Detroit Lions 7-Round Mock Draft: After the NFL Combine
First Round
player. Pick Analysis. DE. Aidan Hutchinson. Michigan. 2. 50. Scouting Report
The local angle is cute, with Hutchinson a Michigan native and a former Wolverine. But he’s also arguably the best overall player in his draft, with numbers from his final season in Ann Arbor (a school-record 14 sacks, 73 quarterback pressures, 25.4 percent pass rush win rate) to back it up. He also showed off his athleticism at the NFL Combine.
Aidan Hutchinson is a DE prospect in the 2022 draft class. He scored an unofficial 9.86 RAS at the Combine out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 20 out of 1389 DE from 1987 to 2022. https://t.co/GaNo2tViCr #RAS via @Mathbomb pic.twitter.com/i5qj6vl0nL
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 6, 2022
Detroit’s shift to using more four-man fronts next season makes Hutchinson an even more ideal fit, and he was available at No. 2 as the easy pick.
QB. Cincinnati. Desmond Ridder. 32. 50. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. player
Many Lions’ fans will lament taking any quarterback anywhere in this draft, let alone Ridder at No. 32. But this side of Malik Willis, Ridder is the quarterback with the most upside in this class and a good NFL Combine performance puts him in the first round conversation for plenty of analysts if he wasn’t there already. Dane Brugler of The Athletic (subscription required) has Ridder to the Lions in his post-Combine mock, with a nod to Jared Goff being in place as the starter in 2022.
"The Lions have been doing their homework on several quarterbacks in this class, including a formal meeting with Ridder at the combine,” “With Jared Goff the starter in 2022, the Lions would be able to develop Ridder at his own pace instead of forcing him into immediate action.”"
Second Round
Scouting Report. Baylor. Jalen Pitre. 34. Pick Analysis. S. player. 50
PFF’s simulator lists Pitre as a cornerback, which points to his versatility after playing the “Star” position in Dave Aranda’s defense. Over his final two seasons at Baylor he had six sacks and 29.5 tackles for loss, with 3.5 and 18.5 respectively in 2021.
Athleticism scores for the 2022 safety class are set.@UMichFootball's Daxton Hill posted the highest NGS athleticism score among the safety group (96), followed by @ToledoFB's Tycen Anderson (89) and @BUFootball's Jalen Pitre (84).#NextGenScores pic.twitter.com/M036vhTcke
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) March 7, 2022
No matter what happens in free agency for the Lions in regard to the safety spot, Pitre is someone Aaron Glenn and Aubrey Pleasant may stump for between now and late-April.