By Michael Stets
ALLEN PARK — At the start of the final day of the 2018 NFL Draft on Saturday, the Lions didn’t have a fourth-round pick. But GM Bob Quinn struck a deal with a very familiar dance partner, the New England Patriots, to get back in and select Alabama defensive end Da’Shawn Hand at pick No. 114.
To get back into the fourth round, Lions traded a 2019 third-round pick to the Patriots, which was the second deal with New England in this draft after moving up in the second round to take Auburn running back Kerryon Johnson on Friday. Since taking over as Lions GM in 2016, Quinn has traded with the Patriots six times.
Hand, 22, started nine games for the Crimson Tide in 2017, totaling 27 tackles, 3.5 for a loss, and two sacks. At 6-foot-four and 297 pounds, the Woodbridge, Va. native has the size to play outside in an odd-man front, or inside in an even-man front, depending on how the Lions plan on using him.
Hand will now be reunited with A’Shawn Robinson, his college teammate, and Bo Davis, his former coach at Alabama, who now holds the same position with the Lions.
“It’s going to be a great thing,” Hand, who was at his uncle’s house when he received the call from the Lions, told the Detroit media in a conference call. “I’m just happy that I’m a part of the Detroit Lions and that I know somebody. Bo Davis, me and him we go way back. He helped develop me into the player I am. So I’m just glad to be united with those guys.”
Playing for Nick Saban at Alabama “Trains you to be a pro,” he said. And when asked to describe Davis, he said, he’s “High energy. HIgh intensity. And he’s going to get the best out of you.”
How about his impression of the Lions defensive line?
“WIth coach Bo there I know they have a similar scheme like Alabama did,” he said. “It’s just a whole bunch of dogs and I’m just ready to be a part of that unit.”
Hand said when he got the call from the Lions and spoke to Lions owner Martha Firestone Ford, who he called a “wonderful lady,” head coach Matt Patricia, and coach Davis, it was “Like a movie.”
“It’s like the best feeling in the world. You just worked for so long to get to a goal. It was a childhood dream. And now it’s a dream come true. Now I’m just ready to work hard and do what I gotta do.”