If there was ever a belief the Lions might draft Liberty QB Malik Willis No. 2 overall, it's time to move on.
With the club's highest pick in 12 years, Dan Campbell said Thursday the Lions are aiming to draft a player who can make an immediate impact on their rebuild.
"You want a guy who can come in and he's a Day 1 starter. That's really what you're trying to acquire. A guy that you feel like can come in, he's going to be able to have solid production for you. You'd like to believe by the time you hit your first game that this player is starting for you and he's going to be able to produce," Campbell told reporters.
While Willis is widely considered the best quarterback in the draft, he's viewed as a project -- not a Year 1, much less Day 1, starter. On the flip side, defensive prospects like Aidan Hutchinson, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Travon Walker and Kyle Hamilton, all of whom have been linked to Detroit, would instantly upgrade the Lions' roster.
Campbell added that positional value doesn't matter to him at No. 2. So a safety like Hamilton could be just as appealing to the Lions as a pass rusher like Hutchinson or Thibodeaux.
"All that matters is, Do we believe this guy can come in and help us right now?" Campbell said. "He fills a need and he can help us right now. He can help us play, no matter what it is.
"There's some guys ultimately that some may say, 'Well, is the value worth it at two?' We don't care. All that matters is this dude is going to come in and play and help us. He's going to be a productive player for a long time in this league for us. That's what matters to us."
The Lions did coach Willis at the Senior Bowl and Campbell had high praise for him on Thursday, calling the dual-threat QB an "explosive athlete." Willis has the potential to be one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and a franchise-changing talent for the team that drafts him. Incumbent Lions QB Jared Goff is neither of those things.
But Campbell, echoing comments he made last offseason before Detroit traded Matthew Stafford, said Thursday "I don't think you need" an elite quarterback to win in the NFL.
“Guys like that are obviously special. And they certainly can give you a better chance," he said. "But no, I don’t believe you have to have one of those guys to have sustained success."
Goff played well for the Lions down the stretch last season, and Campbell and GM Brad Holmes sound much more inclined to build around the former Super Bowl QB than to draft his successor -- at least for now.
"Now, the right guy is sitting there at the right pick at that position, then let’s do it. But we like Goff and I like where he’s at. He finished strong. Keep adding pieces and then, man, whenever that is — is it next year? Is it this year? Is it two years from now? And the right guy’s sitting there, then you figure out a way to get that guy," Campbell said. "You figure out a way when it’s the right guy."
But the right guy for the Lions, right now, is a 'Day 1 starter,' which all but eliminates them from the quarterback conversation at No. 2 -- if they were even in it to begin with.
"We said all along ... what we were trying to build here is from the draft," Campbell said. "We wanted our core to be from the draft. That's where our pool of guys are coming from. You want to build your core that way and you want to develop those players and then you want to sign those players back and then you want to draft some more.
"I just think that's how you sustain in this league. I think that's how you have success, long-term success. That's how you do sustain and become competitive. I think that's the way to go."