DETROIT – Lions will have one of the first seven choices in the NFL draft if they lose next Sunday. And as anyone who watched last Saturday can attest, this seems like a very good possibility.
The Lions were lost by 40 points against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a painful and complete bloody game that earned them another four spots in NFL recruiting. They are now in the seventh overall choice and can still climb to number 3.
The Jacksonville Jaguars won first overall choice and look set to land on the award-winning quarterback Trevor Lawrence. The New York Jets won the second overall choice, despite consecutive wins in the past two weeks, corresponding to the longest winning streak of the entire Matt Patricia era in Detroit. (Yes for sure.)
But Lions can still take any of the next four teams. The Atlanta Falcons, Houston Texans (whose choice is owned by the Miami Dolphins), Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles are all sitting on four wins. They all also have a better winning percentage of the opponent, which means that Detroit is the owner of the tiebreaker over them all. Lions move up another position if they join a loss with a victory from Atlanta, Houston, Cincinnati or Philly.
A victory for all four teams seems especially unlikely, but that would be Detroit’s road to third overall choice.
The last guy to finish seventh overall was a major Lions target, Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown. The two guys before that were Josh Allen, which is definitely not confusing or anything. But Allen’s choice seems to be working very well for Bills, now that he has become one of the best young defenders in the game and has just taken Bills to the AFC East Championship.
The last time Detroit won a division championship: 1993, the league’s longest drought by far.
Detroit could be looking for its own future quarterback in the draft. Allen’s choice was good, but the success in the quarterbacks at that location was hit and miss after that: Byron Leftwich (2003), Andre Ware (1990), Wayne Peace (1984), Todd Blackledge (1983), Phil Simms (1979) and Bill Munson (1964).
Order of recruitment of the NFL (with the strength of the opponent’s schedule):
* 1. Jaguars 1-14
* 2. Jets 2-13
3. Dolphins (via Texans) 4-11 (0.542)
4. Falcons 4-11 (0.550)
5. Bengals 4-10-1 (0.527)
6. Eagles 4-10-1 (0.531)
7. Lions 5 to 10 (0.504)
8. Giants 5-10 (0.506)
9. Panthers 5-10 (0.529)
10. Broncos 5-10 (0.567)
11. Cowboys 6-9 (0.465)
12. Chargers 6-9 (0.490)
13. Vikings 6-9 (0.508)
14. 49ers 6-9 (0.544)
15. Patriots 6-8 (0.529)
* – blocked on choice