OT: Lions drafted a Buckeye at #3 just three years ago, now trading him for a 5th-round pick

Submitted by Cousin Larry on April 11th, 2023 at 12:21 PM

CB Jeff Okudah is being traded to the Falcons for, yes, a fifth-round pick in the upcoming draft.  He had played three years with the Lions, and had never once shown the value of a top-3 pick.

Not sure if this reflects more poorly on Ohio State or on the Lions (at least, the former regime).

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ldevon1

April 11th, 2023 at 2:54 PM ^

Dude I agree with you 100%. I have watched that guy and I'm just not impressed. Maybe that's the wrong word. I don't think he is a superstar talent. Now if he's there I think you have to take him because he fills a position of need and will be good, but I'm not putting together a package to move up to get anybody in this draft. 

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SalvatoreQuattro

April 11th, 2023 at 4:11 PM ^

I disagree. I think he is a fantastic player who will be along the lines of Khalil Mack in the NFL.

He was the best player on Bama. I would say that guys benefitted from him not vice versa.Teams schemed to stop Anderson.

Anderson and Hutch coming off the edge….holy shit.

Anderson does need work with coverage but he has the athleticism to be good at it eventually.

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Perkis-Size Me

April 11th, 2023 at 3:39 PM ^

I personally only move up, in this situation, if you can look at Will Anderson or Jalen Carter and say "This is the last guy we need to be a Super Bowl contender." 

The Lions are clearly moving in the right direction, but they need help in quite a few areas. I would not sacrifice draft capital to get either of these guys. Now, if Will Anderson just happens to be there when you pick at six, you take him. But I would not move up to get him when you need help in other places and will likely have to sacrifice quite a bit of capital to get him. But if you think he's the difference between winning a Super Bowl and not, or he's a guy you can look at say "He's going to be an All Pro for us for the next ten years," then I guess go for it? 

I don't know. This is why I'm not an NFL GM. 

As for Jalen Carter, he's throwing up quite a few red flags lately. Completely independent of the street racing issue, he didn't perform well at Georgia's Pro Day and to my understanding when listening to local radio down here in Atlanta (and these folks cover Georgia players extensively), he's rubbed quite a few teams the wrong way, to the point where some teams have taken him off their board altogether. 

I'm not moving up and mortgaging my team's future for that guy, and I'm not 100% sure I'm taking him if he's there at six, either. If I think he's going to be a problem in the locker room, especially for a team like Detroit that can't afford any setbacks, I think I take a pass on him and live with the results. 

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Maersk

April 11th, 2023 at 6:12 PM ^

WR is far from set. ARSB is the only proven commodity. JAMO is unknown/unproven, MJJ is a depth guy on the wrong side of 30, the rest of the guys at the position are utility players, no one currently on the roster is gonna step into Chark’s role and produce like he did the second half of the season when he was healthy. A WR earlyish (Cedric Tillman, AT Perry, maybe even Quentin Johnson) is a distinct possibility.

 

RB isn’t set, at least longer term….can’t count on Swift to stay healthy and there isn’t much depth behind him or Montgomery. Wouldn’t be surprised if Bijan Robinson or Jahmyr Gibbs ended up on this team.

 

LB was a weak spot last year but they seem to love Anzalone so I’m not expecting much movement on that front.


Id expect a DT taken early. Jalen Carter, depending on how his interview with the lions went, could very well be the pick. Keeanu Benton, Calijah Kancey or Siaki Ika will be in play if he’s not.

A CB will be taken, probably early-ish.

 

 

 

 

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nerv

April 11th, 2023 at 10:47 PM ^

Starters being set doesnt mean those starters dont need to be upgraded. The Lions need a guard. I think WR has been discussed but they seem a bit thin at WR to me for sure. While I wouldn't spend high draft capital on a RB both Montgomery & Swift have been injury prone and a late round back is probably a good idea if you keep your picks. 

Anzalone is a below average starting NFL MLB and I would personally love to replace him with a Jack Campbell. Rodrigo you probably see what you can get out of him for another year or two. But our LB are still pretty weak. Our pass defense was -terrible- last year and we just traded one of our starting CB's plus 2 of the 3 DB's we just signed are on 1 year contracts. DT is a weak point that needs more talent overall but specifically a penetrator at 3-tech. Everybody always needs more quality edge talent forever no matter what.

The Lions are the NFC North favorite but theyre far from a team lacking needs.

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Blinkin

April 11th, 2023 at 12:28 PM ^

Kerry Coombs was pretty well known as someone who could recruit very talented athletes, and then not do a damn thing to actually coach them.  Okudah is the prime example.

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Bo Harbaugh

April 11th, 2023 at 9:32 PM ^

D-line from the Urban era were elite. Now, however, the only Buckeye position group I'd feel comfortable drafting is WRs.

O-line and D-line look poorly coached and soft, secondary is just a bunch of elite athletes, poorly coached and running in circles, and we all know their history of NFL QB's.

 

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alum96

April 11th, 2023 at 1:06 PM ^

Hurts was not seen as a 1st round talent @ that time and Herbert was seen as a non alpha yada yada.

Tua was the main consideration for that pick at the time.  But unfortunately it was a regime which was on it's last leg and knew it so was not drafting for 2 years down the line but immediacy.  

Always easy to look back in retrospect "Justin Jefferson at 22!" So 21 idiotic franchises passed on the best WR in all of football. 

More relevant hurts to see a guy like Sauce drafted in similar spot 2 years later and be CB1 or CB2 in all of NFL as a rookie.  And Antoine Winfield Jr another B10 CB in that draft made his first pro bowl this past year. 

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blueandmaizeballs

April 11th, 2023 at 4:38 PM ^

Sauce I think was rated as best CB by PFF or some place that does analysis like that.   Winfield is a Safety and I wanted the Lions to draft him so bad I knew he was going to be a stud.   His dad was so good.    Also since you mentioned LSU WRs Holmes wanted to draft Chase but I think the asking price for that pick was to rich for them to swing it. 

Also regarding Hurts I never understood why people didn't think he was worth a 1st Rd pick.   I liked him alot and thought he was better then Tua. He is more athletic and to me arm strength went to Hurts.  Also left handed QBs are harder for some WRs to catch and are just different then a righty for offenses. 

 

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bronxblue

April 11th, 2023 at 12:56 PM ^

I didn't like him much coming out of college so not a huge surprise he didn't pan out in the pros.  Both him and Damon Arnette seemed like physically-talented guys with mediocre coverage skills.

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alum96

April 11th, 2023 at 1:12 PM ^

Lions are paying $5M of the salary so that helps.  Think it's good for both teams really - Lions got a look see every day at him and didn't like it so got salary cap relief $5M themselves, and a throw in pick.  Falcons got a still young guy who has all the measurables but looks broken so maybe they can fix him (doubt it).  But most 5th rounders barely hang around in the league so think it works for both.  Jacobs is better than Okudah so it is what it is.  New regime.

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