Detroit Lions post-free agency 7-round mock draft: Who goes at No. 6?
Fourth Round
The Lions do not have a 2023 fourth-round pick right now. So they go 71 spots between picks.
Fifth Round
player. 50. Scouting Report. Coastal Carolina. Jerrod Clark. 152. Pick Analysis. DT
Defensive tackle is now arguably the Lions’ No. 1 need, so waiting to the fifth round to take one appears unlikely. But the board just fell this way here.
Clark is a massive man (334 pounds), thus he’s regarded (pigeonholed even) as a nose tackle. But he was a high school tight end, with good feet for his size, and in his final season at Coastal Carolina he had 3.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss. When he gets into an NFL weight and conditioning program, knocks (via NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein) about the weight he carries sapping his athleticism and his lack of lower body thickness might go away.
Sixth Round
Scouting Report. Bryce Ford-Wheaton. 183. player. Pick Analysis. WR. West Virginia. 50
With the departure of DJ Chark in free agency, the Lions have a level of need a wide receiver. How aggressively it’s addressed is to be determined, but drafting someone is on the table–perhaps early even.
Ford-Wheaton has noticeable size (6-foot-4, 221 pounds), and he ran a blazer of a 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine (4.34) with a 41-inch vertical jump. His Combine Athleticism score (88) was fifth-best among the wide receivers at the event.
Ford-Wheaton’s college production did not match what his pure physical tools would point to. That’s risky territory to venture into a broad sense when drafting a player, but in the sixth round outside the top-180 picks I have the Lions taking a flier here.
player. 50. Troy. Pick Analysis. C/OG. Jake Andrews. 194. Scouting Report
Andrews played center for the Trojans last season, and he did so well Sun Belt coaches voted him first team All-Conference. But he spent the previous two seasons at right guard, playing 774 snaps (2021 and 804 snaps (2020) there, via PFF, and that’s where he becomes interesting for the Lions.
Halapoulivaati Vaitai and Graham Glasgow are set to compete for the starting right guard job this year,. But both are on one-year deals now, and the future at the position is to be determined.
Andrews seems like the type that may just mess around and have like an 8-10 year NFL career, and Lions’ offensive line coach Hank Fraley may see a little of himself here.
Seventh Round
The Lions also don’t have a 2023 seventh-round pick right now.
More. 4 other free agents Detroit Lions could sign from 2022 NFC North rosters. light