The Lions came into this draft with only 6 picks, so I was expecting some trading down. Instead, they traded twice but neither trade was a trade down. They gave up their 4^th rounder to move up in the 2^nd, and then they got a similar 4^th rounder back by trading a 2019 3^rd. So the net result was they ended up with 6 picks just like they came in with, but they picked 8 spots higher in round 2 and 3 spots higher in round 4, at a cost of a 2019 3^rd. There was a clear focus with 4 of their 6 picks, when you see two offensive linemen, a running back, and a fullback, and that was to fix the broken running game to hopefully finally allow this offense to reach its full potential.

1.20 (20) C Frank Ragnow, Arkansas. A bit of a surprise as there were no mock drafts connecting Ragnow with Detroit, but it makes sense. Remember the Lions have Graham Glasgow who can play left guard or center. I thought Wynn or Hernandez would have made sense here to plug in at left guard, but the more I have been reading about Ragnow, the more I like it. The word was that the Bengals would have grabbed him at 21 so it wasn’t a reach. Ragnow will help keep the inside pressure off of QB Matthew Stafford, and also help the interior running game.

2.11 (43) RB Kerryon Johnson, Auburn. In my report last month, I said it was likely the Lions would end up with one of the Georgia backs, or Johnson. Well, there was a mini run on backs with Penny, Michel, Chubb, and Jones all going between 27 and 38. Guice was dropping, but Johnson was the guy the Lions targeted with backs flying off the board, and they moved up to get him. Lots of comparisons on this guy. I’ve heard Arian Foster and Matt Forte, and among active players people are saying he has some Le’Veon Bell to his game. He’s probably not going to be as good as Bell of course, but he has some of that hesitation in his running style, and he is a solid receiver coming out of the backfield. He projects to be the main guy in the Lions running back committee.

3.18 (82) S Tracy Walker, UL Lafayette. A bit of an unknown from a Sun Belt Conference school. The Lions have decent depth in the secondary so Walker will likely focus on special teams for now, and be brought along slowly on defense. It was expected that they would use a middle round pick on a developmental safety.

4.14 (114) DE Da’Shawn Hand, Alabama. Bob Quinn has shown a tendency in his drafts to prefer players from the power conferences and power programs. Alabama is as powerful as it gets. Hand can play many different roles on the defensive line, which will be important as the Lions will likely be using a variety of 3-4 and 4-3 looks in their new scheme.

5.16 (153) OT Tyrell Crosby, Oregon. Last year the Lions had injury problems with their offensive line, specifically at tackle. They won’t be caught off guard if it happens again as long as Crosby develops into a solid backup. He was projected to be picked much earlier, so he was a possible steal in round 5.

7.19 (237) FB Nick Bawden, San Diego State. This guy was the lead blocker for some productive backs at San Diego State who are now in the NFL (Donnel Pumphrey and Rashaan Penny). It’s weird because the Lions had a good young fullback on their roster but waived him last spring because they don’t really use a fullback in their offense. In short yardage situations last year they had a couple defensive players who sometimes lined up as a fullback. Now they are going back to having a true fullback, assuming he makes the team. The narrative is that the Lions are envisioning themselves as a more physical team.

Skill position UDFA: WR Teo Redding, Bowling Green. WR Brandon Powell, Florida. WR Deontez Alexander, Franklin College. TE DeAndre Goolsby, Florida. These guys are longshots to be more than practice squad contenders, but perhaps one of the receivers could make the team as a fifth receiver.

That’s it for this month. I will be back next month with a new report including updates from the happenings at OTAs and minicamp.

End.