Notes: College Football Championship offers many draft prospects for Lions

The Detroit Lions may not have a general manager in place for April’s draft, in which they’ll hold the seventh overall pick. They may not have an offensive or defensive scheme in place, or a set plan for their quarterback situation in 2021 or beyond. They certainly haven’t decided on the fates of their own key free agents like Kenny Golladay or Romeo Okwara.

But that doesn’t mean Monday night’s National Championship Game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Alabama Crimson Tide brings any less intrigue for the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft.

As any college matchup between two of the undisputed best teams in the NCAA (sorry, Indiana), this game will feature plenty of tomorrow’s stars. And since I am not at all a draft expert—especially at this time of year—I will defer to some of the local beat on some of the players you should be checking out on Monday night.

First, MLive’s Benjamin Raven dropped a list of the top-10 prospects to watch, which includes Alabama wide receiver Devonta Smith, who Todd McShay mocked to the Lions in his latest mock draft last week. Perhaps of more intrigue is Ohio State linebacker Pete Werner, who had one of the lowest completion percentages allowed in the Nation.

Erik Schlitt of Lions wire also dropped a thorough scouting report of the game, going position-by-position, noting the top prospects from each team. If you’re looking for a list of guys that aren’t just first-round talents, this is a highly-recommended read.

Finally, Dave Birkett six prospects the Lions should watch, including two front-seven defenders Detroit may have an eye on.

• Their relationship may still be fractured, but the Detroit Lions put together this pretty neat website making a case for Calvin Johnson as a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Last week, Johnson was named one of 15 finalists for the class of 2021.

• For those of you who are huge fans of Lions GM candidate Ed Dodds, you’re definitely going to want to read this piece from The Athletic on him (subscription required). Here are a couple of notable snippets:

• The Lions confirmed the completed interview of Saints assistant head coach Dan Campbell.

• Dan Miller is the GOAT and I will hear no other arguments:

• DetroitLions.com’s Tim Twentyman kicked off his 2020 review series with a breakdown of the wide receivers.

• Jamie Samuelsen, who passed away in 2020 after a long battle with cancer, was named the National Sports Media Michigan Sportscaster of the Year. Well deserved.