ALLEN PARK — While the Lions went into the draft with needs on the defensive line and run game. With their six picks, they have boosted the run game and added just one defensive lineman.
General manager Bob Quinn said it was just a matter of supply and demand. The best players on the board when they picked just happened to be mostly on offense. He’s visited with a few defensive line vets in recent weeks and may look at signing one or more of them.
“Productive day,” Quinn said after wrapping up the three-day draft.
Here are his thoughts on the three players drafted on Saturday and how he sees them fitting in:
— He traded his third round pick in 2019 to the Patriots for their fourth-round pick on Saturday. With that they drafted defensive end Da’Shawn Hand out of Alabama.
“I thought it was a really good value pick. Big, strong guy, position versatility, can play inside or outside. Good scheme fit for us. Good knowledge of our defensive line coach (Bo Davis) and that helped,” Quinn said. “Knows our technique. Met with him at the Pro Day. Matt and I went down to he Pro Day and met with all of those guys. Had a good meeting with Da’Shawn so felt that was a really good pick for us.”
Position versatility was key.
“We’re not going to have a base 3-4 or a base 4-3,” Quinn said. “He’s a defensive lineman that can play anywhere from 7-technique all the way down to nose depending on the different fronts we’re going to use. That was one of the things we liked about him.”
— With the fifth-round pick the Lions drafted tackle Tyrell Crosby from Oregon.
“Another good value pick, he really stood out on the board well above everyone else at that point. it was a really pretty easy pick when we talked about it,” Quinn said. “We had him graded a lot higher than we took him. Thought the value was too good to pass up.”
Crosby played left tackle in college but has practiced at other spots.
“We see him as a guy at multiple positions along our front. Had him in for visit it was a good day, he brings a lot to the table,” Quinn said of Crosby.
— In the seventh round, fullback Nick Bawden from San Diego State got the call from the Lions who did not have a fullback on the roster last season.
“Just some conversations we’ve had in the offseason since Matt (Patricia) has got here with some new staff members. It’s something we want to add to the mix to kind of give our offense more of a physical presence,” Quinn said. “It’s a seventh-round pick, it is what it is. He’s a guy we liked and was a good value at that pick.”
In the first round the Lions drafted interior offensive lineman Frank Ragnow. Running back Kerryon Johnson was the second-round pick and safety Tracy Walker was the third-round choice.
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