By Michael Stets
ALLEN PARK–In the upcoming 2018 NFL Draft, which will be the third under GM Bob Quinn, the Lions own pick No.20. That is just one pick higher than last year’s draft when Detroit used the No.21 selection to take linebacker Jarrad Davis out of Florida. And four lower than in Quinn’s first year as GM in 2016, when the Lions drafted tackle Taylor Decker out of Ohio State with pick No.16.
Will it be advantageous in any way to have this year’s pick in a similar spot as his first two drafts as Lions GM?
“Actually, that’s a good question,” Quinn said on Thursday during his pre-draft press conference. “We actually talked about that a couple days ago in that we’re in that similar ballpark. So, there’s always the guys that you know are going to go before you, right? You can sit there and say, ‘All right, here’s whatever, 10 guys, 12 guys. Under no circumstances they’re getting to you, right?’ And then there’s, ‘Ok, well here’s another eight, say, that all right, out of those eight, which ones do we like?’ Because there’s a chance. And then there’s also that third group is we know these guys are going to be there. You know, do we wait? Do we trade back? So, it is actually pretty good. I mean, three years in a row kind of in the same ballpark, it helps me a little bit I’d say.”
Some pundits say the Lions will draft a running back at No.20, perhaps taking Derrius Guice out of LSU. While others say they will go with either a defensive end like Harold Landry out of Boston College, or a defensive tackle like Da’Ron Payne out of Alabama. There are plenty of variables, of course, with the unpredictability of the NFL Draft, especially the first round, which saw six trades in 2017. So obviously a lot depends on which targeted players will be available when it’s Quinn’s turn to pick.
The third-year GM usually doesn’t give too much away as far as strategy, but he did offer his take on several positions in regards to the first-round pick.
Would the Lions draft a running back in the first round?
“Maybe.”
How about an offensive lineman?
“If he’s a good football player and he’s at or near top of the board, I have no problem taking an interior offensive lineman. I’d say in this year’s class, there are a number of them.”
Whichever side of the ball Quinn decides to go with in the opening round, he explained the necessary prerequisites and characteristics that player must possess.
“I’d say it’s a couple things, playmaking and dependability would be two things,” he said. “You want dependable players in this program. Obviously, if you’re taking them in the first round, they should be good players, right? Or I shouldn’t be standing up here. But I think dependability is something that’s really key with durability, ability to learn, competitive nature, does he love football, passion, all the things that we talk about on a daily basis when we talk about players and the guys we want to add to this organization. So, I think if I had to pick a couple words that would be it.”