Lions head coach Dan Campbell ‘isn’t a fan’ of potential No. 2 pick

As the Detroit Lions narrow down their options with the second overall pick, should we believe head coach Dan Campbell is not a fan of one potential option?

By this time two weeks from now, we’ll know what the Detroit Lions did with the No. 2 pick in the draft. Immediate reaction grades will be out, lamenting or praising the pick. What anyone in the organization says right now, including the typically forthright head coach Dan Campbell, has to be taken with some grain of salt.

The same goes for any rumors we see that definitively point toward or away from any particular player. It’s pre-draft lying and smoke screen season, after all.

Albert Breer of SI.com/The MMQB has a new piece out, headlined by a run at projecting the first 12 picks of the draft. Here’s what he wrote about the Lions and the second pick.

"2. Detroit Lions: A lot of people are convinced they will go edge rusher here regardless. And I’d agree that if Hutchinson is there, this will become academic for them. If he’s not? Well, I can tell you that no one I’ve talked to at this point believes that Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux is in any way a culture fit for Detroit coach Dan Campbell. “His personality is a lot,” said one exec, “and you hear the head coach there isn’t a fan.”"

Dan Campbell is not “a fan” of Kayvon Thibodeaux?

The Lions have perhaps done more pre-draft work on Oregon defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux than they’ve done on any other prospect in this draft class. If not, he’s high on the list of prospects they’ve done the most homework on, and Campbell explained the process last week.

"Long story short, let me say this: I don’t care about the off-field. Does he love football? That’s all I care about. Ultimately, I think that’s all we care about. If this guy loves football, we can handle anything else. I’m not concerned with the things off the field if you know a guy loves football.”Hey, listen, he’s an explosive athlete,” Campbell said. “He’s a playmaker, you know? He’s got a good, quick first step. I mean, he’s something else. He’s pretty special on tape.”"

Nothing Campbell said last week hinted if he likes Thibodeaux or not. The Lions have since had him in for a visit this past Tuesday. Maybe it didn’t go well, and that’s what Breer is plugged into.

Or, the anonymous executive Breer quoted as hearing Campbell is not fan of Thibodeaux is from a team picking further down in the top-10, and hopes he falls. The “his personality is a lot” quote reeks of the kind of stuff that dropped Thibodeaux’s stock for a time.

Breer’s overall sentiment about Thibodeaux not being a match for Campbell comes off as entirely second-hand from outside the Lions’ building. There’s nothing wrong with that, Breer is simply reporting what he’s hearing.

But as with anything during this pre-draft time of the year, Campbell tabbed as not being a fan of Thibodeaux has to be kept in perspective. As a quote and headline material it’s fine, but it’s not necessarily meaningful. Unless the anonymous exec is Lions general manager Brad Holmes, I suppose.