Detroit Lions – Page 158

Lions’ draft pick LB Julian Okwara joins brother Romeo in Detroit

Julian Okwara has always been competitive with his older brother, Romeo. Now the brothers will play on the same team in Detroit.

It was a nice touch, as the TV cameras showed the brothers hugging when Julian’s name was announced when the Lions selected him in the third round of Friday’s NFL draft.

At the NFL Combine in February, Julian said it would be great to play for the Lions because he could get free rent from his brother.

“It’s awesome I’ve always dreamed about this, it’s a dream come true, I’m pretty much speechless, still letting it marinate. I’ll wake up tomorrow and let it set in,’’ Julian Okwara said on a conference call on Friday night.

And, yes, he still plans on a year of free rent from Romeo.

Okwara, who played at Notre Dame just like his brother, was the 67th overall pick of the Lions on Friday night.

Edge rusher was one of the Lions’ biggest needs and Okwara (6-4, 248 pounds) should be able to step in.

“They’re getting a relentless pass rusher, a great defensive end who wreaks havoc in the backfield. I’m looking forward to learning on and off the field,’’ Okwara said. “I’m a dominant player, I’m looking forward to bringing a championship to Detroit.’’

Athlon Sports had him slotted as the fifth best outside linebacker in the draft.

Athlon reported: “He flashes exceptional skills in the pass rush, with good get-off and the heavy, active hands to beat blocks and enough flexibility to turn once he’s softened the edge.’’

In nine games for the Irish in 2019 he had five sacks, seven quarterback hits and two forced fumbles.

His brother Romeo, a defensive end, was undrafted. He originally signed with the N.Y. Giants and was claimed off the waiver wire by the Lions on Sept. 5, 2018. He had 15 starts and led the Lions with 7.5 sacks. In 2019 he had one start in 14 games with 1.5 sacks.

Earlier on Friday night the Lions drafted running back D’Andre Swift (Georgia) in the second round (35th overall).

Later in the third round, the Lions drafted offensive guard Jonah Jackson (Ohio State).

Detroit Lions draft RB D’Andre Swift out of Georgia in the second round

When running back D’Andre Swift was drafted by the Detroit Lions he thought of Barry Sanders, his favorite back of all time.

Sanders, the Hall of Famer, last played in 1998 and Swift, who grew up in Philadelphia, was born in 1999. Doesn’t matter.

“Everybody would always talk about him. I started watching film, highlights and looking at his stats and they were remarkable and unbelievable,’’ Swift said on a conference call on Friday night. “As I got older I tried to make my game to be like his in any way possible. I just love watching him.’’

No one would dare compare the two, but Swift does know a good running back when he sees one. He was ranked by many draft experts — including ESPN’s Mel Kiper — as the best running back in the draft.

The Lions nabbed the Georgia running back with their first pick in the second round (35th overall) on Friday night. Swift ran for 1,218 yards on 196 carries last season (his junior year) for the Bulldogs, averaging 6.1 yards per carry with seven rushing touchdowns.

Swift said he had talked to the Lions a bit more than some other teams, but he had no idea if they were going to draft him.

“I didn’t know it was going to be, that’s the most crazy exciting part about it,’’ Swift said.

He said fans should know that he is “somebody who’s versatile, somebody’s who going to compete everyday, somebody who can do whatever the coach asks him to do.’’ He also said he’s first and foremost a leader.

He will join Kerryon Johnson (Auburn) and Bo Scarbrough (Alabama) in the all-SEC Lions’ backfield.

Detroit did not draft a running back in 2019, but selected Johnson in the second round (43rd overall) in 2018.

Johnson was the leading rusher in 2019 despite playing in just eight games with 3.6 yards per attempt, 403 total yards and three rushing touchdowns. Scarbrough was second averaging 4.2 yards per carry, 377 total yards and one rushing touchdown.

The Lions featured the 21st best running game in the NFL last season, averaging 103.1 yards per game.

Athlon Sports ranked Swift as the top running back prospect calling him the most complete back in the draft class with outstanding vision and patience.

More from Athlon: “He shows good initial burst and runs with excellent balance through contact and enough speed to hit the home run after he slips a tackle. He’ll be an immediate contributor in the passing game as well. Swift has natural hands …”

ESPN’s Mel Kiper had mocked Swift to Green Bay late in the first round.

Swift joins three other Georgia Bulldogs on the Lions’ roster — Matthew Stafford, Isaac Nauta and John Atlkins.

Up next for the Lions on Friday night are two third-round picks — 67th and 85th overall.

Detroit started the draft on Thursday night by choosing cornerback Jeff Okudah with the third overall pick. Rounds four through seven will take place Saturday starting at noon.

Detroit Lions draft CB Jeff Okudah who says his technique is his best asset

Cornerback was one-year starter at Ohio State

Jeff Okudah, the Lions first-round draft pick, says his best asset is his technique.

“I try to sharpen my sword every chance that I can I get,’’ Okudah said on a media conference call late Thursday night.

The 6-foot-1 cornerback, a one-year starter at Ohio State, was a natural fit for the Lions who had traded away Darius Slay to the Eagles.

Okudah, who is from Texas, was the third overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft on Thursday night following Joe Burrow who went to Cincinnati and Chase Young who was drafted by the Washington Redskins.

“It was a feeling I can’t explain. All the hard work, finally I’m getting a chance to get my name called. It was really something I’m going to remember forever,’’ Okudah said.

He became the first cornerback that the Lions have drafted in the first round since 1998 when they selected Terry Fair.

“He’s very aggressive at the line of scrimmage. He’ll play with his hands. He’ll stay square. He’s patient. There’s not a lot of panic down field on some of the shots, really good in transition, has good makeup speed,” coach Matt Patricia said on a Zoom call with WJBK-Fox 2. “Just really overall, hard-working, tough kid, loves to tackle and really just loves the game. He loves to work at the game. Loves to just study every single week. He was outstanding with his recall on his opponents and things like that. Just knew that we had a kid that we thought would be a really good player for us.”

Okudah knew the Lions had interest but didn’t know for certain where he would land.

“I wasn’t really sure of anything coming into tonight because I went into the draft with an open mind, I know a lot of things happen on draft night that are out of your control,’’ Okudah said.

He thinks he can be a good fit in the Lions’ defense, which was ranked 31st in 2019, thanks to his background at Ohio State.

“At Ohio State we played a bunch of coverages. We played Cover 1, Cover 3 and some Cover 4,’’ Okudah said. “I think my background of playing a bunch of defenses. I’m pretty confident I can go in there and be able to learn the defense.’’

It’s going to be all different this spring with the possibility of no team workouts due to the coronavirus shutdowns. Even training camp and the season are question marks.

He wants to learn from veteran corner Desmond Trufant who was signed by Detroit as a free agent.

“I want to be around him a lot, I want to soak up everything he knows, things he wishes he could have done differently, I want to use his trial and testimonies to maybe avoid going through some of the same things,’’ Okudah said.

He was known at Ohio State as being studious and prepared.

On SiriusXMNFL when asked if he was ready to be a lock-down corner for the Lions, Okudah said: “It’s definitely a big challenge. I’m just ready to go into that locker room, begin to earn my teammates’ respect and that’ll be the first step. We’ll go from there after that.’’

He can make an immediate impact, but the Lions will have a chance to work him in slowly since they signed Trufant.

Remember, Darius Slay only started four of the 13 games he played as a rookie. He wasn’t Big Play Slay right out of the gate. Obviously it didn’t mean the Lions had given up on him, but rather they gave him time to soak it all in.

Cornerback is one of the toughest positions to learn in the NFL, but there’s no reason to think that Okudah is not up to the task.

“It’s a crazy feeling being drafted that high. The Detroit Lions think a lot about me, I think it’s up to me to return that and give them all I have, go to work every single day with my teammates and be the best player I can be,’’ Okudah said.

The Lions will have three picks on Friday night in the second and third rounds — 35th overall (second), 67th overall (third) and 85th overall (from the Eagles.) Friday night’s festivities start at 7 p.m. The fourth through seventh rounds begin at noon on Saturday.