Lions mock draft: How Detroit may use their picks on Day 3

What a first couple days the Detroit Lions have had in the 2023 NFL draft. Every emotion you could possibly feel has been felt. Happiness, bewilderment, anger and then happiness again. It’s like watching Grey’s Anatomy. Or at least what I think Grey’s Anatomy is in my head.

On to Day 3. The pickings are quite slim for the Lions at this point. After trading all over the board in the first two days, the Lions only have two picks left on the final day of the draft at the moment. They could make some moves to get some more picks. Perhaps the Lions move D’Andre Swift on Saturday and grab a fourth or fifth-round pick? Who knows at this point?

As for those final two picks that the Lions already have in hand, here’s who we’re mocking to them. We used Pro Football Network’s mock draft simulator to do this mock draft.

No. 152: Andrew Vorhees, OG, USC

A bit of a steal here. It’s also a bit of risk. The Lions need help at guard. Unfortunately, the Lions missed out on all the top guards available this year. Luckily for the Lions, there’s one interior offensive lineman who slipped all the way down to 152 after suffering a torn ACL at the NFL Combine.

Andrew Vorhees has all the versatility the Lions love along their offensive line and his pre-injury athleticism fits what the Lions want in in their prospects.

The bad news is that Vorhees probably won’t play at all in 2023, but the Lions don’t really need him to. Graham Glasgow and Halapoulivaati Vaitai can hold down the guard spots and provide some real mentorship to the rookie while he gets healthy. It’s a perfect landing spot for Vorhees: he gets the time to heal and study under a pair of superb veterans. Everybody wins here, because the Lions get a potential starter at a discount price on Day 3.

Also, is there anymore that qualifies more as a “Dan Campbell guy” than an offensive lineman who comes back to the NFL Combine a day after tearing his ACL to do the bench press?

No. 249: Michael Jefferson, WR, Louisiana-Lafayette

Much like there are no rules that say a dog can’t play basketball, there are no rules that say the Lions can’t grab another offensive weapon. After losing Stanley Berryhill and Quintez Cephus to suspensions and releases, the Lions could use a depth guy with upside on the roster.

Louisiana-Lafayette’s Michael Jefferson could be that guy. At 6-foot-3, Jefferson has that X size the Lions could use. Jefferson also has some nice speed with the big strides that he takes, and posted a 4.56 40-yard dash at the combine. It’s not incredible speed, but still speedy. The thing that jumps off the page for Jefferson is his elite level vertical leap, which was officially recorded at 37 inches. That’s the kind of thing that can help a guy go up and grab contested catches.

Take a look at what Jeffersoncan bring to the field here:

Here’s the thing with Jefferson: he was hit by a drunk driver on Easter night and suffered serious enough injuries to keep him hospitalized for two weeks. Due to those injuries, it is believed that he will miss the 2023 season.

I know that it doesn’t sound great to pick two injured players who probably won’t see the field this year, but these are two high character guys with traits that the Lions have shown that they love. And you’re getting them for pennies instead of dollars. It’s worth a shot for the Lions to continue to find talent deep in these drafts, especially since they’re in a position where they don’t have to rush either player into the starting lineups.