Coming off a promising 9-7 campaign in 2016 led by Jim Caldwell, the Lions found themselves sitting in the middle of the 1st round of a 2017 draft that wasn’t an overly strong year. Dominated by offensive players (QBs Trubisky, Mahomes and Watson and RBs McCaffrey and Fournette) in the first 12 picks, the defensive players talent level saw a drop before the Lions were on the clock at #21. Bob Quinn decided to play it fairly safe and go with an inside LB in Jarrad Davis that was impressive, but had a lower ceiling (and less boom or bust chance) instead of Reuben Foster (taken at #31 by SF.) In hindsight, Quinn made the correct LB choice, as Foster has multiple legal issues and was suspended and subsequently released after two years by the 49ers. But there is still a question as to whether Davis has done enough in Detroit to earn the coveted 5th year rookie option. The CBA that recently passed had an update that impact the Fifth-Year options for the 2017 draft class, notably guaranteeing the entire contract (instead of for injury only) and eliminating compensation tied to draft selection. Reports are indicating under the new calculations, in addition to being fully guaranteed, Davis will be slated to make ~$10 Million instead of ~$7.83 Million for the avg of the 3-25th LB salaries for 2020. That would put him right around the 22nd highest paid LB (both ILB and OLB) and tied with Jamie Collins for the LB lead on the Lions. For ILBs, that would make him the 11th highest paid, tied with the likes of Blake Martinez, Eric Kendricks and Benardrick McKinney, all of who are considered superior players to Davis. I think the above info alone will cause the Lions to pass on exercising the deal, as Davis has simply not played to the level of a 1st Rd draft choice consistently enough. In addition, the Lions have a couple of potential replacements in Jalani Tavai and Reggie Ragland (only signed for 2020) on the roster that could fill Davis role moving forward. I don’t expect the Lions to cut Davis this year, as he is slated to only make a base salary of $1,960,798 this year with a cap hit of $3,490,197 thanks to the addition of the prorated $1,529,399 portion of his signing bonus. The dead cap hit is just the signing bonus amount, so the Lions could move on with a net $431,399 to use on another player (Dead cap – Base) if they choose to cut Davis before his contract runs out. As I stated above, that is unlikely to happen, because Davis is still outperforming his rookie deal, it is just the 5th year option money and guarantees that cause the heartburn. The Lions will have to make this decision soon, as the deadline is Sunday May 3rd 2020 to pick up the option. If I had to guess, I would expect the Lions to decline the fifth year, but if Davis plays well enough, offer him an extension more in line with his play and team contributions somewhere during the 2020 season.

Jashon Cornell and John Penisini probably ought not purchase any real estate in Michigan once the state is opened up later this year. Why you ask, because they are DTs that were drafted by the Detroit Lions. I know this seems like such a strange topic, but one of my fellow Lions listers brought up a good point yesterday while talking about A’Shawn Robinson leaving the Lions and signing with the Rams. He said he was disappointed we lost him, and not because he was in love with Robinson, but it was another young draft pick that wasn’t brought back. You know what, not only was he right, but it got me thinking as to who would be considered the last Lions DT draft choice that actually resigned with the team while still under their original contract? My research led me to the NFL.com Draft history, where I started sifting through the Lions previous years draft picks. One thing that quickly jumped out, the Lions have not really drafted many DTs in the last 20 years, apparently choosing to sign them in FA, trade for them or as once the ones they do draft either are cut or leave in FA. They also pick them up frequently as Undrafted Free Agents, but for the purpose of this exercise, lets look at just those the Lions spent picks on: 2020 Lions Draft Picks: John Penisini – 5th Rd Jashon Cornell – 7th Rd Here are the former Lions: PJ Johnson – 2019 – 7th Rd A’Shawn Robinson – 2016 – 2nd Rd Anthony Zettel* - 2016 – 6th Rd Gabe Wright – 2015 – 4th Rd Carrun Reid – 2014 – 5th Rd Nick Fairley – 2011 – 1st Rd (13th Overall) Ndamukong Suh** - 2010 – 1st Rd (3rd Overall) Sammie Lee Hill – 2009 – 4th Rd Andre Fluellen^ - 2008 - 3rd Rd Shaun Rogers – 2001 – 2nd Rd While that list has a whole lot of promise as well as heartbreak on it, it has been almost 20 years since the Lions drafted a DT that they actually resigned while under their rookie deal in Shawn Rogers way back in 2001. The rest of the guys either didn’t pan out and were cut (Hill, Reid, Johnson, Wright & Fluellen), traded (Zettel) or were allowed to leave for greener pastures (Suh, Robinson & Fairley). Only Rogers made it to his second contract, spending six years with the Lions before he was traded to the Cleveland Browns for CB Leigh Bodden and a 3rd that ultimately netted the Lions DT Andre Fluellen. *Played mostly as Strong Side DE in NFL **Suh was wanted back by Lions, but contract from Miami was too much money ^Fluellen was resigned NINE times by Lions, but cut prior to end of his first contract

As exciting as the NFL Draft is every year, the hard reality is that new players being drafted and signed as UDFAs will lead to some churning at the bottom of the roster. Going into the draft, the Lion had 78 players under contract, and with Nine draft picks and seven UDFAs signed, that left the team four rosters slots over the off season max of 80 players. Knowing that and who was drafted and signed, the following four players were released by the team earlier today: Tra Carson RB - No shock that Carson was let go, as he was an emergency fill-in last season when injuries struck. He played in one game (12-34 2.8 YPC) and wasn't effective then got hurt. His fate was sealed when the Lions drafted D'Andre Swift in Rd 2 and then picked up Jason Huntley with their 2nd pick in rd. 5. Casey Tucker OG - Tucker was on and off the Lions Practice Squad two different times last year as the Lions were interested enough to keep him around to see if he would develop. He ultimately signed a reserve/futures contract on 12/30/19, but after drafting Jonah Jackson (Rd. 3b) and Logan Stenberg (Rd. 4), Tucker was caught in a numbers game that led to his release today. Matt Wile P - Much like Carson, Wile was brought onto the team (albeit the Practice Squad) last fall when Sam Martin was having some injury issues in early November. He was never promoted to the active roster, and hasn't been a full-time punter in the NFL since 2018 with the Vikings, ultimately getting cut in favor of P Matt Fox in December. The Lions then signed Wile back on 12/30/19 to a Reserve/Futures deal to compete with Fox. However the Lions signed UDFA Aussie Punter Arryn Siposs from Auburn as an UDFA, leading to Wile's cut today. James Fisher LS - Fisher was signed on 12/30/19 to a reserve/Futures contract to compete with Don Muhlbach yo be the team's Long Snapper in 2020-20921, However, one does not simply compete with Muhlbach, and with the Lions signing UDFA LS Steven Wrirtel from Iowa State, Fisher was the odd man out.

The 2020 NFL Draft is complete and it was a very different draft than we have seen in the past due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We got to see a more personal side of the NFL and the people that make decisions for these teams. We got to see kids, dogs and an insane Bachelor Pad (Kliff Kingsbury). It was good to see this side. It made the entire League look more personable. Also while there were a few hiccups, things seemed to go pretty well. Onto the Lions draft. Thursday and Friday went about as well as any of us could have hoped for, save for a trade back in the first round. The Lions selected the #1 Cornerback and the #1 Running Back with their first 2 picks (Okudah,Swift). Followed by a Pass Rushing Edge in the 3rd (Okarawa) . Very nice work in the first 3 rounds. I may have not taken a RB in the 2nd round but I understand the value and the need. Day 3 things started to drift a little bit. The first pick in the 4th round I am good with as I always like the Big Uglies, it is with the 2 5th round picks that I started to wonder what Bob Quinn was thinking. Another RB and a WR. First of all I know it is the 5th rd and we are probably not talking about players that will make a big impact on the team but there was a lot of good Defensive talent still on the board. Also on the WR – Quintez Cefus, he is so fast that Teez Tabor could guard him!! However his game may translate to the NFL if he can remain physical against much tougher and stronger competition. The last 2 picks might be diamonds in the rough as DT’s, 2 run stuffers. Big bodies that can take up space and work their way into the rotation. Overall I really like Okudah (what is there to not like about him?) I was not enamored with the selection of Swift but they need to try to address the run game in some form. I also liked the pick of the 2 OG in the 3rd and 4th. The Oline needs some talent and some attitude and these 2 bring that. For a letter grade I am going with a B : The pick of Swift, Huntley and Cefus brings this down in my opinion.

That's a wrap on the 2020 NFL Draft, and the Detroit Lions will be in the market to sign a handful of Undrafted free Agents. Unlike past years where the teams has signed upwards of double digits guys in the immediate aftermath, this year there are only a handful of slots open to reach the offseason limit of 90 players. So lets take a look at the guys that appear to be signing based on what they are saying (and confirming) in the Twitterverse..... UPDATE: Quinn on his post draft Zoom call said Lions are signing 7-10 UDFAs, so with 7 in the fold and only having room for 4 when the draft ended, cuts are coming. Jeremiah Dinson - DB - Auburn - Source Bobby Price - DB - Norfolk St - Source Hunter Bryant - TE - Washington - Source Arryn Siposs - P - Auburn - Source Luke Sellers - FB - NDSU - Source Steven Wirtel - LS - Iowa State - Source Jalen Elliott - S Notre Dame - Source

Cornell Ohio State Profile The Lions used their final pick in the 2020 NFL Draft on another Defensive Linemen in DT Jason Cornell from the Ohio State University. Cornell is a 6'3" 285lb hybrid player that can be a run setting DE but slide inside on passing downs to provide some push. The Lions grabbed a massive run stuffing DT in John Penisini in Rd 6, so that leaves Cornell the opportunity to grab some playing time as the flex DT/DE that Hand and Nick Williams are slated for. While no 7th rounder is guaranteed to make he roster, Cornell looks to have an opportunity to be a contributor and earn a spot on the roster of practice squad.

The 2020 NFL Draft was a bittersweet event for me. This season’s draft was impacted by COVID-19, forced onto a virtual event instead of a party in Las Vegas, and represented the first draft in 30 years without my great friend, Ramzi Marrugi. While many things are different, nothing impacted me more personally than to participate in this year’s draft chat without him. Ramzi and I became friends in 1990 when many people didn’t even have a personal computer yet. I came across Ramzi in a Detroit Lions fan group chat where folks were negative and trolling for a fight. I introduced Ramzi to the DetLions email group run by Dave Barstis. From that moment on, Ramzi became a constant in my life. Over the years in the United States Air Force, I was oftentimes stationed in locations around the globe where I could not watch the live games. Ramzi was always there. He mailed me Lions game tapes (on VHS, for those of us old enough to remember them) and gladly called me no matter where I was to talk Lions. He called me his “good buddy Brent” and later in his life called me his “best friend.” He passed away on September 29, 2019 at the age of 87. The rest of the season was not the same for me. I appreciate his wife, Sue, calling me the Sunday before his passing so Ramzi and I could have one last chat. I still often think of that call. To give you a little more context, Ramzi was a father, husband, and grandfather to a fantastic and loving group. When they met me, they all treated me like some sort of idol. “Oh”, they said, “so you’re Brent!” Ramzi treated me like a member of his family. What was the attraction that kept us together over all those years was our loyalty to the Detroit Lions. At Ramzi’s Memorial, his grandchildren sobbed as they talked about his love for his family, cooking, and the Detroit Lions. In fact, they placed a Detroit Lions helmet at the altar during the service. They all knew his love for the team and how special our relationship was. Prior to Ramzi becoming more ill, my wife and I took him to one last game when the Lions battled the Cardinals in Phoenix, Arizona. Ramzi and I both knew this would be his last game. Due to his aging body and need to take things slow, it took us about 45 minutes to make our way into the stadium and about an hour and a half to make it back to the car, after the game. I carefully held his arm up the stairs from our seats behind the Lions bench and soaked the environment up, enjoying every moment as I knew it would be our final event together. Those moments with him still mean everything to me. I am so thankful to Sue and his kids that trusted me enough to escort him to the game that day. This year’s draft chat, an annual tradition for us crazy Lions fans, was not the same without him.We discussed how special the first two days were, the great picks the Lions made in selecting Jeff Okudah, D’Andre Swift, and Julian Okwara.In the end, I believe my great friend Ramzi is influencing the draft, cheering for the Lions picks, sipping a martini, and talking about our annual “Super Bowl” event.I can honestly tell you Ramzi, it is not the same without you.You are missed my friend.

John Penisini Bio at Utah The Detroit Lions finally added some developmental talent to their interior DL by selecting DT John Penisini of Utah in the 6th Rd of the draft. Penisini is a fireplug at 6'1" 318 and will vie for time at the NT spot. With the loss of Snacks Harrison and Ashawn Robinson, the Lions needed some depth behind newly signed Danny Shelton and Nick Williams.

Huntley New Mexico State Bio The Lions second pick in Rd 5 is probably the first pick the Lions made that had me scratching my head. They took Jason Huntley, a RB from New Mexico St who actually posted some decent combine numbers outside of his size. Being the second RB drafted at a position that appeared to be somewhat settled, instead of depth at WR, DE, DT or OL is mainly the reason why it was a surprise. This felt more like a Best Player Available style pick than anything, but a few thoughts below on why. Swift was drafted to be a three-down starting back, while Huntley appears have been brought in as a JD McKissic replacement, as a third down, change of pace that can also return kicks and punts. Looking forward, its possible that Huntley could be the long-term replacement for Agnew at KR/PR as well with Agnew in the last year of his rookie deal. However, from a RB standpoint, Ty Johnson is the one most impacted from a competition standpoint as he showed flashes last year as a rookie, but not enough to cement his role moving forward as a former 6th Rd pick.

Cephus Badger Profile The Lions finally got their WR in Rd 5 of the draft by taking Wisconsin WR Quintez Cephus with their first pick in the 5th. Cephus had a poor combine with a 4.7 40, but elicited high praise from Lions 1st Rd Pick Jeff Okudah, who said Cephus was the "...toughest receiver he covered in college."

Stenberg Kentucky Bio After trading back in Rd 4,m the Lions finally made their pick and took a kid that played in the Senior Bowl as expected. However, G Logan Stenberg Kentucky didn't play for the Lions on the North, but they coached against him as he played for the South. The kid is a 6'6" and 322 ad apparently a road grader in that Kentucky wildcat offense. I think he will initially be a depth player, but the evolution into a full-blown running offense for OC Darrell Bevell is in full effect.

Last day of the 2020 NFL Draft has arrived, and there are a few rumors and tidbits floating around about what the Lions will do with their four picks today. Check them our below in this running thread: My Take: This makes too much sense not to happen. Someone grabbing Hill in next 4 picks ... My Take: Odds Lions stay put seems pretty good with only one pick in each round and most needs filled out.. Once they make their pick at 109, if it is WR or DL, I think we are strictly getting a Punter and depth after Rd 4 ins complete. My Take: Unless they go in the first three picks of Rd 4, I have a real hunch the Lions will take Anae or one of the Senior Bowl WRs in Hill or Gandy-Golden. The addition of Okwara should not deter taking a swing at Anae, he knocked it out of the park at the Senior Bowl and did really well with the coaching from the Lions. My Take: Lets open up with the bizarre reaction of Houston Texans coach/GM Bill O'Brien getting all bent out of shape at his computer while the team was on the clock at the #90 in the third round. Apparently, O'Brien claims that the he had a deal with the Lions, but that they backed out. That happens all the time even though Quinn said they didn't have a deal, so I am thinking that O'Brien overreacted and was forced to make a pick he wasn't prepared for. The bigger question I have is who were the Lions looking to move back into the latter picks of round 3 for? They already moved up to grab Jonah Jackson at #75, so unless O'Brien missed that they Lions worked a deal with the Colts instead 25 minutes earlier, they were sniffing around to move back up again. Looking at what picks have been made, the Lions still need a WR, DT and could always use more depth at Edge/DE and OL. Guess we will find out soon enough.