Lions Lowdown

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.

 

 

 

 

ALLEN PARK — In yet another move to bolster their run game, the Lions drafted fullback Nick Bawden in the seventh-round on Saturday.

The 6-3, 245-pound back out of San Diego State, had 15 catches for 103 yards and a touchdown in 2017. He had zero carries.

Bawden cleared the way last two years for Donnel Pumphrey and Rashaad Penny, who both dominated the NCAA rushing leader charts.

The Lions’ run game in 2017 was the NFL’s worst. In three days of the draft, they drafted two offensive linemen (Frank Ragnow and Tyrell Crosby), a running back (Kerryon Johnson) and now a fullback.

Bawden said he first talked with Bob Quinn at the Senior Bowl along with running back coach David Walker.

“They want to get back to running the ball and be really successful. So we’re just going to do whatever we can to get it done,” Bawden said. “I’m so glad they took me. My pride and joy is my run blocking. I’m going to do absolutely everything I can to get it done and everything they need me to do — whether it’s playing fullback, H-back, tight end kind of role. I’m going to do everything  they need me to do.”

The Lions didn’t use a fullback last season.

(Photo courtesy of San Diego State)

Bawden started at San Diego State in 2014 as the backup quarterback,  stepping in to start two games for the injured starter. He was moved to fullback prior to the 2015 season.

“It was definitely something I wasn’t open to at first. I had no idea that I had it in me to be able to play fullback. I knew how hard the position was, I knew how tough you had to be,” Bawden said on a conference call. “At first I didn’t really didn’t believe I could do it but I wanted to stay at San Diego, I loved our coaches, I loved everything we were going for. I was willing to give it a chance, it definitely gave me an opportunity to be where I am today talking to you as a Detroit Lion which I’m so excited about.”

He had to bulk up to make the move. He learned to cook his own meals. Since he started lifting weights in seventh grade.

“It was incredibly hard at first. I’ve loved lifting from an early age, I started lifting when I was in seventh grade I wanted to be the strongest QB in the league I really took pride in my training. It wasn’t too hard of a transition from there but I definitely had to gain some weight. I was about 220 pounds as a quarterback, i had to get heavier. I gained 10 pounds a year through my junior and senior year.

He was up to 250 for his senior year. “I started cooking all my own meals,” Bawden said with some pride. Although he’d like to take cooking lessons to improve.

NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein’s overview for Bawden: “Quarterback turned fullback who has bought into the physicality of the fullback position and has the mangled nose to prove it. Bawden has good size and is a competent pass-catcher. The market for old-school fullbacks has shrunk, but he has the ability to find a roster home as a contributing lead blocker and pass catcher on play-action.”

Other Lions’ draft picks on Saturday were DE Da’Shawn Hand in the fourth round and Crosby in the fifth round.

 

 

 

 

ALLEN PARK — The Lions added another piece to the offensive line puzzle by drafting tackle Tyrell Crosby (Oregon) in the fifth round with the 153rd overall pick.

Crosby, who is 6-5 and 309 pounds, played all games at left tackle as a senior but could move to right tackle in the NFL.

Crosby did not allow a sack in 2017 after missing most of the previous season with a broken foot. NFLDraftScout.com had him as the sixth-best tackle and 58th best prospect.

“As an O-lineman, you never want your running back, quarterback or just anybody with the ball or teammate in general to get hit by anyone,” Crosby said in a conference call on Saturday. “To know that I kept our quarterback safe throughout the entire year is a tremendous achievement in my opinion. Getting named top PAC-12 lineman of the year voted by the defensive linemen, it’s humbling knowing that your peers think that highly of you.”

In 2017, he allowed only three QB hurries, according to Pro Football Focus — tied for the lowest pressure rate allowed by any offensive tackle at the Senior Bowl.

Pro Football Weekly had him rated as the 35th best prospect in the draft. He was all Pac-12 as a senior.

Most experts expected him to go higher than the fifth round.

“I didn’t expect (to wait), but honestly, at the end of the day I’m now a professional football player. So, things happen in life and you really just, at the end of the day you realize how grateful you are, especially looking back at how small of a percentage of college players make it to where I made it today,” Crosby said. “Things happen and I might have gone later than I expected. At the end of the day I’m excited to be a Lion.”

He tweeted that he celebrated by going to Chipotle. He’s not getting down on himself on falling to the fifth round.

“It’s frustrating just because my personal opinion, I think I’m the best, well, one of the best offensive tackles from the 2018 draft. But, though it kind of sucks, at the same time it’s just an awesome feeling to know that I’m a part of such a great organization with great history,” Crosby said. “Wherever I went, I ended up in Detroit and I’m so thankful for it.”

(Photo courtesy of Oregon)

Lance Zierlein’s prospect overview on NFL.com: “Evaluators may stick with Crosby at right tackle in the pros, but his issues with hip tightness and gaining enough ground to the edge in pass protection may force a move inside to guard sooner rather than later. Crosby has technical issues to smooth out, but he will appeal to teams who covet size, length and strength as he puts big checkmarks in those boxes. Crosby is a bulldozer who can generate good movement in the run game, but he lacks the body control for desired consistency at tackle or guard. He has NFL starting talent but he may have a limited ceiling.”

Zierlein projected him as a second- or third-round pick.

He’s from Henderson, Nev., the same hometown as Lions safety Miles Killebrew but they went to different high schools.

“Tremendous amount of respect for him and what he’s done, especially going to high school a 10-minute drive from him,” Crosby said. “When he got drafted, him coming from a small school like SUU (Southern Utah), honestly it was awesome for me to see just because he’s a public school kid from this area.”

Inside offensive lineman Frank Ragnow was the Lions’ first-round pick. Other draft picks so far: Running back Kerryon Johnson in second round, S Tracy Walker in third round and DE Da’Shawn Hand in fourth round.