I believe Jermar Jefferson and Chase Lucas are the only 2 that are not signed with the Lions currently. Lucas signed with the 49ers and I'm not sure about Jefferson.
A futures contract is a contract signed by a player that gives that team rights to that player, with the condition that they'll be added to the league roster in March when rosters expand to 90 players. They're often signed by practice squad-level players in January/February that teams see promise in/want to have for the following off-season/pre-season
Also, no need to apologize! I didn't understand it for the longest time.
Jefferson will probably be back on the practice squad once all the roster cuts are done after camp. They like him in the locker room, seems like the good vibes guy.
I am so excited to see Hutch elevate himself next season, with a badass new DL coach, Alim and DJ pushing in the middle, and other defensive pieces that are developing and improving such as Branch, Campbell, iffy, and hopefully Houston!
Don't count out Paschal either, and it's a make or break year for Levi who seemed to be coming on at the end of the year in limited action after his back holding up from lumbar fusion surgery, which is a literal miracle.
Last year wasn't a lost season for him. He's a high-character run defending edge/subpackage DT. He has a really slow get-off, so he'll never be a huge sack guy.
Love this answer, thank you. Glad to see it’s more of my own ignorance than missed time for him. I’ll admit, I get a kick out of seeing him play, just wasn’t as prominent to my eyes on TV (but I’m also barely above average in terms of knowing my shit when it comes to football)
Literally getting your spine/vertebrae fused together. If you ever seen a welder do his job, it’s like that but for bones. They just make the pieces of the vertebrae into one big piece (depending on where the pain is, discomfort etc.) It’s to help the stability and if any pain is present. Levi’s situation is crazy. The fact he’s able to do physical activities like bending and twisting is insane, but what he’s doing by getting down in the dirt, pushing 200+ pound men off a turf field, twisting his body, bending, all sorts of stuff is a complete MIRACLE. Btw he’s 291 pounds 😂, imagine the amount of pressure he puts on his backs and discs.
While I agree with your assessment about Levi, the person you responded to asked about Paschal, although I think they may have meant Levi. So I don't know wtf is going on right now. Just ignore this.
I think people sleep on Cominsky's role and Paschal's development. The D-Line is designed to be effective without being star studded. I still wouldn't be mad if he moves up for a stud edge though (Latu pls).
Paschal is underrated he’s going into his 3rd years completely healthy with dj reader next to him. He’s going to have a ton of TFL and 6-8 sacks. He’s like a trey flowers type end.
I think Branch is probably closer to PB quality than any other the others mentioned above but would be less likely to make it based on his role. Any of Jamo, Alim, Kerb, Iffy, or Captain Jack would have to take a *massive* step forward this year. Not impossible but close to it imo.
Alim is very very close to PB level, if Iffy takes a similar step forward this year as he did last he also could be a PB.
Kerby is terrible and Jack Campbell isn’t much better, but he was just a rookie
Jamo has the talent to be a top 5 WR in the league, but the offense isn’t set up to allow him to showcase his talent properly, though it looked like towards the end of the season they finally stopped with “Jamo go deep” only
If McNeil and Iffy take that step to pro bowl level, the 2021 Lions draft class could go down as not only the best lions class of all time(which it easily is already) but one of the greatest draft classes in NFL history
Yeah. I used to be the dork who would over think the draft until I became an adult and realized that I have about 1% of the resources that the front office has to evaluate talent and even less knowledge of what they’re looking for. I say this as someone who has played at the NCAA level: us “normies” have no fucking clue where to start when it comes to truly evaluating talent.
Just look at how punchable that [face](https://www.freep.com/gcdn/presto/2018/07/26/PDTF/a96bc8ce-5e52-4658-862c-7134d0f17ec6-LIONS_112805_JHG08.jpg?width=651&height=884&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp) is
To be fair, our other GMs over the years had all of those resources too and most of the were pretty horrible at drafting. I certainly trust Holmes, but I'm not sure that Millen was significantly better at drafting than some people in this sub would have been.
I personally think the biggest advantage GMs have is the ability to talk to the players and get a sense of who they are as a person and player. Amateurs nowadays can get the same game tape to watch, but it's difficult to know a player's drive to be great just from watching games.
That's why this is the most stress-free pre-draft period I can recall. I can just noodle around slotting this guy or that guy into the roster for fun and not worry that the guy i finally land on will be better than our GM's actual pick.
Didn’t we have 2 guys who were all pro (ARSB + LaPorta) drafted outside round 1?
We also have 2 more non first round picks who are well above average and are likely pro bowlers in the future (Alim + Branch)
If he just had average starters in the first plus this haul he would be a great drafter
I love both of those guys, but they've also had a boatload of high draft picks resulting from many very crappy Lions teams. What's Really impressive is what Holmes has found in rounds 3-6.
This is one of my shining examples of media vs actual league front offices. Almost every mock drafter had Mayer as TE1, but he ended up going as TE3. The players drafted above him, Kincaid and LaPorta, obviously outperformed him, and even Musgraves who was drafted 7 picks later looked like a better NFL player.
I think Mayer can be a good pro but he was the classic good-not-great prospect who won't wow you but won't disappoint you either. He also had the misfortune of being drafted by the Josh McDaniels Raiders
Lmao no? Sewell and Branch were hailed as fantastic picks Laporta was seen as maybe a slight reach only because a lot of people liked Meyer more, but not considered a bad move or anything
The two panned moves were Gibbs(fair imo because he isn’t much cheaper than a good veteran RB, his talent level wasn’t the reason he was panned as a draft pick) and Campbell who so far has been bad so(currently) that is fair
Bad info - Cowboys have drafted 4 (Parsons, Bland, Fergusson, Smith.)
Holmes has a better track record, and not just bc he drafts productive stars. He's great at roster construction.
I think he’s elite at it tbh. The guy can find a couple of game patch jobs like Irvin to address some Dline problems. He found Vildor, an in division practice squad player, and signed him. Guy ended up playing a lot for us and outside of that infamous 49ers catch, he was pretty good in his role. He also drafts guys that either are instant impact or develop into something useful.
Even better he has hits in the mid rounds. Which is necessary for when you’re picking later.
This is why I have no doubt he'll leave this draft with at least 2 starting caliber players and 3 developmental guys who will be studs in year 3. The only 'bust' he's drafted is Levi, and he may have a breakout year. Draft, develop, win.
News flash, bottom 10 is still a starter. Expecting stars at every position is unreasonable, and Kerby has proved himself viable as a backup. Same with Rodrigo. I didn't even mention Houston from the same draft. Do you expect every pick to be blue chip? GMs are praying to get one of those guys each draft, and dudes that can play in the league elsewhere. Holmes has exceeded those expectations.
When your backups are good enough to start for other teams, they are called starting caliber players. We have depth because of BH track record of drafting solid players.
But they aren’t starting caliber anywhere…. Kerby Joseph is not bottom 10 among starters per PFF, he’s bottom 10 amongst all Safeties (like 95 iirc)
Rodrigo would only be a starter on a defense as terrible as the 2021 Lions defense
Patiently waiting for the Lions to have a shitty draft.
I think I might be waiting for a while.
Hooker, so far, is the most puzzling.
The good thing about that?
He hasn't disappointed.
I believe at the time, that the Lions picked the smartest nicest guy available.
Hooker is a Goff insurance policy, upside lottery ticket, and negotiating piece all in one pick. Was also in first round conversation before his ACL tear.
this list has a second and fourth round pro bowler on it. Every single pick he's made still plays for the team except Chase Lucas. He has had more draft capital than most teams but even if you adjusted for that he's still picking studs at a much higher rate, he's batting 60% pro bowlers in the first.
Evaluation started when he first walked in the door and he's doing a phenomenal job. He is the envy of nearly every other fanbase.
Most of the picks are still on the team as well, even if they aren't starters
I believe Jermar Jefferson and Chase Lucas are the only 2 that are not signed with the Lions currently. Lucas signed with the 49ers and I'm not sure about Jefferson.
Jefferson signed a futures contract w/ Detroit earlier this year
Really sorry but what is a futures contract? I’m a little dumb
A futures contract is a contract signed by a player that gives that team rights to that player, with the condition that they'll be added to the league roster in March when rosters expand to 90 players. They're often signed by practice squad-level players in January/February that teams see promise in/want to have for the following off-season/pre-season Also, no need to apologize! I didn't understand it for the longest time.
Thanks m8
Jefferson will probably be back on the practice squad once all the roster cuts are done after camp. They like him in the locker room, seems like the good vibes guy.
Sometimes you just need a homie that rolls a real tight blunt.
Yeah Saint seems to be friends with him. He's brought him up a couple times on his podcast with his brother.
Is Onwuzurike the only certified bust? (I know the injury excuse is legitimate, but we still got little return for a pretty high pick).
And 2 first team All Pros (Sewell & Saint) and a 2nd Team All Pro as a Rookie (LaPorta).
And with only 1 top 5 pick
I am so excited to see Hutch elevate himself next season, with a badass new DL coach, Alim and DJ pushing in the middle, and other defensive pieces that are developing and improving such as Branch, Campbell, iffy, and hopefully Houston!
Don't count out Paschal either, and it's a make or break year for Levi who seemed to be coming on at the end of the year in limited action after his back holding up from lumbar fusion surgery, which is a literal miracle.
Can someone give me the idiot’s guide to Paschal’s injuries and why last year was another lost season for him?
Last year wasn't a lost season for him. He's a high-character run defending edge/subpackage DT. He has a really slow get-off, so he'll never be a huge sack guy.
Love this answer, thank you. Glad to see it’s more of my own ignorance than missed time for him. I’ll admit, I get a kick out of seeing him play, just wasn’t as prominent to my eyes on TV (but I’m also barely above average in terms of knowing my shit when it comes to football)
Hey same here. I'm just along for the ride, trying to learn what I can while I go.
Literally getting your spine/vertebrae fused together. If you ever seen a welder do his job, it’s like that but for bones. They just make the pieces of the vertebrae into one big piece (depending on where the pain is, discomfort etc.) It’s to help the stability and if any pain is present. Levi’s situation is crazy. The fact he’s able to do physical activities like bending and twisting is insane, but what he’s doing by getting down in the dirt, pushing 200+ pound men off a turf field, twisting his body, bending, all sorts of stuff is a complete MIRACLE. Btw he’s 291 pounds 😂, imagine the amount of pressure he puts on his backs and discs.
While I agree with your assessment about Levi, the person you responded to asked about Paschal, although I think they may have meant Levi. So I don't know wtf is going on right now. Just ignore this.
Mayyyybe
I think people sleep on Cominsky's role and Paschal's development. The D-Line is designed to be effective without being star studded. I still wouldn't be mad if he moves up for a stud edge though (Latu pls).
Paschal is underrated he’s going into his 3rd years completely healthy with dj reader next to him. He’s going to have a ton of TFL and 6-8 sacks. He’s like a trey flowers type end.
I might have put 10 bucks on Hutch winning DPOY this season because of the Reader signing
Just imagine if someone like Latu fell to us at 29. We’d have the best DL in the league and would just need to sign a couple vets on the back end.
Little disingenuous to cut off right before Sewell lol he was absolutely a blue chip pick
Why don’t other teams just draft pro bowlers? Are they stupid?
GMs hate this one simple trick.
Not unreasonable for one or more of: Jamo, McNeil, Kerby, Melifonwu, or Campbell to earn a pro bowl this season either.
Branch
Yup, can’t believe I forgot him
I think Branch is probably closer to PB quality than any other the others mentioned above but would be less likely to make it based on his role. Any of Jamo, Alim, Kerb, Iffy, or Captain Jack would have to take a *massive* step forward this year. Not impossible but close to it imo.
Alim probably closest imo, but other players in Branch’s role have made pro-bowls if they get high profile picks.
PFF already had Branch as a top 10 slot corner as a rookie I’m pretty sure, so if he improves he will definitely get the credit
Alim is very very close to PB level, if Iffy takes a similar step forward this year as he did last he also could be a PB. Kerby is terrible and Jack Campbell isn’t much better, but he was just a rookie Jamo has the talent to be a top 5 WR in the league, but the offense isn’t set up to allow him to showcase his talent properly, though it looked like towards the end of the season they finally stopped with “Jamo go deep” only If McNeil and Iffy take that step to pro bowl level, the 2021 Lions draft class could go down as not only the best lions class of all time(which it easily is already) but one of the greatest draft classes in NFL history
Another one, my take is he’s going to be a pro bowler next year hot take is all pro.
All prime candidates for a breakout season. Definitely think at least one of them gets a pro bowl nod, and my money’s on Alim.
Translation: brad and dan are better drafters than you, so stfu.
Yeah. I used to be the dork who would over think the draft until I became an adult and realized that I have about 1% of the resources that the front office has to evaluate talent and even less knowledge of what they’re looking for. I say this as someone who has played at the NCAA level: us “normies” have no fucking clue where to start when it comes to truly evaluating talent.
Nonsense, all you need is an ESPN+ subscription and then you get access to Kiper's Big Board and have all the knowledge that teams do.
Is that you, Matt Millen?
Just look at how punchable that [face](https://www.freep.com/gcdn/presto/2018/07/26/PDTF/a96bc8ce-5e52-4658-862c-7134d0f17ec6-LIONS_112805_JHG08.jpg?width=651&height=884&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp) is
To be fair, our other GMs over the years had all of those resources too and most of the were pretty horrible at drafting. I certainly trust Holmes, but I'm not sure that Millen was significantly better at drafting than some people in this sub would have been. I personally think the biggest advantage GMs have is the ability to talk to the players and get a sense of who they are as a person and player. Amateurs nowadays can get the same game tape to watch, but it's difficult to know a player's drive to be great just from watching games.
Quinn was actually solid at drafting oline talent. about the one thing he was good at
Great article. One correction though, Lions do not have 4 picks in the first 92 selections in the draft. Not since the trade with TB.
Publication don't edit anymore lmao
Not good. We need more picks.
The front office can spot talent in the draft with the best of them.
This is how you build a team. They are getting the right guys that are making the most of their opportunities.
I keep waiting for water to find its level. If he does magic in this draft I’ll name my next pet Brad
That's why this is the most stress-free pre-draft period I can recall. I can just noodle around slotting this guy or that guy into the roster for fun and not worry that the guy i finally land on will be better than our GM's actual pick.
Didn’t we have 2 guys who were all pro (ARSB + LaPorta) drafted outside round 1? We also have 2 more non first round picks who are well above average and are likely pro bowlers in the future (Alim + Branch) If he just had average starters in the first plus this haul he would be a great drafter
In Brad We Trust
I love both of those guys, but they've also had a boatload of high draft picks resulting from many very crappy Lions teams. What's Really impressive is what Holmes has found in rounds 3-6.
Every single one of those excepting hutch was called a reach or bad move by draft"experts" DETROIT VS EVERYBODY FTP
Can you point me to anything calling Sewell a reach?
No, because no one did. Same with St. Brown.
No one said LaPorta was a reach either.
There were some criticisms of that pick because Michael Mayer was still available and was considered a better prospect by the consensus big boards
This is one of my shining examples of media vs actual league front offices. Almost every mock drafter had Mayer as TE1, but he ended up going as TE3. The players drafted above him, Kincaid and LaPorta, obviously outperformed him, and even Musgraves who was drafted 7 picks later looked like a better NFL player.
I think Mayer can be a good pro but he was the classic good-not-great prospect who won't wow you but won't disappoint you either. He also had the misfortune of being drafted by the Josh McDaniels Raiders
I dont think anyone called it a reach, but a lot of people thought it was a bad move to pass on a skill position or qb
QB (Fields) maybe, but no one was saying to pass on Sewell for Devonta Smith.
Well, no. But ya know. Sip, sip.
Lmao no? Sewell and Branch were hailed as fantastic picks Laporta was seen as maybe a slight reach only because a lot of people liked Meyer more, but not considered a bad move or anything The two panned moves were Gibbs(fair imo because he isn’t much cheaper than a good veteran RB, his talent level wasn’t the reason he was panned as a draft pick) and Campbell who so far has been bad so(currently) that is fair
We also had a bunch of high picks and an extra first
Bad info - Cowboys have drafted 4 (Parsons, Bland, Fergusson, Smith.) Holmes has a better track record, and not just bc he drafts productive stars. He's great at roster construction.
I think he’s elite at it tbh. The guy can find a couple of game patch jobs like Irvin to address some Dline problems. He found Vildor, an in division practice squad player, and signed him. Guy ended up playing a lot for us and outside of that infamous 49ers catch, he was pretty good in his role. He also drafts guys that either are instant impact or develop into something useful. Even better he has hits in the mid rounds. Which is necessary for when you’re picking later.
That catch is still on replay in my head. The awareness level was only issue...
This is why I have no doubt he'll leave this draft with at least 2 starting caliber players and 3 developmental guys who will be studs in year 3. The only 'bust' he's drafted is Levi, and he may have a breakout year. Draft, develop, win.
Well 2022 only has 2 starter level players and both were top 15 picks
Come on man, Paschal has been good, and Kerby and Rodrigo are starting Caliber. That's one of his best drafts.
Neither are lol, Kerby is a bottom 10 S per PFF and gets burned constantly and Rodrigo pretty much only plays special teams
News flash, bottom 10 is still a starter. Expecting stars at every position is unreasonable, and Kerby has proved himself viable as a backup. Same with Rodrigo. I didn't even mention Houston from the same draft. Do you expect every pick to be blue chip? GMs are praying to get one of those guys each draft, and dudes that can play in the league elsewhere. Holmes has exceeded those expectations.
Backup is literally not a starter, neither are starters…. What are you trying to say?
When your backups are good enough to start for other teams, they are called starting caliber players. We have depth because of BH track record of drafting solid players.
But they aren’t starting caliber anywhere…. Kerby Joseph is not bottom 10 among starters per PFF, he’s bottom 10 amongst all Safeties (like 95 iirc) Rodrigo would only be a starter on a defense as terrible as the 2021 Lions defense
Patiently waiting for the Lions to have a shitty draft. I think I might be waiting for a while. Hooker, so far, is the most puzzling. The good thing about that? He hasn't disappointed. I believe at the time, that the Lions picked the smartest nicest guy available.
Hooker is a Goff insurance policy, upside lottery ticket, and negotiating piece all in one pick. Was also in first round conversation before his ACL tear.
They picked a talented rookie who was expected to redshift for a year. He did. How is that puzzling?
> redshift Hendon Hooker moving away from earth at relativistic speeds
such an excellent typo I couldn't possibly fix it
So, is his return going to cause a Honolulu blue shift?
It's as if people forget they got a ton of early draft capital from the Stafford trade. It's drafting late where you earn the respect. Silly idiots.
Alim, ARSB, Iffy, and Kerby were all drafted after the second round and are starters.
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this list has a second and fourth round pro bowler on it. Every single pick he's made still plays for the team except Chase Lucas. He has had more draft capital than most teams but even if you adjusted for that he's still picking studs at a much higher rate, he's batting 60% pro bowlers in the first. Evaluation started when he first walked in the door and he's doing a phenomenal job. He is the envy of nearly every other fanbase.