the most out of them.
As the draft ambles down to pick number 131, I start looking over the list of available receivers in a deep draft. There are some nice players that have the ability to contribute, but the one thing that is missing is speed.
Speed is not necessarily the end all be all for a receiver. There have been many who were great technicians and very productive despite their athletic limitations, but when you consider the best hands still available have hardly even average speed, I decide to look at all my options before I make my final selection.
After a quick review of who is available, I decided to take the best athlete. With pick number 131, the Lions select cornerback Ambry Thomas from Michigan.
Thomas is another player who opted out of last season and Michigan sorely missed him. Thomas is a fluid athlete with good size and tremendous ball skills.
At the Senior Bowl, Thomas looked rusty, not that he didn’t have some moments, but again, I am wagering on the long-term payoff. I would expect him to show up and play hard this fall with the possibility of winning some nickel-back action.
Considering that Thomas was projected as a first to early second-round pick before he opted out, I feel like I may have just gotten another steal.
Now onto a big fifth round where the Lions will have four selections after our draft day trades.