Worst Lions Draft Ever?
There's a lot of material to work with here. Fair over Moss quickly comes to mind. Charles Rogers was a doozy. But this is unreal. Instead of taking Bijan they decide to take a lesser back at #12 that would have absolutely been available at 18. Then at 18 they take a MLB (least valuable position player in the NFL?) that would have absolutely been available at 34. Then at 34 they take the 3rd best TE in the draft instead of the best TE that was taken by the Raiders a pick later.
The lions are that guy in your fantasy league that drafts so poorly every year that you don't even make fun of him anymore. You just encourage him to keep putting his dead money in and keep trying. Or maybe it's just your drunk uncle....
Sam LaPorta is a better receiver than Mayer who isn’t particularly athletic.
This post is bad and you should feel bad.
Agreed. The post of the OC is silly. All 3 picks are solid. Did they reach? Absolutely. But they are picking with the mentality of a contender in the NFC, which they are.
Is LaPorta's nickname, "None?"
Mayer is an excellent route runner whose ability to create separation with physicality getting out of his breaks is outstanding. He is savvy when locating soft spots in zone. His ability to win contested catches is second to none in the 2023 class, and he adjusts to passes thrown outside his frame. Mayer is powerful with the ball in his hands, generating yards by breaking tackles and carrying defenders. He's a tenacious blocker and his technique improved significantly during his three college seasons. -- Steve Muench
Matt Miller's NFL comp: T.J. Hockenson
LaPorta is also a very good blocker and unlike Mayer, is an athletic player who can threaten defenses down field.
"Mayer is an excellent route runner whose ability to create separation with physicality getting out of his breaks is outstanding." - sounds pretty athletic to me.
Whatever - Holmes has been great so far and he's paid to do this, but these picks are interesting.
Also in the context of watching Iowa flounder against Michigan the past two years, neither LaPorta nor Campbell stood out (at least not in a positive way).
I can't believe I'm actually defending a Notre Dame TE.
Damn you, Brad Holmes - this is your fault!
I guess i don’t get your claim. You don’t need to quote draft analysts or experts as your evidence in this particular case of comparing draft-eligible TEs.
Just go watch some highlights and it’s clearly visible the differences between Mayer and LaPorta. One is a blocky, bulky run-blocking TE with great hands but lacks speed and general athleticism that recent hybrid TE have. The other TE clearly runs crisper routes, has pretty decent over the middle speed and breaks tackles in the open field but isn’t someone you’re going to consider a 6th OL or can dominate as a run blocker.
I’ll let you determine who is who. Not that hard.
The vast majority of scouts, analysts, and draft peeps had Mayer as the second best TE behind Kincaid.
Ultimately, the only opinion that matters is the Lions at 34, but take off Honolulu Blue and silver tinted glasses with the "it's obvious" stuff, because it really isn't except to the Lions fans (and not even the fanbase is at a consensus).
Look at their combine comparisons. La Porta is superior in every way.
Yet you keep doing it
Laporta was the franks red hot of the Hawkeye offense, they put him on everything……he WAS the Iowa offense for the past couple years…..Campbell is a bonafide playmaker and one of the best LBs in college football. For the lions he’s Chris Spielman pt2.
Mayer was one of the least athletic TE in this draft his RAS score was in the 20s. It was like 6 or 7. Schoonmaker was the 3rd rated and would have preferred him over Laporta but Laporta is way more athletic then Mayer and blocks just as well and you have to admit Iowa does know how to make future TEs for the NFL. Would not want a 0layer that is comparable to TJ who to me is just an average TE or slightly above. We were better without him. His blocking was subpar and he isn't that athletic. So a guy who is like TJ hell no.
April 28th, 2023 at 10:29 PM ^
On RAS score:
"The Chiefs selected Brian Johnston during the seventh round in the 2008 NFL Draft. He earned a perfect 10 RAS. Before he was released, he played in only nine games for KC.
However, players with low RAS can become great players. Tom Brady had a 1.49 All-Time low score and was quite good, hell he was great, so the scores are not everything."
LaPorta could end up being great and Mayer could end up being terrible. They could both be great, or they both could be terrible, too.
Consensus was that Mayer was a better NFL TE prospect to most observers who make a career evaluating these things. Not sure why everyone is so shocked that some are questioning taking LaPorta over him, especially after the first two picks where again, consensus is that Detroit was reaching.
Holmes has a great track record so far, and some GMs are great, until they aren't. I don't think this is the worst draft ever by the Lions, but do the picks look a little reach-y vs the home runs last year? Yeah, probably.
Aren't we only a year removed from when the Lions were given high praise for their drafting acumen? A year later, the same GM is your drunk uncle. Speaking of drunk, perhaps the OP should put down the bottle and call it a night.
These picks are the epitome of the drunk uncle.
Your drunk uncle who thinks the 2nd or forbid 3rd or 4th best RB at TWELVE?? What a joke.
LB who would have been there in the 2nd OR 3rd round?
What a joke.
Then a GD SAFETY when DL and CB are the pressing needs?
SOL. Always and forever, Amen.
Who is the savant deciding the position rankings of players you're using? There's a reason mock drafts and "best player available" rankings are NEVER remotely consistent with the actual draft. Because the pundits making them are doing it with 10% of the information and 10% of the football acumen. What a terrible take. Feels like trolling it's so dumb. Maybe it is.
Mock drafts are for the idiot fans who can't wait till draft day and must dream about something related to the NFL. They have no bearing on reality and if the people making the drafts were any good at it they would work in the scouting departments of NFL teams.
While, drafting a RB at 12 is the epitome of reaching, Gibbs is the consensus #2 RB in this draft. He is an offensive weapon with his speed/agility/hands/catching ability. He is durable enough to be a 3 down back. Think of Alvin Kamara...
Nephew, the whole problem with evaluating draft picks after the draft is that none of the picks have even played yet.
You have no idea of this is a good or bad draft because none of them have played yet.
Your confidence in your own draft preferences is amusing, though.
It's hilarious how everyone becomes a fucking expert on player evaluations and team needs during the draft.
CB wasn’t a need. Sutton & Moseley are your starters along with CJGJ.
“bbuuut one year contracts!”
theres these things called “contract extensions”, maybe you’ve heard of them?
”but that guy would’ve been there in x round!”
you know that for sure? You have each team’s grades on these guys?
Holmes grabbed the guys he wanted when he wanted them. I see no problem with that.
Brian Branch played both safety and corner at bama. The lions like versatility in their DBs.
Blindly believing in Holmes.
Got it.
Until he fucks one up, yes.
The draft is only 3 rounds in and you're calling it the worst ever? Without seeing how they contribute 2-3 years down the road? Did you start on the sauce a little early this Friday?
Not sure how you could say Gibbs would be there at 18 when theres reports he was going to be the patriots pick at 14 and giants were looking to move up for him. Bijan and Gibbs are completely different players. We dont need a rb like bijan, we have Montgomery. We needed to replace swift and gibbs does that. I dont get the hate on holmes. Were clearly in a win now mode with the division up for grabs.
Lol the Patriots were reported to pick him at 14.
Lololololololol
Belichick is the master of the draft. The Lions reached for a stupid pick once again.
How have Belichick and his draft picks fared post-Brady?
There was a stat floating around a year ago that the Pats have drafted two Pro Bowlers since 2013, and one was a punter who they then wound up releasing this year only 3 years after drafting him.
Brady covered up for a lot of mediocre drafting by the Pats over the past decade or so.
April 28th, 2023 at 10:44 PM ^
Lololol you're so wrong. When we picked Gibbs ane Branch the Pats traded their pick right after. BH fucked BB twice in one draft. So tell me how BB is a master manipulator,
April 28th, 2023 at 11:13 PM ^
Exactly, that should be everyone's first clue that a player a team wanted got drafted. Not only the Pats, but the JETS were also lined up to pick Gibbs at 15. So the silly narrative by BPONE Lions fans to wallow in their own misery is just that.
Also it was reported by the Giants and Falcons they were going to take Campbell at 25 (NYG) or the end of the first round (Falcons).
People also need to acknowledge that by trading down (right after Holmes missed out on Weatherspoon - again traded right after missing a widely accepted player at #6) and now has Gibbs AND LaPorta.
As for the LaPorta pick, one only needs to look at the big picture here. Last year they took Jmo (fastest WR). This year they took Gibbs (Fastest RB) and now picked a route running pass catching TE. All matched up with Amon... Are we seeing a trend here or does it have to be spelled out....?
The Lions are transforming their offense to more of a spread look with multiple athletes in open space that can create havoc on defenses. Oh and by the way they just took a QB that played in a spread type offense. Coincidence??? Only to the BPONE Lions fans. Holmes plan is coming out. On offense, speed kills. Get playmakers in space...
You don't know what team would have drafted him at what draft position and you never will...LOL!!!
A regular Josh Gattis?
April 29th, 2023 at 12:18 AM ^
Athletic reported the Jets were going to take him at 13, but after the shlubs they drafted last year, what do they know?
So you have access to each team’s big boards?
You must be a new lions fan, next year has been THE YEAR, since 1922…win now (ever) is not what the lions and/or the fords do!
April 28th, 2023 at 11:15 PM ^
Only since 1956.
April 29th, 2023 at 12:18 AM ^
That doesn’t even make since considering the Detroit Lions have existed since 1934 AND they’ve won championships in 1935, 1952, 1953, and 1957.
now you're just making up memes
Did you or some media outlet interview every GM in the league to be “absolutely” sure those players would be available later?
yep, basically. I do a draft fantasy pool every year so I read through dozens of mock drafts. The highest any of the dozens had gibbs going was 27, not a single one had him even in the teens, let alone 12.
of course mock drafts are just that, mocks. But data is data, and that cannot be denied.
he might end up being good, but I would have bet a lot of money that gibbs would have been there at 18, and I am sure I'm right.
Data is data, but a mock draft is not actual data. Look at the mock drafts from any year and see how accurate they are past the first few picks. I’m not saying the players wouldn’t have been there later, but based on the reports that have come out it seems like they wouldn’t have.
Regardless, any hot take that says a draft is worse than a Millen era draft is likely to be very wrong.
I looked at dozens of NCAA tournament brackets created by media experts and none of them had Purdue losing to Farleigh Dickinson. Data is data.
Predictions/guesses aren't data.
Especially mocks, which try to predict what teams *will* do, not what they should -- thus citing them as evidence doesn't really make sense, as they obviously got it wrong
Also these mocks =/= actual NFL draft boards. If they though Gibbs was top 5-10 value for their needs, it only takes one other team who feels similarly to steal him away
Sorry to be that guy, but actually data are data.
As for the rest, I'll wait to see the results on the field before passing judgement one way or the other.
And garbage data will always be garbage data. Mock drafts aren't worth the paper they are printed on. Do GMs make mistakes, absolutely! But they have a million times more information than we do and they *literally* get paid to do this.
+1 grammar
(I understood your comment)
It took me 10 seconds of Googling to see that Walter Camp football mocked Gibbs to Detroit at 18. So yeah, mock drafts are a data point but it does seem like you might have missed some data.
https://walterfootball.com/draft2023_1.php
April 28th, 2023 at 11:43 PM ^
I read several Jets-related reports that suggest Gibbs would NOT have been there at 18.
I realize "the Jets were gonna do it too!" isn't the strongest endorsement of the pick itself, but there you go.
April 29th, 2023 at 12:20 AM ^
They drafted the offensive and defensive RoYs last year...
It's a pretty solid endorsement.