With the buzz of free agency fades and as the draft becomes the No. 1 focus, the Detroit Lions' plans for later this month seem to be getting clear. With only two picks in the first three rounds right now (No. 17 and No. 50 overall) an offensive tackle and an edge rusher are likely to be those picks. The order is not necessarily important, and will be dictated by the arrangement of the draft board.
Recent mock drafts have been a mixed back on that front, with some going offensive tackle-edge rusher for the Lions' first two picks and others of course doing the opposite. As long as they get good players with staying power at those spots, everyone will be happy.
In the final stretch of weeks before the draft, it's also smoke screen season as anonymous sources try to get information out there to dictate where certain players go. But on the flip side, there is also genuine information put out there that doesn't land as a back-handed scheme to create false impressions about a given player.
Detroit Lions' pick at No. 17 overall might be trending toward a lead-pipe lock
According to Tony Pauline of Essentially Sports, in a recent roundup of pre-draft notes focused on the top offensive tackles in this year's draft class, the Lions have "zeroed in on" Alabama offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor.
"Those I’ve spoken with believe the latest Proctor ends up in the draft is the 17th pick, presently owned by the Detroit Lions. They need a left tackle after releasing Taylor Decker, and Proctor gives them an option, along with Penei Sewell, the 2021 first-round pick who was a star at Oregon on the blind side before moving to right tackle after the Lions drafted him in 2021. More than anything, the Lions want to run the ball and hope to extend Jahmyr Gibbs before the season starts. They believe the combo of Sewell and Proctor would be a dominant run-blocking duo."
Pauline makes it sound like the Lions will have to trade up for Proctor if they want him badly enough, with 17th overall as his perceived floor. As of right now, depending how far they'd try to trade up, they don't really have the proper resources to do so.
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Proctor's unique size (6-foot-7, 352 pounds) naturally makes him a brute force in the run game. As expected, though, his pass blocking is more inconsistent as speedy edge rushers have been hard for him to deal with. But according to Pro Football Focus, he allowed just nine pressures and one sack over his final eight games last season.
Proctor may best project to right tackle at the next level, and that would not mess with the Lions' apparent plan to move Penei Sewell to left tackle. If they think Proctor can play left tackle, then Sewell would be able to stay at right tackle.
In any case, the Lions could create quite the tackle duo with Sewell and Proctor as they look to have one of the best offensive lines in the league again.