Tag: Darius Slay

Five reasons the Detroit Lions will draft cornerback Jeff Okudah at third overall

Lions GM Bob Quinn has pulled a few surprises in his first four drafts with the Detroit Lions.

He opted for tight end T.J. Hockenson a year ago who was not a popular mock draft pick for the eighth overall pick. In 2018 offensive tackle Frank Ragnow was his top pick at 20th overall. In 2017, he drafted Jarrad Davis at 21st overall and in his first-ever draft in Detroit Taylor Decker got the nod with the 16th pick.

So what does Quinn have planned for this draft which starts at 8 p.m. on Thursday?

Good question. He has never drafted this high — the Lions own the No. 3 overall pick, along with eight other picks.

Cornerback Jeff Okudah seems to be the popular pick for the Lions in the first round. That doesn’t mean Quinn will necessarily draft him, but he certainly looks like the top contender in that spot.

Here are five reasons the Lions will draft Okudah:

1. The cornerback has the ideal size — he’s 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds — and the Ohio State credentials. He is set to become the 14th Buckeyes’ cornerback to be drafted in the first round since 1991. He’s also got speed. Scouts say he’s exceptionally quick and can close in on the ball. Face it, the kid has it all.

2. Quinn wants an impact player with that third overall pick. “We have enough guidance in that range that we think we can do that. … Our goal is to get impactful players throughout the draft, whether they’re starters in the middle rounds or just backup and role players and special teams players later in the draft. Our goals haven’t changed, the circumstances have obviously,’’ Quinn said in his pre-draft press conference via Zoom.

3. With the trade of Darius Slay to the Eagles, the Lions have a big need at cornerback. They signed free agent corners Desmond Trufant and Tony McRae. Trufant is not a match for Slay one-on-one. 

4. It’s not common to draft a cornerback early. In the past 19 drafts only five cornerbacks have been drafted in the top five. Quinn said he had no problem with doing so (he wasn’t talking about a specific player) if the prospect was worth the pick. “If we go back to free agency a year ago, we signed Justin Coleman to play nickel and we paid him like a starter because we feel like you need three starting level corners to have a productive defense. So, why teams have shied away, I can’t really answer that. You have to ask the teams that have passed. I’ve never been this high in the draft to experience that,’’ Quinn said. 

5. Okudah is the top of the deep class at cornerback. CBSSports.com says, “(He’s) the best coverage CB in this class and it’s not even close.’’ If Quinn doesn’t grab him with the third overall pick, he’ll have a chance to draft corners later in the draft. But Okudah is a game-changer and could step in right away. Remember Slay only started four of 13 games he played in his rookie season. He wasn’t Big-Play Slay out of the gate, but turned into one of the best in the NFL. That’s exactly what could happen with Okudah.

 

Lions Darius Slay on Pro Bowl, contract situation, Matt Patricia and more

ALLEN PARK — Darius Slay said it doesn’t get old being named to the Pro Bowl, even for the third time.

“I told my kids the other day we were going to DisneyWorld,  free too, we love that,’’ the Detroit Lions cornerback said on Wednesday.

Slay appreciates that he wasn’t in the top 10 of fan voting, but the players and coaches know his value so they put him over the top.

“Coaches watch film enough, players do as well. I appreciate the respect they gave me because I go out there and work hard. I compete at a high level,” Slay said.

Five more thoughts from Slay:

1. Slay, whose contract expires after the 2020 season, was much more open to talking about the Pro Bowl than his contract situation. He sat out the offseason workouts last spring aiming to get a new deal from the Lions without any results. Will he sit out again? It’s up to him and his agent but he didn’t have an answer ready. One thing is for certain, when he signs a new contract — no matter which team it’s with — Slay has his eye on a Rolls-Royce truck. He joked he might even have a driver bring him to practice on the first day. When asked what three-time Pro Bowl corners make, Slay had a short answer: “Hoo-hoo-hoo!”

2. Slay didn’t have much to say about the announcement on Tuesday that Matt Patricia will be back next season. “II thought it was already automatic,’’ Slay said. He added that the players don’t worry or talk about it. “Not really that’s their personal business. I just play. He could be up and gone, I could be up and gone.’’

3. The expectations from ownership next season are that the Lions are a playoff contender. Slay said he thought that was the goal of every team. “Some of us have been here with Patricia for two years going on three, we’ve got a better understanding of him as a coach and his program that’s basically where we’re at,’’ Slay said.

4. The cornerback said the key to improving is finishing and he puts that on the players not the coaches. “We’ve been in there every game, fourth quarter get in there, don’t finish. Definitely on the defensive end we have to finish,’’ Slay said. “Coaches doing a good job putting us in the predicaments at practice, we’ve just got to execute as players. I’m mean we’re out there. They tell us the play, obviously it’s mostly on us, it’s a team effort. As a player and me personally I take it to the chest, I feel like it’s out on the field, so we’re the ones who could fix it.’’

5. Slay was wearing a chain with a pendant photo of his grandmother. “My baby, my heart and she raised me. Yes, it’s so nice, it’s my angel,’’ Slay said.

Detroit Lions’ defense fails again, this time in loss to Dallas Cowboys

DETROIT — Detroit’s defense is not getting the job done.

It happened again on Sunday when the Dallas Cowboys beat the Lions 35-27 at Ford Field. If you’ve lost count, the Lions have lost six of the last seven and are now 3-6-1.

On offense the Lions had a backup quarterback (Jeff Driskel) starting his second game for this team and a running back (Bo Scarbrough) who never had a carry in the NFL. Still they managed to score 27 points which should be enough to win an NFL game.

Do not blame this on Driskel or the offense. 

This is all on the Lions’ sad-sack defense, especially against the pass.

In the last five games the defense has allowed quarterbacks to throw 16 touchdown passes and has not made an interception. 

“We just need to make more plays. We just left too many plays out there. It’s another game – I feel like a broken record at this point, but another game I feel like the offense played well enough for us to win, but we have to figure it out collectively as a defense,’’ linebacker Devon Kennard said. “We have to play better, and we can play better.”

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott threw three touchdown passes for 444 yards (just shy of his all-time high of 463). He had all the time in the world in the pocket and often his receivers were wide open, without a defender within a few yards. Dallas finished with 509 yards of offense.

“We had pressure. I think we missed like three (sacks). We were getting what we needed to go, we just have to make the plays, like I said. We had a couple guys that probably had some sacks but missed it. We had a couple guys that had chances to make PBUs and we didn’t make it, and I am one of them,’’ cornerback Darius Slay said. “So, it’s all accountable for all of us, so we all just have to put it together.”

Coach Matt Patricia, known as a defensive guru when he was hired from the Patriots, has talked about finding consistency since Week 1. He is still searching for it.

“It’s something we’re trying to figure out,’’ Patricia said in his post-game presser.

Echoing his coach, Kennard said they need to be consistent in everything they do.

“I feel like last week we came out and played one of our better games defensively overall, and we needed to build on that and not take a step back. Defensively, I think we took a step back today,’’ Kennard said.

Yes, there have been injuries but that is no excuse. Every team is dealing with that at this time of the season.

Nothing that they saw from Dallas should have been a surprise. The Cowboys had the NFL’s best offense (437.3 yards per game) when they arrived at Ford Field.

“We didn’t play well enough to win. Give the Cowboys credit. They made a lot more plays than we did,” Patricia said. “Certainly, I’d say, in all three phases they’re plays out there that we need to do a better job of, so continually trying to improve this and get it better.”

No offense but this is basically what’s been said every week just change the name of the opponent.

Prescott is a solid quarterback with plenty of talent surrounding him.

On a somewhat positive note, running back Ezekiel Elliott was held to 45 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown. In only one game has he been held to less yards (35) this season. 

Two Cowboys’ receivers — Michael Gallup and Randall Cobb — finished with more than 100 receiving yards. Gallup’s 148 yards were the most he’s had since Week 1. Cobb’s 115 receiving yards were a season-high.

Driskel might be young but he’s not crazy. He wasn’t going to get into a debate on whether the offense is carrying the defense and if there is any resentment in the locker room.

“I mean the beautiful thing about football is it’s a team sport, it’s a total team sport. Our first touchdown of the day they gave us a short field. I don’t know where we got the ball exactly, but they did a nice job of getting the ball off of them,’’ Driskel said referring to the recovered fumble at the Cowboys’ 28-yard line in the first quarter.

“We did a nice job of scoring a touchdown. We got the ball later – I think it was still in the first quarter – around midfield after a huge return, so, it’s a total team game,’’ Driskel said. “I think everyone just has to look themselves in the mirror and see what each individual could have done better to give us a better chance to win.”

No one would disagree.

This team can do better with the talent on the roster, but it is the defense that is holding the Lions back. Of that, there is no question.