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- After being picked by the Detroit Lions in the sixth round, TJ Jones heard from Theo Riddick, who also went to Notre Dame and was once drafted in the sixth round by the Lions (in 2013).
- Jones, who was actually born in Winnipeg, Canada, had an interesting collection of academic interests at Notre Dame.
T.J. Jones, the Lions' latest draft pick, was a film, television and theatre major at Notre Dame with an interest in marine biology.
— Kyle Meinke (@kmeinke) May 10, 2014
- Jones' father, Andre Jones (who died in 2011), was drafted 185th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1991, just four spots ahead of where the Lions took Jones this year (189). What's more, Jones' father actually played for the Lions in 1992.
- Seventh-round pick Nate Freese, who wasn't necessarily expecting to be selected on Saturday, is the first kicker to be drafted by the Lions since 1992, when they took Jason Hanson in the second round. This puts the Lions on pace to draft a kicker again in 2036.
- The Lions thought about taking Freese in the sixth round, but they were able to wait and get him in the seventh round instead.
- Freese actually met Hanson when he visited the Lions before the draft.
(By the way, Freese, who hails from Ohio, said that former Cleveland Brown Phil Dawson was his favorite kicker growing up.)Freese met Jason Hanson on his visit to the Lions, said he'll be able to help him through the process.
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) May 10, 2014
- This is a pretty great quote from Kyle Van Noy:
Van Noy said he scored 18 TDs as a HS receiver. "I love the end zone. I found it in college, and hope to find it in the NFL as well."
— Kyle Meinke (@kmeinke) May 10, 2014
- The Lions already view Van Noy as a starter.
- The fifth-round pick that the Lions sent to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Mike Thomas trade was later traded to the San Francisco 49ers, and they used it to select South Florida defensive end Aaron Lynch.
- Martin Mayhew wasn't exactly thrilled that Joique Bell posted a picture on Instagram that revealed he's dealing with a knee injury. There are worse things you can post on Instagram than a picture that discloses an injury, though. I'm just glad Bell's social media use didn't make the news because he pulled a Kenny Britt or something along the lines of that.