Barring a move up the board, the top edge rushers in this year's draft won't be available to the Lions. But they could still find a partner for Aidan Hutchinson with their first-round pick.
With Texas Tech's David Bailey, Ohio State's Arvell Reese and Miami's Reuben Bain Jr. gone in the first seven picks of Daniel Jeremiah's latest mock draft, published Tuesday, the Lions go with Clemson's T.J. Parker at No. 17 overall.
A year ago, this might have felt like a home run pick. Parker was coming off a sophomore season in which he racked up 11 sacks, 19.5 tackles for loss and six forced fumbles. His production fell as a junior, but he's still a well-regarded prospect who had five sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss in two fewer games this season, then lifted his stock with a strong showing at the Senior Bowl.
Parker "bounced back in a big way at the Senior Bowl," per Jeremiah. "I think he’s climbing draft boards once again."
Parker is 6'3, with NFL-caliber strength and length. He would suit Detroit's defense as a powerful edge-setter across from Hutchinson who takes pride in stopping the run. Asked to describe his pass-rush style, Parker told the NFL Network at the Senior Bowl, "I want to start by saying, I play the run very well."
"My philosophy is, you can’t rush the passer unless you can stop the run, and I pride myself on the way I can play the run. And from there, I would say my power, my get-off is everything. I set everything up with power and I work off of that, and just having great hand usage, active hands is what I continue to work on," Parker said.
The Lions were tied for fourth in the NFL in sacks last season as Hutchinson racked up 14.5, but ranked toward the bottom of the league in pass rush win rate, time to pressure, and time to throw for opposing quarterbacks.
Parker acknowledged that NFL teams are asking him about about the decline in his production last season and said the explanation is "simple: my junior year I was surrounded by a lot greater talent, and a lot of those guys made plays, including in my defensive ends room."
"Those plays that they didn’t make last year they made this year, so with the focus being on me a lot game-plan wise coming into this year, it allowed them to make plays," Parker said. "I’m happy for those guys. And the opportunities I did get, I made them, and as the season went on I continued to play better."