The talent-lacking Lions will not be built in a single draft under new general manager Brad Holmes.
So shoring up the offensive and defensive fronts the first two days of the 2021 NFL Draft is perfectly fine.
But Holmes needs to be right on the players. Chances are first-rounder Penei Sewell will standout. He literally checks all the boxes for a Top 3 pick, and the Lions were able to land him at 7th overall.
But are defensive tackles, second- and third-round picks Levi Onwuzurike (Washington) and Alim McNeill (North Carolina State), solid players? Then it really doesn't matter much if the Lions passed on good talent at other positions.
It comes down to Holmes' evaluation skills. This wasn't a deep draft for interior defensive linemen. None, in fact, were taken in the first round. It's why Onwuzurike and McNeill were highly rated for the position.
These are two very different players. Onwuzurike has the skill-set of a hands down defensive end in a 3-4. He is a 3-technique defensive lineman. McNeill is surprisingly mobile with his initial step. He was a stellar running back in high school at 270 pounds, which explains his No. 29 at NC State, but at 6-foot-1, 320 pounds he has morphed into a classic gap control nose tackle. He had by far his most productive college season in 2020.
Each projected as third rounders. Onwuzurike at 41st overall was an outside the box pick. The value of these picks hinges on whether Romeo Okuwara is able to continue his 2020 pass-rush production, and whether his brother Julian, the Lions' third-round pick last year, emerges.
The Lions used the third-round compensatory pick they received from the Rams on Syracuse cornerback Ifeatu Melifonwu. He has off the charts measurables. He is 6-foot-2, runs a sub 4.5 forty and has a 42-inch vertical leap. Melifonwu wasn't used in press coverage much at Syracuse, and his analytics didn't match his raw talent. There are some questions about his toughness, yet aren't obvious. But his ceiling as an outside corner is obviously high and he represents excellent value at 101 overall.
As for Day 3, a receiver who may come into play for Detroit is Stanford's Simi Fehoko. Big, fast and a bit of a project, he is a very high ceiling player based on size-speed ratio. On the opposite end in regard to size, is West Texas slot receiver Jaelon Darden. I'm surprised he hasn't been selected yet. He is extraordinarily shifty and a big play specialist.
