FanPost

Are the trenches really full?

I keep thinking about what Brad Holmes said in his assessment of the Lions... He believes the team is strongest in the trenches and he can now move on to focus on receivers and corners. Is that right?

I look at how the draft is likely to play out and really don't see the move to focus away from the trenches being where quite the best talent will fall to us, or is likely to fall to us in the draft. First off, we should get one of the top two picks and the best players in the draft are Edges. More help for the trenches right?

Round 1 - Overall Pick #2 - Aidan Hutchinson or Kayvon Thibodeaux, Edge - right?

Moving all the way down until the 31st pick perhaps we can look at the draft board and will likely see as the most interesting: S Daxton Hill, S Lewis Cine, ILB Leo Chenal, NT Jordan Davis, DL Devonte Wyatt, and at least a couple more edge rushers, but I'm going to skip mentioning them because I assume we've already got the best in the draft.

Out of these players Wyatt intrigues me the most because Michael Brockers is plagued by chronic injuries that doesn't even allow him to practice, and Nick Williams was our other reliable inside end that is now a free agent. Wyatt would pair up with Levi Onwuzurike to give us a younger energetic long term pairing. Davis is intriguing though for helping to really plug the middle and perhaps match up with Alim McNeill to provide a unique power inside alignment.

Round 1 - Overall Pick #31 - Jordan Davis, NT - just too good to pass on to stop the run.

Skipping down just a few spots to the second round, pick 34, who is likely still on the board? Wyatt might just still be there and as I have said we maybe need to find two replacements for the interior of our D-Line.

Round 2 - Overall Pick #34 - Devonte Wyatt, DL - another strong man for the D-Line.

Going to the 3rd round, pick 66, there's still more help for the defense I think that could be in the cards. ILB Leo Chenal could still be on the board and present the best overall value.

Round 3 - Overall Pick #66 - Leo Chenal, ILB - stopping the run should be a lot easier with the additions that have been made, and I think the secondary will prove to look a lot better with a stronger rush and a line that pushes the pocket.

Round 3 - Overall Pick #101 (compensatory) offers us an opportunity to move away from defense a bit. WR Skyy Moore should be on the board as one of the best talents. CB Marcus Jones is the best return man in the draft, as well as being a very capable corner too. S Kerby Joseph might be an intriguing pick too. LB/CB Jo Jo Domann is another pick that could play either position and improve our pass coverage. My choice is likely CB Jones, because I'm worried about whether Okudah and Jacobs will be fully healthy and ready for the start of the season.

Sadly, with the trade of the 4th round pick, we won't likely have another pick until about the 175th in the 5th round. S Brad Hawkins comes up on my radar as a big strong safety that could possibly earn the starting nod in 2022. He's 6-1 221 and looks like a good value at a position that we're struggling with to pair with free safety Tracy Walker - who hopefully we can re-sign as a free agent.

Round 5 - Overall #175 Brad Hawkins, SS - help is on the way for a position that sorely needs it.

The 6th round rolls around quickly to give us the 180th pick. Most of the highest rated talent on the board are offensive lineman. The top rated might be C Jarrett Patterson. I'm hoping Evan Brown is re-signed so this isn't a glaring need yet he is a highly rated talent. Josh Rivas seems to the closely graded as a G. I have to look a ways down the list to see a few receivers and I don't see a TE worth the pick. Another interior defensive end that is a Detroit namesake holder also seems like a pretty nice talent: Isaiah Thomas DL.

Round 6 - Overall #180 Isaiah Thomas, DL - just feeling like we need to another young talented lineman to shore up our D line.

Round 6 - Overall #216 Charlston Rambo, WR - productive WR might compete to make the roster.

Round 7 - Overall #230 Sam La Porta, TE (Iowa) - might make sense given he was a decent receiver last year.

Round 7 - Overall #238 Nephi Sewell, LB - his brother plays for Oregon, wonder if he's at all related to Penei? Well, he's an active decent prospect where he might prove to be a valuable asset.

All in all, I like how much talent could reinforce the defensive line a lot in this draft and hope that enough help might be obtained later in the draft for other positions. What do you think? Wouldn't having a great D-Line make the rest of the defense better? Wouldn't shutting down the opponent running game make it easier too for our rushers to do their job?

Romeo Okwara - 14 sacks

Aidan Hutchinson - 13 sacks

Julian Okwara - 11 sacks

Charles Harris - 9 sacks

Levi Onwuzurike - 5 sacks

Devonte Wyatt - 5 sacks

Alim McNeill - 4 sacks

Jordan Davis - 3 sacks

That would make us the SACK CHAMPION of the NFL!

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pride Of Detroit or its writers.