Tag: nfl draft

Lions O-line potential sky-high, just ask D’Andre Swift

No doubt, months away from opening day the Lions offensive line has the potential to be one of the league’s best. 

Of course, there’s a big if. Unlike last season, can they stay healthy?

Lions running back D’Andre Swift said it crosses his mind at least once a day about what could happen next season if the offensive line remains healthy.

The line is set up so that GM Brad Holmes doesn’t need to draft an offensive lineman to make it work.

While all five “starters” O-line starters never played in one game last season, they are healthy and, of course, optimism radiates. It’s that time of year.

“I said it last year, I’m going to stand on it. I think we can be the best in the league, I know we can be the best in the league. We just have to come out to work everyday,’’ left guard Jonah Jackson said.

Projected starters from last year will all return with left tackle Taylor Decker, left guard Jonah Jackson, center Frank Ragnow, right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai and right tackle Penei Sewell (last year’s first-round draft pick).

Due to a slew of injuries they never played in one game together. Decker missed the first six games, Ragnow played in the first four and then hurt his foot and missed the rest of the season.

The good news is that Ragnow is back and participating in offseason workouts which started this week.

“I think being hurt, that was horrible. You just gain a lot of respect for dudes who have had to deal with injuries. It’s a gut-wrenching, man you really don’t realize. Obviously you’re still part of the team but you don’t really feel part of the team,’’ Ragnow said on Thursday.

“When you’re out on the field on Sundays and you’re in your gear, you’re like a gladiator. I’m walking out there in a T-shirt and shorts walking around, it’s a humbling feeling,’’ he added.

Sewell was one of last season’s highlights.He spent training camp at right tackle but when Decker went down before the first game he shifted to the left and did a respectable job.

“He looks the same. He’s a freak show. He’s still a freak show,’’ Ragnow said of Sewell. “Big, strong kid, great energy.”

Having the same guys return is huge.

“Obviously, we would love to all stay healthy, just off-the-field wise and mentally chemistry wise people don’t understand how big that is for offensive lines in particular,’’ Ragnow said. “You have to really know how these guys think, trust these guys and the relationships we’ve developed over five years with me and Taylor and the other guys trickling in here.’’

Five keys from Lions GM Brad Holmes one week before the draft

Of course Brad Holmes is not giving away his draft strategy. Still the Lions general manager, who is entering his second draft with the team, shared a few insights one week before the NFL draft.

The Lions have two first-round picks (No. 2 and 32) when the draft kicks off at 8 p.m. on Thursday, April 28. Overall they have eight picks over the three-day event.

“Right now, we’re in a good place. There are still things that are fluid here and there, there is still some new information coming in as we speak. But we’re confident in our process up to this point,’ Holmes said at a pre-draft press conference on Thursday.

Even though Holmes had a decent draft a year ago, the Lions are coming off a three-win season. That point can’t be overlooked. The team was young and due to injuries many younger players got thrown into the fire. Some found success, others got a little singed but could be better for the experience.

He would not rule out taking a quarterback with the No. 2 pick, insisting he is looking for a game-changer at that pick and every pick. “So, if that position is a quarterback, then it’s a quarterback. Just because often, it’s been slated that, well, picking up there, it’s either going to be a quarterback or a pass rusher or a tackle and all that type of stuff. But look, I said from Day One, give me a game-changer at any position, and there are multiple positions where we do see that potential game-changers could be there in the future,” Holmes said. “Time will tell of course however they develop.”

Five of the key highlights from Holmes on Thursday:

1. With the second overall pick, it’s not just a matter of nailing down his top two prospects. “Anything can happen (on) any day, I will say that. But it’s not just narrowing it down to your top two. You better have your top five. You better have your top 10 in place because you just don’t know what’s going to happen each day,’’ Holmes said. “We do have it narrowed down, and we feel confident where we’re at with how we have it pared down. We’ll just let the process unfold.”

2. He is confident that Dan Campbell and the coaching staff can once again prepare rookies for Sundays in the NFL.  “Like I said, we’re very fortunate and we’re very blessed, and to get into position to have a coaching staff that has a passion of developing, and the proof’s in the pudding. It’s proven; they’ve actually done it. So, it gives you a lot of optimism,’’ Holmes said. Last year’s top pick, right tackle Penei Sewell, was a starter from the get-go. But the staff also got several rookies to contribute including linebacker Derrick Barnes (fourth round) who started six games and played in 17  and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (fourth round) who also started six games and played in all 17.

3. Holmes and his scouting staff aim to find the right balance for a prospect between his college production and potential. “You can’t ignore production, but you’ve also got to look at those critical factors of the actual player. Is he doing everything in his power, does he have the skillset, does he have the traits to do certain things? Does he have the football character? There’s a lot of different factors that can come in that can project to more production when they get into the NFL. How were they used in their scheme in college versus what our scheme is going to be? There’s a lot of different factors that go into that, but you definitely can’t ignore the actual production because that’s real (and) factual,’’ Holmes said.

4. While no one will downplay the importance of the draft, last year Holmes was able to work undrafted prospects like cornerbacks Jerry Jacobs and A.J. Parker into the lineup. That fact could play into draft-weekend decisions. “It just gives you confidence that we were able to identify some of those guys. Being that those guys have a year under their belt, they carry that invaluable experience that they have and that play time into this year. So, yeah, absolutely. It kind of affects a little bit how you look at it, like you can’t forget about those guys. It gets you excited about what those guys are going to be this year coming up,’’ Holmes said.

5. Holmes and coach Dan Campbell proved last season that they don’t look at pedigree or draft credentials when it comes time to getting the best players on the field. “Dan and I have always said you can call us the land of opportunity, but we don’t care where you come from. … If you step in this building, you’ve got an opportunity to compete and it doesn’t matter where you come from. You can talk about meritocracy, in the sense of whoever’s the best is the best. Well, that’s kind of how we approach it because of undrafted free agents.”

Five things to know about the Lions-Cardinals matchup

The good thing for Lions coach Dan Campbell is that he has experienced an unusual number of tough challenges in his first season. 

What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. At least that’s what they say.

Campbell is in for another tough battle on Sunday when the injury-depleted Lions (1-10-1) face the Arizona Cardinals (10-3) at Ford Field at 1 p.m.

The COVID uptick across the league has affected the Lions, but not enough to delay the game.

“Yeah, there is concern, but there is nothing we can do about it. I mean, we’re doing all we can do to prepare for a game. You guys know COVID and football don’t go together,’’ Campbell said. “So, as far as how everybody is dealing with it, we do the best we can with it and we’re trying to keep our guys as safe as possible, but also prepare. We’re trying to be as smart as we can about it.”

Here are five things to know about the matchup:

1. The Cardinals, who are atop the NFC West, have won all seven of their road games this season. “It’s very impressive. They can jump on you in a hurry and then when they do, it takes a lot of pressure off of what you do for them defensively and offensively. I mean, you can open up Pandora’s box because you feel like – and I know defensively, look (Cardinals Defensive Coordinator) Vance Joseph does a hell of a job and he’s got multiple looks, multiple personnels, multiple pressure looks, but it also helps when you know you feel like you can score at will and now, you can really just do whatever you want,’’ Campbell said. “That puts a lot of pressure on teams, and so they work hand in hand, they complement each other well over there, O, D and special teams. And so, you look at it as a challenge. It’s a challenge for most teams, but I think you’ve got to try to make them play your game a little bit if you can.”

2. The lengthy injury list has given others a chance to prove themselves. “That’s a silver lining in all of this and that’s kind of the bright spot is that you are finding out about a lot of these guys that have been backups or have been on the practice squad,’’ Campbell said. “Ultimately, you don’t always know until you throw them into the fire and then you find out about some guys who normally have not had that opportunity like we have. But, we have because of different circumstances and that is a positive. You find out, ‘Do you move forward with these guys? Do you keep them around or are we looking to upgrade? Are these guys we can count on?’ And so forth.”

3. The final four games are important to Campbell. “Look, I think you’re continuing to try to improve on what you do. Like, for example, I feel like our receivers are really coming on over the last three weeks, three to four weeks,’’ Campbell said. “Particularly, these last two weeks I feel like they’re doing some real good things. We’re getting a lot more crisp, a lot more detailed, those guys are making plays. And so, I’m encouraged. I feel like it’s not as cloudy as maybe it was before. You’re starting to see things a little better.’’

4. Campbell was asked this week how much he is paying attention to Michigan and Oregon due to their potential top draft talent. He snapped back, “Zero.” Get this straight, he remains focused on getting this team to improve. He was asked again a few days later.  “Is the draft within the next day or so? Because I would be very interested,’’ Campbell said. “But right now, no, and I really don’t. That’s (Executive Vice President and General Manager) Brad (Holmes)’s department right now. I’m so focused on what we have here and getting prepared for Arizona to be honest with you.”

5. Injuries play a huge role like they have all season. Julian Okwara (ankle) and RB D’Andre Swift (shoulder) are out. In case you missed it TE T.J. Hockenson is out for the rest of the season after deciding to undergo hand surgery. Also, questionable to play are Alex Anzalone (ankle), Michael Brockers (knee), Will Holden (not an injury), Jonah Jackson (back), Josh Reynolds (thigh) and Jaylen Reeves-Maybin (shoulder).

PREDICTION: Cardinals 42, Lions 17