The Detroit Lions agreed to terms with two draft picks on Monday, as seventh-round pick Chase Lucas also inked his rookie deal.
On Monday morning, the Detroit Lions got Aidan Hutchinson signed to his fully guaranteed rookie contract as the No. 2 overall pick. But they also signed the final of their eight 2022 draft picks, with NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reporting cornerback Chase Lucas has agreed to a four-year, $3.76 million deal.
Spotrac projected Lucas to get a $99,280 signing bonus as pick No. 237 in last month’s draft. Over The Cap has pick 237 with a $116,876 signing bonus. In any case, Lucas’ deal (a well as Hutchinson’s) is right in line with the slotted total value via the collective bargaining agreement.
Chase Lucas adds instant experience and versatility to Lions cornerback room
In an interesting note after he was drafted, the 25-year old Lucas instantly became the third-oldest cornerback on the Lions’ roster. He was a five-year starter at Arizona State (53 games, 49 starts), where he got NFL-style coaching from Herm Edwards and company while playing outside and in the slot.
The 5-foot-11, 180 pound Lucas gets high marks for his football IQ. But his athleticism shouldn’t be discounted. He ran a sub-4.4 40-yard dash (1.52 10-yard split) at the NFL Combine, along with a 39-inch vertical, a 128-inch broad jump and a fast three-cone drill (6.78 seconds) to push him to an 8.86 Relative Athletic Score.
Chase Lucas is a CB prospect in the 2022 draft class. He scored a 8.86 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 220 out of 1923 CB from 1987 to 2022. https://t.co/2yutCz6gdn #RAS pic.twitter.com/3Lu8WYg84U
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 1, 2022
Lucas has a good chance to help the Lions right away, on special teams at least as he also likely competes for snaps as a slot corner. The Lions have question marks at cornerback this side of Amani Oruwariye and free agent signing Mike Hughes, who seems locked into some sort of prominent role. Jeff Okudah (Achilles) and Jerry Jacobs (torn ACL) are coming back from injuries, and Jacobs is sure to be out into the season given how late his injury came last season.