After news that the Detroit Lions negotiated Matthew Stafford with the LA Rams in exchange for draft choices and Jared Goff, the 2021 draft scene exploded to include a variety of prospects.
Negotiations are also becoming more fashionable in recent mock drafts, and of the 21 drafts examined this week, we saw four of them involve Lions in a negotiation, including the two new names added to our tracker.
Let’s take a look at what happened last week.
Lions change No. 7 for Washington to No. 19
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, LB, Notre Dame (6-2, 220)
Currently being mocked by Dane Bruglar (The Athletic)
Brugler’s exchange proposal is that Lions send choice 7 to Washington and receive choice 19, number 82 (3rd round) and a 2022 choice from 1st round.
Brugler: “In this scenario, Lions are able to move back a dozen positions, choose a future first-round player and add a versatile defender in defense. Owusu-Koramoah has the speed to mirror the race and create pressure like a blitzer, while also giving Detroit a great cover, which has been an obvious defensive hole. “
Rashod Bateman, WR, Minnesota (6-1, 210)
Currently being ridiculed by Kyle Crabbs (The Draft Network)
Crabbs’ trading parameters see Detroit sending No. 7 to Washington and receiving choices No. 19 overall, No. 51 overall (2nd), No. 114 in total (4th) and its pick in 2022 in the 1st round.
Crabbs: “Detroit must be delighted with how it happened. The team exchanges Stafford for two first futures and a choice of the third round of 2021, in addition to Jared Goff, and then leaves number 7 with a QB-hungry team willing to deliver an additional first round choice for 2022, giving them three next year and two more the next year. And here at No. 19, they hit the best wide receiver available on the board at Rashod Bateman, who won with RPOs and in-break routes frequently in Minnesota and is expected to offer the same value to Goff in the pros. “
Prospects still being projected for Detroit
Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State (6-3, 221)
Currently being mocked by Luke Easterling (Draft Wire), Chad Reuter (NFL.com), Brian Johannes (The Huddle Report)
Reuter: “After the Lions switched to Jared Goff and a lot of choices in the draft, new coach Dan Campbell said the team was growing in two years. Well, selecting the athletic, with strong arms, but inexperienced Lance to learn for a few years behind Goff is in the same vein. “
Ja’Marr Chase, WR, LSU (6-1, 200)
Currently being mocked by Ryan Wilson (CBS Sports)
Wilson: “Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones and Danny Amendola are all moving towards agency and, while Lions will almost certainly try to keep Golladay – who was injured for much of the 2020 season – adding Chase makes a lot of sense not to happen. And maybe now more than ever with the team’s move to QB Jared Goff. “
DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama (6-0, 175)
Currently being mocked by Todd McShay (ESPN), Matt Williamson (Pro Football Network) and Ben Natan (Bleeding Green Nation)
McShay: “If Philly is on the clock and Chase and Smith are still available, you will see some smiles from new coach Dan Campbell and new QB Jared Goff. That would mean that one of the talented pass pickers would be there for them. Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones Jr. and Danny Amendola are all outstanding free agents, which means that the most productive wide receiver on the list that is now returning is Quintez Cephus, a fifth-round newcomer who had 349 yards in 2020. It’s a problem , but not one that the Heisman winner cannot help solve. Smith is explosive, accumulating 1,856 yards and 23 touchdowns in his final year. “
Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama, (5-10, 182)
Currently being ridiculed by Dalton Miller (Pro Football Network), Vinnie Iyer (Sporting News), Eric Edholm (Yahoo Sports), Chris Trapasso (CBS Sports), Josh Edwards (CBS Sports) and Zach Buckley (Bleacher Report)
Miller: “Waddle has the speed to make SEC cornerbacks appear to be trying to load vertically or across the field in quicksand. But he is not just a quick guy. No, Waddle’s ability to change direction is easy and was evident in his progression as a route runner in four games as a junior. Pay attention to your skill as a returner – he averaged 24 yards in punt returns as a second year – and you have the complete package. “
Micah Parsons, LB, Penn State (6-2, 245)
Currently being ridiculed by Michael Renner (PFF), Anthony Broome (Corn and Beer), Dan Kadar (Akron Beacon Journal), Tankathon Team
Both Renner and Broome had Lions negotiate choice 7, with Renner exchanging options with the Broncos (choice 9) and Broome negotiating with 49ers (No. 12).
Renner: “It seems pretty clear that Chris Spielman has been leaving his fingerprints on Lions movements lately. If this continues during the draft, he will certainly be delighted with the size of Parsons’s setback and the skills established in his previous position. Parsons scored the second highest running defense score we gave a linebacker in sophomore year in 2019. ”
Back to the mix this week
Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State (6-2.5, 223)
Currently being ridiculed by Brent Sobleski (Bleacher Report), Drafttek
Sobleski: “Justin Fields of Ohio State would be well served if he went after Goff, learning the system and feeling comfortable with the speed of the NFL before becoming a full-time starter. He is an excellent distributor and athlete based on what the Buckeyes’ technical team asked him to do, although some questions persist about the consistency with which he works in his progressions ”.
It’s not in the mix this week
Zach Wilson, QB, BYU (6-2.5, 210)
Penei Sewell, T, Oregon (6-5, 325)
Rashawn Slater, T / G, Northwestern (6-3, 314)
The most recent simulated sketches tend to leave Wilson off the board before choice 7, while pairing Lions with an offensive tackle may have been just a week’s thing.