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Free agency has been underway for more than a week now, and the Detroit Lions' needs have been altered a bit with the addition of Golden Tate. Has this affected how analysts are approaching the Lions' picks in 2014 NFL mock drafts? Let's find out with another update to our Lions mock draft database:
| Site | Name | Date | Round 1 (Pick No. 10) | Round 2 (Pick No. 45) | Round 3 (Pick No. 76) |
| SB Nation | Dan Kadar | 3/17 | S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (Alabama) | ||
| SB Nation | Matthew Fairburn | 3/3 | CB Justin Gilbert (Oklahoma State) | WR Allen Robinson (Penn State) | |
| SB Nation | Multiple people | 3/10 | CB Darqueze Dennard (Michigan State) | WR Kelvin Benjamin (Florida State) | TE C.J. Fiedorowicz (Iowa) |
| CBS Sports | Dane Brugler | 3/17 | CB Justin Gilbert (Oklahoma State) | ||
| CBS Sports | Pat Kirwan | 3/14 | CB Justin Gilbert (Oklahoma State) | ||
| CBS Sports | Pete Prisco | 3/19 | OT Taylor Lewan (Michigan) | ||
| CBS Sports | Rob Rang | 3/17 | CB Justin Gilbert (Oklahoma State) | ||
| CBS Sports | Will Brinson | 3/15 | CB Justin Gilbert (Oklahoma State) | ||
| Detroit Free Press | Dave Birkett | 3/19 | LB Anthony Barr (UCLA) | ||
| Detroit Lions Draft | Darren Page | 2/10 | LB Khalil Mack (Buffalo) | WR Allen Robinson (Penn State) | |
| Detroit Lions Draft | Jeff Risdon |
3/7 | TE Eric Ebron (North Carolina) | CB Pierre Desir (Lindenwood) | WR Jarvis Landry (LSU) |
| Draft Breakdown | Jon Dove | 2/28 | LB C.J. Mosley (Alabama) | ||
| Draft Countdown | Scott Wright | 3/9 | CB Justin Gilbert (Oklahoma State) | WR Jordan Matthews (Vanderbilt) | |
| Draft King | Lou Pickney | 3/9 | CB Justin Gilbert (Oklahoma State) | ||
| Draft Season | Matt Falk | 3/4 | CB Justin Gilbert (Oklahoma State) | ||
| Draft Season | Nik Edlund | 3/19 | CB Justin Gilbert (Oklahoma State) | WR Jarvis Landry (LSU) | S Ed Reynolds (Stanford) |
| Draft Season | Will Lomas | 2/26 | WR Sammy Watkins (Clemson) | CB Kyle Fuller (Virginia Tech) | |
| Draft Season | Multiple people |
3/6 | CB Justin Gilbert (Oklahoma State) | WR Allen Robinson (Penn State) | DE Demarcus Lawrence (Boise State) |
| Draft Tek | Multiple people | 3/18 | S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (Alabama) | LB Kyle Van Noy (BYU) | DE Chris Smith (Arkansas) |
| ESPN | Mel Kiper | 3/13 | WR Mike Evans (Texas A&M) | ||
| ESPN | Todd McShay | 3/6 | WR Mike Evans (Texas A&M) | ||
| FFToolbox | Matt De Lima | 3/11 | WR Mike Evans (Texas A&M) | CB Bashaud Breeland (Clemson) | |
| FFToolbox | Ricky Dimon | 3/3 | CB Justin Gilbert (Oklahoma State) | LB Jeremiah Attaochu (Georgia Tech) | |
| FFToolbox | Rob Warner | 3/20 | CB Justin Gilbert (Oklahoma State) | WR Davante Adams (Fresno State) | |
| Football Fan Spot | Steven Lourie | 2/4 | WR Sammy Watkins (Clemson) | ||
| Football's Future | Robert Davis | 3/6 | CB Justin Gilbert (Oklahoma State) | ||
| NE Patriots Draft | Marc Sluis |
3/5 | CB Darqueze Dennard (Michigan State) | WR Brandin Cooks (Oregon State) | |
| NE Patriots Draft | Mike Loyko |
2/12 | WR Marqise Lee (USC) | ||
| NFL.com | Bucky Brooks | 3/4 | CB Justin Gilbert (Oklahoma State) | ||
| NFL.com | Charles Davis |
3/18 | CB Justin Gilbert (Oklahoma State) | ||
| NFL.com | Chase Goodbread | 3/13 | WR Mike Evans (Texas A&M) | ||
| NFL.com | Daniel Jeremiah | 2/27 | CB Justin Gilbert (Oklahoma State) | ||
| NFL.com | Matt Smith |
3/5 | CB Justin Gilbert (Oklahoma State) | ||
| Optimum Scouting | Eric Galko | 3/12 | S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (Alabama) | WR Kelvin Benjamin (Florida State) | |
| Pro Football Talk | Mike Florio | 3/10 | WR Mike Evans (Texas A&M) | ||
| Rotoworld | Evan Silva | 3/1 | TE Eric Ebron (North Carolina) | ||
| Rotoworld | Josh Norris |
2/17 | S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (Alabama) | ||
| Sports Illustrated | Chris Burke | 2/28 | WR Mike Evans (Texas A&M) | S Lamarcus Joyner (Florida State) |
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| Sports Illustrated | Don Banks |
3/18 | CB Justin Gilbert (Oklahoma State) | ||
| Sports Illustrated | Doug Farrar | 3/9 | CB Justin Gilbert (Oklahoma State) | ||
| USA Today | Nate Davis | 2/27 | CB Justin Gilbert (Oklahoma State) | ||
| Walter Football | Charlie Campbell | 3/17 | WR Mike Evans (Texas A&M) | CB Jason Verrett (TCU) | C Weston Richburg (Colorado State) |
| Walter Football | Walter Cherepinsky | 3/19 | WR Mike Evans (Texas A&M) | CB Keith McGill (Utah) | S Ahmad Dixon (Baylor) |
| Yahoo! Sports | Eric Edholm | 3/18 | OT Taylor Lewan (Michigan) | CB Bashaud Breeland (Clemson) |
Positions (first round)
- Cornerback - 22
- Wide receiver - 11
- Safety - 4
- Linebacker - 3
- Tight end - 2
- Offensive tackle - 2
Exactly half of the mock drafts in our database have the Lions going with a cornerback. 11 mocks have the Lions taking a wide receiver, and third place is safety, which only showed up in four mocks. It's pretty clear at this point that most analysts are expecting the Lions to take a cornerback or a wide receiver in the first round.
Players (first round)
- CB Justin Gilbert - 20
- WR Mike Evans - 8
- S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix - 4
- WR Sammy Watkins - 2
- TE Eric Ebron - 2
- OT Taylor Lewan - 2
- CB Darqueze Dennard - 2
- WR Marqise Lee - 1
- LB Khalil Mack - 1
- LB Anthony Barr - 1
- LB C.J. Mosley - 1
For the individual players, Justin Gilbert remains the heavy favorite. All but two of the cornerback predictions have Gilbert going to the Lions, and he's the clear-cut favorite among all the positions. Case in point: Mike Evans is in second place, and he showed up as the 10th overall pick in only eight mock drafts. If the Lions don't take Gilbert, a lot of mock drafts are going to have the 10th pick wrong (assuming there are no trades, of course).