The Detroit Lions are weighing what comes next in terms of the NFL draft, and for a few weeks, it's been clear that the decision may revolve around whether or not to add an offensive tackle to the mix.
Ever since the release of Taylor Decker, the position has been seen to be the biggest need the Lions have heading toward the draft. As such, many mock drafts have the Lions pursuing a tackle to boost the front of their offense.
There's been multiple different tackles that could be seen as first-round talents, and various mock drafts have them going at different positions in the draft. Interestingly, Lance Zierlein of NFL.com believes the Lions are primed to miss out on one of the better tackles set to be availble.
Surprisingly, Zierlein gives the Cleveland Browns Monroe Freeling out of Georgia with the No. 6 pick in his latest mock. He believes that the Browns could opt to go with a steady offensive tackle if they don't have access to one of the top playmakers in the draft.
"With (Carnell) Tate off the board, the Browns are forced to decide between a slight overdraft on a future left tackle or a quality wideout. They go with Option No. 1 here. Freeling needs more polish, but he has the traits, athleticism and upside to be an effective bookend at the next level."
Traits, athleticism and upside could be exactly what the Lions are looking for in their next young offensive tackle. The Lions don't have a lot of time to wait for a player to develop, so if they see an option like Freeling can be more NFL ready, it's likely they will pounce on him during the draft.
If Freeling is a top 10 pick, that would be frustrating for Detroit, because they are unlikely to want to jump that far up the draft board to land a tackle, and would rather wait to land a player if not trade back and gain more assets.
Lions selection of Kaden Proctor would represent a major risk
Zierlein doesn't have the Lions going home empty handed in terms of the tackle position. Instead of landing on a player like Freeling, they select a tackle with a more questionable present and future in Proctor from Alabama.
With pick No. 17, Zierlein had the Lions selecting Procter, a situation he called a "best-case scenario" for Detroit if they had to select from the Crimson Tide standout as well as a potential game-changing guard for the interior.
READ MORE: Lions don't have to settle for Teddy Bridgewater as Jared Goff's backup
"This could be a best-case scenario for the Lions if both Proctor (a potential left/right tackle) and Olaivavega Ioane (guard) are on the board. In this case, the Lions take the massive Alabama tackle."
While he is one of the better options in the draft, Proctor has been viewed as a hit-or-miss prospect given his consistency issues. He has fantastic size at 6-foot-7, but there's a question if if he will be ready to make an instant impact in the NFL. The Lions might not be in a position to develop a tackle given their immediate short-term Super Bowl aspirations.
The decision over which tackle fits best will be an interesting one that lingers into the final week of the month when the team's draft boards are set. Seeing where all the pieces fit will be an interesting exercise in the coming days.