Tag: Bob Quinn

Detroit Lions: Three take-aways from GM Bob Quinn’s pre-draft press conference

He would like to trade down from the 8th overall pick

ALLEN PARK — Is Bob Quinn trying to send out secret messages about his NFL draft plans?

That’s doubtful, but  the Detroit Lions GM has been pretty clear that he wouldn’t mind trading down in the first round.

He reiterated that stance on Thursday during his annual pre-draft press conference. The Lions have the eighth overall pick in the NFL draft — and eight additional picks. The draft starts next Thursday, April 25, with the first round. Second and third rounds will be drafted on April 26, with the final rounds on April 27.

Quinn estimated that he and his staff have evaluated 1,800 prospects in preparation for his fourth draft for the Lions.

Three thoughts to ponder:

1. While he’s willing to trade down, don’t expect him to move up. “There’s a couple players at the top you obviously would love to have, I just don’t think I have enough ammunition to get up there,’’ Quinn said. “I think, like I said previously, I’d rather move back a couple spots if anything. So there’s definitely good players at the very top, there’s good players at 8 too, guys that we’re excited about. Hopefully a couple are there and we can choose from a couple of them.’’

He’s open to most anything. He would trade down into the 20s if that deal made sense and he could still grab a player that he wanted.

“It’s hard to say right now, to be quite frank, some teams in that 13-15 they don’t want to do anything. You get an offer from 21 and it looks really good and you look at the board and saying 8 to 21 is 13 spots — there’s 13 good players I like there,’’ Quinn said. “You do the math and think I could at least get that guy and then evaluate from there.’’

2. Fan sentiment plays no role in his draft decisions. None. This should be obvious, but there are still fans who will groan if he drafts a tight end (or even a wide receiver) in the first round. That’s because they were disappointed in first-round tight ends Eric Ebron (2014) and Brendan Pettigrew (2009).

“In all due respect to the fans out there, I can’t take the fan sentiment to who I draft and who I sign to this team,’’ Quinn said. “I wasn’t the person who drafted Eric so I think it’s two different conversations.’’

3. In the last few weeks, Quinn and his staff have been taking their time and going through special teams rankings from the scouts and coaches. Quinn said some of the players haven’t been on special teams since 2016 which makes it a little more interesting.

“Really the final piece of the puzzle is how much special teams value does this player have. Because ultimately in fourth through seventh (rounds) nd rookie free agents that’s really how guys end up sticking on the team,’’ Quinn said. “They could be a really good receiver but have no special teams value and you look at it the other way — you know if they have really good special teams value you know they’ll be able to get on the bus, go to the game, be on the 46-man roster and work it out there.’’

That’s exactly why a guy like running back Zach Zenner, an undrafted free agent, stuck around and got a chance on offense. Same with several other players on the Lions’ roster in recent years.

Trey Flowers arrives in Detroit, discusses his connection with Matt Patricia

DE spent last 3 seasons with New England Patriots

ALLEN PARK — Trey Flowers’ 6-year-old daughter Skyler has attended three Super Bowls. She might be kind of spoiled when it comes to her daddy playing for a winning NFL team.

The Detroit Lions newest defensive end, who spent the last four seasons with the New England Patriots, tried to explain to her why he signed with the Lions as a free agent. 

“I kind of hinted it to her what if Daddy is a Lion? Do you like Lions?’’ Flowers said.

It’s not an easy conversation with a 6-year-old.

“Her favorite color is blue. (I told her) they’ve got blue, your favorite color. She said, ‘Oh OK, I get it.’ It’s just things like that, bringing your family along that’s very important for me,’’ Flower said at an introductory press conference on Thursday.

He mentioned that she may be able to have more McDonald’s too — his contract is worth $90 million over five years with $56 million guaranteed.

Flowers is one of three former Patriots who signed with Detroit this week. Not a surprise with GM Bob Quinn and coach Matt Patricia’s ties to New England. They also signed slot corner Justin Coleman and wide receiver Danny Amendola.

Flowers, who is 25, was at least in part attracted to the Lions because he had played for Patricia. He was a fourth-round pick by the Patriots in the 2015 draft.

“Definitely the familiarity was there, he kind of taught me a lot of things …’’ Flowers said. “He’s just a great guy to work for, obviously he demands a high standard of excellence from his players. When you get somebody who can challenge like that, day in and day out for the team to get better those are the type of guys you want to play for.’’

No one thinks Flowers is overpaid — he was the top free agent edge rusher available.

He’s versatile — can play any spot on the line — and will be a good fit on a line along with Snacks Harrison, A’Shawn Robinson and Da’Shawn Hand. 

“I think it’s just me understanding that wherever I am on the field, I want to be productive and if it’s a foreign position to me I’m going to work hard at it. I’m going to work after practice, I’m going to put in the time, energy and effort to kind of get great at it,’’ Flowers said. “I think just precision and detail, attention to detail with fundamentals and technique and understanding different guys along the line knowing you can’t play the tackles as same as you play guards. Film study helps better understand the game and understand what I’m doing is something I can take advantage of.’’

The words echo Patricia’s philosophy.

Flowers didn’t want to get into specifics about which teams were most interested in signing him.

He said he has no big plans to spend his newfound money except for maybe helping out his folks.

Flowers also has a 3-month-old daughter, Shylo. The question is when will she see her Daddy play in a Super Bowl wearing a Lions uniform?

Lions off to good start in free agency

DE Trey Flowers one of 3 former Patriots targeted

Bob Quinn’s busy Monday resulted in what appears to be one of the best days in Detroit LIons’ recent free agency history.

The Lions GM addressed some of the biggest needs which should open the team up for more flexibility in the NFL draft (April 25-27).

While free agency doesn’t officially start until Wednesday, Monday was the first day for legal tampering. So while the deals appear imminent the players can’t be signed until Wednesday.

That excludes wide receiver Danny Amendola who signed with Detroit after he was cut by the Miami Dolphins after just one season. He was a free agent so could ink the deal early.

Amendola, one of three former Patriots making the move to Detroit on Monday, is a two-time Super Bowl champ and quite familiar with Quinn and coach Matt Patricia.

On a conference call, the 35-year-old Amendola said he’s in the best shape of his career.

In case you’ve been in a cave, defensive end Trey Flowers was the biggest fish that the Lions landed on Monday.

Flowers, a two-time Super Bowl champ who is only 25, has missed just three games in the past three seasons in New England. The former fourth-round pick (2015) is expected to sign a deal worth approximately $17 million a year for five years. He should be worth it and could replaced 29-year-old Ziggy Ansah who just couldn’t stay healthy missing 14 games in the past three seasons.

And, of course, he knows Matt Patricia who coached him his first three seasons with the Pats. (He missed most of his rookie season in 2015 with a shoulder injury.

Justin Coleman, who will play nickel, spent the last two years in Seattle after his first two seasons with the Patriots. So he knows Patricia and Quinn well. (Sense a trend?). He’s expected to sign a four-year deal with $36 million. The Lions released Nevin Lawson earlier on Monday.

Quinn addressed the huge need at tight end by signing Jesse James who played with the Steelers the past four seasons. The 24-year-old is more of a blocking tight end but could give Matthew Stafford another option.