Notes: Ohio State CB Jeff Okudah ‘too easy’ of a fit for Detroit Lions

While many Detroit Lions fans are still formulating all of the scenarios in which Ohio State defensive end Chase Young falls to the third overall pick, most draft analysts out there are starting to turn to another Buckeye landing in Detroit.

In Dan Kadar’s mock draft this week, he slotted OSU cornerback Jeff Okudah to the Lions, stating Detroit’s precarious situation with Darius Slay is reason enough to believe Okudah could be their guy.

“If Slay is out, Ohio State’s Jeff Okudah will be in play with the third pick,” Kadar wrote.

He is far from the first to suggest this. A little less than a month ago, ESPN’s Todd McShay mocked Okudah to the Lions back when Detroit was only slated to pick fifth overall.

And PFF is fully on board for this pairing, too.

“He is the number one cornerback in this draft class,” PFF’s Mike Renner said. “He should be, realistically, the first cornerback drafted within the top three picks in a while.”

Renner specifically mentions the Lions as a potential destination for Okudah.

“For our money (cornerback) is the second-most valuable position on the football field. Someone like the Detroit Lions should be more than willing to make Jeffrey Okudah their first-round pick wit hjust how dominant he’s been over the course of his college career.”

PFF’s Austin Gale notes how the fit is just too good in Detroit.

“With Okudah and Ohio State cornerbacks, they play a ton of man coverage. Having that experience, the Detroit Lions fit is too easy. I can’t imagine a mock draft moving forward where you let Matt Patricia, and that man-heavy scheme, pass on Jeffrey Okudah.”

• This appears based on no actual evidence and simply the man’s opinion, but ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. believes—for some reason—that the Lions could be interested in Tua Tagovailoa with the third overall pick.

• Justin Rogers of the Detroit News handed just about every significant Detroit Lions player from 2019 an overall grade for their season’s performance.

• Some Lions rookies made big plays this year. The Lions Twitter account has the top five rookie plays of 2019:

• Meanwhile, Kyle Meinke over at MLive runs down the good, bad and ugly from the Lions’ 2019 free agency class.

• Now that Tua Tagovailoa has declared, Chris Burke of The Athletic ponders how valuable the Lions’ third overall pick is in case of a trade. Jeff Risdon of Lions Wire had a similar post.