Detroit Lions Podcast Mock Draft: Post Super Bowl Edition, Picks 11-21

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Welcome back for part two of the Detroit Lions Podcast Mock Draft: Post Super Bowl Addition. Today’s article contains picks 11-21, with the final 11 coming out tomorrow. If you missed yesterday’s installment be sure to check it out here. As always there is a condensed version of these picks at the bottom, this time with the current mock draft run down with picks one to 21. Again I have Ash Thompson and Brandon “the Temp” Knapp with me running through their picks so lets jump back into it.
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  1. New Orleans Saints

Ash’s Pick: Marlon Humphrey, CB, Alabama

Brandon’s Pick: Jamal Adams, Hybrid, LSU

Adam’s Pick: Quincy Wilson, CB, Florida

There are several brutal secondaries in the NFL, the Saints certainly boast one of them and have for some time. Brandon went the most interesting route, slotting Jamal Adams in with New Orleans after they already added stalwarts Kenny Vaccaro and Von Bell in recent drafts. He sees Adams though as more of a hybrid linebacker then a true safety. He can come in for nickel packages or even some base sets as an undersized coverage linebacker and help prevent teams from moving up and down the field with ease through the air. Ash and I both went corner here as getting some help for the oft injured Delvin Breaux is the more blatant need. Humphrey and Wilson are both pretty similar players and they both have the physicality and toughness that hopefully can matchup with Julio Jones, Kelvin Benjamin, and Mike Evans twice a year. Ash prefers Humphrey for the pedigree and technique, I’ll take Wilson for the playmaking ability and potential upside.

 

  1. Cleveland Browns

Ash’s Pick: Cam Robinson, OT, Alabama

Brandon’s Pick: Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson

Adam’s Pick: Mitch Trubisky, QB, North Carolina

With the Browns second pick in the top 15 they now need to look on the other side of the ball for some offensive support. The first inclination there would be to try and get a desperately needed quarterback. Brandon sees the future there for Cleveland in Deshaun Watson who Hue Jackson would certainly be interested in as potentially the next RG3, the player he wanted so bad to rehabilitate. While I gave Cleveland Trubisky as the default selection after Watson and Kizer left the board, reports have indicated he’s Jackson’s preferred option anyways. As someone they even debated taking over Garrett at one, so if they could get him at 12 I’m sure they would be ecstatic. Ash decided to go in a different direction with Cam Robinson at tackle for a very fair reason; Cleveland knows what happens when you draft a new quarterback and cant protect them. Focusing on plugging holes on the offensive line before bringing in a rookie signal caller is a smart way to look at things especially considering they have a long way to go still before being a contender anyways.

 

  1. Arizona Cardinals

Ash’s Pick: OJ Howard, TE, Alabama

Brandon’s Pick: Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan

Adam’s Pick: Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan

Arizona has to make moves here to try and pry open the very last seconds of their championship window. It seems like Fitzgerald, Palmer, and Ariens are in for one last ride to try and get a title and to do that they are going to need some weapons. Brandon and I both got Corey Davis, the slowly becoming consensus best receiver in the draft. Filling Michael Floyd’s departed role opposite Larry Fitzgerald to serve as an immediate upgrade on the outside, and learn from Fitzgerald to become the future number one after he’s gone. Ash’s pick of OJ Howard would be a great pick as well as the Cardinals haven’t had really good tight end play in a long time. He could help improve blocking for David Johnson in the run and provide an option over the middle in the passing game to help take over some of John Brown’s production who’s never been the same after his cycle cell diagnosis. That might just give the Cardinals the most bang for their buck after Howard showed why he’s a special tight end in the senior bowl.

 

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  1. Indianapolis Colts

Ash’s Pick: Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida St

Brandon’s Pick: Ryan Ramczyk, OT, Wisconsin

Adam’s Pick: Derek Barnett, OLB, Tennessee

The Colt’s are completely devoid of talent throughout their roster thanks to the ineptitude of ex-GM Ryan Grigson so really almost no selection here is bad. Dalvin Cook, as Ash pointed out, if available could be a huge help to their run game taking pressure off of Luck and a weak offensive line especially considering Frank Gore is there to help mentor the young speed back. Brandon chose to go more methodically here, identifying the Colt’s biggest need as the line and targeting it. Ramczyk can come in and be a starting quality piece for them somewhere on their offensive line, and gives them the flexibility to move a promising tackle prospect inside while they groom a LaRaven clark to take over the left tackle spot for Castonzo sooner rather then later. I see the most obvious spot to address in this draft though is at edge rusher, especially when you consider Robert Mathis’s retirement. The best edge rusher they currently have signed is rookie undrafted free agent Curt Maggit, that needs to be changed. Bringing in fellow Vol Derek Barnett would be a great value for Indy here and provide an immediate upgrade on the uninspiring mess the Colts displayed last season.

 

  1. Philadelphia Eagles

Ash’s Pick: Sidney Jones, CB, Washington

Brandon’s Pick: Marshon Lattimore, CB, Ohio St

Adam’s Pick: Mike Williams, WR, Clemson

Watching the Eagles last year it was painfully clear that they had to upgrade their skill position talent. Their cornerbacks are uninspiring and their receivers all need counselling for various reasons. Needless to say this is where they should focus their efforts if possible. Jordan Mathews is a nice piece but he’s more of an underneath WR2 then a true number one and I have no faith in Agholor or DGB long term at this point. If Mike Williams made it down to 15 I’m sure they would run the pick up to the podium. Brandon and Ash both rightfully saw a need at corner and both plugged their best available corners in to Philadelphia. Lattimore provides the best upside, while Sidney Jones probably offers the most refined, pro ready product of any corner in this draft, excelling in both man and zone schemes.

 

  1. Baltimore Ravens

Ash’s Pick: Mike Williams, WR, Clemson

Brandon’s Pick: Tim Williams, OLB, Alabama

Adam’s Pick: Marlon Humphrey, CB, Alabama

Baltimore is a team at this point with some talent at a lot of positions but they aren’t really elite or even dramatically above average in any one area. Expect Ozzie Newsome’s best player available strategy to be clear at work here taking the best player that falls to them. In Ash’s mock he sees that guy as Mike Williams who would create a very nice long term pairing with Breshad Perriman to help deal with the loss of Steve Smith. Brandon went with Tim Williams to help provide some youth on the pass rush as that is a huge need and starters Suggs and Dumervil are both on the decline at this stage. Based on what played out in my mock I like Marlon Humphrey here. Since moving Ladarius Webb to safety the Ravens have been light at the corner position and need a starter opposite Jimmy Smith to lock things down on the other side of the field.

 

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  1. Washington Redskins

Ash’s Pick: Zach Cunningham, ILB, Vanderbilt

Brandon’s Pick: Solomon Thomas, OLB, Stanford

Adam’s Pick: Solomon Thomas, OLB, Stanford

Washington has largely ignored their defense over the last few years as far as the draft has been concerned and this should be the time to address major needs. They would be absolutely thrilled to take Solomon Thomas here and bolster an already strong pass rush. While it may not be a major need Ryan Kerrigan is a bit injury prone and the value for the selection here would be just too much for Washington to ignore. Ash went with more of a blatant need in inside linebacker Zach Cunningham, who would immediately upgrade coverage ability and athleticism on the Redskins defense at a position that desperately needs it.

 

  1. Tennessee Titans

Ash’s Pick: Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan

Brandon’s Pick: OJ Howard, TE, Alabama

Adam’s Pick: OJ Howard, TE, Alabama

On top of having no corners, the Titans didn’t have much in the way of quality targets for Marcus Mariota last season. They smartly gave up on projects Justin Hunter and Dorial Green-Beckham but now they need to get some more players for their young quarterback to throw to, especially if Kendal Wright leaves in free agency. Corey Davis if available would be an obvious selection at this stage as he would walk in to the WR1 job. A really interesting fit though that both Brandon and I jumped on was OJ Howard. Delanie Walker doesn’t have many years left and Anthony Fasano is hitting free agency. Howard could serve as the heir apparent to the starting tight end role and give Tennessee hands down the best tight end duo in the league for a year or two until Walker’s career winds down.

 

  1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Ash’s Pick: John Ross, WR, Washington

Brandon’s Pick: Malik Hooker, FS, Ohio St

Adam’s Pick: Malik McDowell, DT, Michigan St

Tampa Bay is an exciting young team and a good draft here could really be huge for them heading into next season. Malik McDowell is a bit of a wildcard but he fills the Buccaneers biggest need of defensive line help and Gerald McCoy could help mentor him on how to be a pro, creating a better version of Suh and Fairley from Detroit in years past. Safety is also something that should be addressed and if injury concerns pushed Malik Hooker down this far it would be absolutely massive for Tampa. Ash’s pick of John Ross might have the largest immediate impact for this team as a speedy route runner that compliment’s the bigger Mike Evans very nicely.

 

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  1. Denver Broncos

Ash’s Pick: Malik McDowell, DT, Michigan St

Brandon’s Pick: Dan Feeney, OG, Indiana

Adam’s Pick: Ryan Ramczyk, OT, Wisconsin

The Broncos need help in the trenches above all else this offseason in order to protect their young quarterbacks and get to other peoples. Ash went to provide a ‘Malik replacement’ finally fixing the end position Jackson vacated with McDowell which could go a long way to bringing back the dominant defense the Broncos displayed in their Super Bowl run. Brandon and I both gave Denver our best remaining offensive linemen, both of which would plug immediately into their starting lineup. Feeney seems to be far and away the best guard prospect in the draft at this point and still offers good value in the mid 20’s. I dropped Ramczyk a little here because I worry about his short arms and durability but his talent is more then worth Denver taking a shot on at this point in the draft.

 

  1. Detroit Lions

Ash’s Pick: Malik Hooker, FS, Ohio St

Brandon’s Pick: Taco Charlton, DE, Michigan

Adam’s Pick: Zach Cunningham, MLB, Vanderbilt

The first of the playoff teams to be up, Detroit will focus on defense with this selection as they have needs at almost every position group on that side of the ball. Ash’s selection of Malik Hooker sliding to them would be an absolute dream for the Lions, who don’t have a bad safety group currently but would be getting absurd value should Hooker fall that far on medical concerns. Brandon went with a recently popularized selection of Michigan defensive end Taco Charlton to help bolster a Detroit pass rush that struggled to do much of anything last year. He’s a powerful explosive pass rusher that has a nose for getting to the quarterback when given the opportunity. I had Zach Cunningham still on my board and saw no way based on what was left that Detroit could pass him up at 21. Their largest need on the team arguably is the linebacker position, and Cunningham gives them a fast, athletic middle linebacker that would drastically upgrade Detroit’s coverage ability and shore up a major hole from last season.

 

Condensed Version

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Chris
Chris is the founder of everything you see here. A former radio presenter and Detroit native, he now resides in sunny California – and like so many of us, he found himself marooned on an island devoid of other Lions fans. After spending a few years in the Detroit Lions Reddit community he decided to start the Detroit Lions Podcast. Its become the #1 Detroit Lions podcast, and regularly ranks with the top podcasts in Detroit. With a mixture of pre-recorded shows, live & recorded phone-ins, and live post-game broadcasts - this is his slice of Honolulu Blue heaven.