Quarterback will be a clear need for the Detroit Lions in the 2023 draft, but could they double-up to fill it?
The next major move at quarterback for the Detroit Lions is likely coming in the 2023 draft, and getting it right will be crucial to their rebuild with seemingly one shot to get it right. With the worst record in the league, they are likely to have their pick of Alabama’s Bryce Young or Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud.
You can debate back and forth until your blue in the face on if Young or Stroud is a better fut. But let’s assume, as things sit right now, one of them is selected to be the Lions’ anointed quarterback of the future.
If either Young or Stroud live up to their billing, the Lions will be looking good. But what if they don’t pan out? Not all quarterbacks taken in the top five are destined for success. Flashbacks of the of all-district jazz pianist, Joey Harrington, still haunt my mind. How about Andre Ware?
It’s not as if Lions quarterbacks coach Mark Brunell is sitting in the meeting room surrounded by guys oozing potential. The Lions can keep Jared Goff for one more season while they ease a rookie in. Or they can let him go and save over $20 million in cap space as a pre-June 1 cut (with $10 million in dead money). Nate Sudfeld won’t be back next year.
Or the Lions could select Young or Stroud with their first pick, then add an under-the-radar athletic quarterback prospect on Day 3 of the draft.
Picking up an extra second-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft should allow the Detroit Lions to focus plenty on the defensive side with extra capital from their bank of extra picks acquired in the Matthew Stafford and T.J. Hockenson trades.
Could the Detroit Lions go for two (quarterbacks)?
Pun intended, but this time it’s not Coach Dan Campbell going back to his old gunslinging ways on the field. Instead, it’s general manager Brad Holmes going for two quarterbacks in the draft. Having two young, talented quarterbacks that fit the modern NFL prototype quarterback to compete would be a positive. Plus, it’s an insurance policy. One which doesn’t include flat-footed statues scrambling in quicksand.
One option is flying quietly under the radar down in Baton Rouge.
LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels has thrown 12 touchdowns with only one interception so far this season. Daniels is completing nearly 70 percent of his passes so far as well. He also sits with the fourth-highest rushing yards by a quarterback thus far in the 2022 season, with 524 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground.
Daniels, an Arizona State University transfer, played brilliantly as a freshman in 2019 then had his sophomore season cut short due to COVID. Then the entire ASU program went into chaos-mode, damaging their culture.
Oliver Hodgkinson of Pro Football Network, has the following to say:
"The likes of Lamar Jackson and Russell Wilson have built upon Michael Vick’s heritage to redefine the position. The ability to create and extend plays outside of the pocket is almost paramount now. Being a dual-threat quarterback isn’t a prerequisite for NFL success, but it definitely helps.Daniels excels in this regard. He has exceptional athletic ability. The mobile quarterback has reportedly run a 4.5 40-yard dash, with speed apparent on tape. He isn’t flashy in the same way that say Malik Willis is, you won’t find him ripping off spin moves or juking in the open field, but he can eat up yardage as a runner. Furthermore, he has deceptive illusiveness for his 6’3″ build."
Hey #RollTide fans. Tell me why Bryce Young is better than Jayden Daniels again? pic.twitter.com/WU5bhuQoQS
— OTOP (@OneTeamOnePod) November 3, 2022
Numbers don’t lie. Drafting two young, mobile and accurate quarterbacks in the same draft might just be crazy enough to work for the Lions.