Speaker 0: And we're live on matchday as Doug reaches for a Buffalo wing. He's got it. Oh, and he's gone for a can of Pepsi too. What a finish. There's no doubt about it. It just tastes better. Matchdays deserve Pepsi.

Speaker 1: Hey, everyone. Jefferson here with your daily DLP. It is Thursday, April 16. You know what that means. One week till we get to the twenty twenty six NFL draft in Pittsburgh. I am very fired up about this. I hope you are too. Yeah. One more week of all the consternation about what might happen, and then we learn what actually will happen. And, I am I'm ready. I think most of you are ready. In honor of it being one week out, I thought today I would do a mock draft, using a simulator and go over what picks I think the lions would make in the given situations that come up. So, we'll get right into that. I will use the PFSN simulator. I like what they have, for a variety of reasons. First of all, they're good people. They also have a bunch of different ways that you can set your boards up. I can use the consensus one. The user ADP is a fun one to use as well if you're using simulators. Shows don't work Look, just part of a bunch of my friends, so I'm not super thrilled about that. Their simulator's fine as well. But, for this situation, we will use this guy. I don't know what I'd be the ads for, but so we got seven rounds. That will be the Detroit Lions. Let's use the consensus player list here. The normal speed? Yeah. Yeah. We'll go normal speed because I like to watch how it flies along. So let's let's get this to go. Going somewhat as expected here to get down to 17. Jeremiah Love going there. Interrupt reeling off the board. That one hurts a little bit. Ksenic gone. Jordan Tyson gone. Now I'm gonna reject trades, but this is a nice offer from Tennessee. But I am gonna reject all trades just out of, you know, to keep it as ingenuous as I can. But 27 and $1.28 for $35.66 $1.00 1 in the second next year. In reality, I would absolutely take that. So, yes, that would be that would be nice. $26.91, a second and a fifth next year from Buffalo. I'd probably take that one if I were Brad Holmes too. And '23 and a second round pick from the Eagles. I, honestly, I don't want the Eagles to move up. Is that that that might be a weird situation, but let's see where we're at with who the Lions have on the board here. Jermaine McCoy, Dylan Piederman, Keldrick Falk, Caden Proctor, Akeem Mesador, Caleb Lomu. I am looking here for what I think the lions are gonna do again. A Heinecker is there. Let's look at the offensive tackles that are available. Procter, Lohman, Blake Miller, certainly in play for the lions. He's been connected quite a bit. I believe that. I I did not sold on Caden Procter being the apple of their eye as much, but I won't deny the fact that he certainly would hold appeal to the lions. Lomu would be my pick here, but I don't think the lions are gonna like him as much as I do. And schematically, I get it. He is better for a more movement based zone type team, with his run blocking. But, I do think that that could develop with Hank Fraley. But so at the edges now, go to the defensive side of the ball. Obviously, McCoy is so McCoy is fascinating because he has one year of, like, immaculate tape as an outside corner at Tennessee. The problem was that was in 2024. It's the only year we've got. It is coming off of a knee injury that might not be right yet, and the worst degenerative are being thrown around pretty pretty literally by a lot of people who have access to information that I don't. We've already got that problem with Kirby Joseph, so I'm gonna say no. And you know what? I I think the lines are gonna say no on that too. Folk, man, he is straight out of central casting for what they want opposite or what they've shown that they want. Opposite. Aiden Hutchinson at Edge. Mesidore, I I don't see him in that light. I don't think the lions do either. McNeil Warren is fascinating. Terrell, Avion Terrell is a great cover corner. He's a he's a good schematic fit even though he's a little bit lighter than you would want. Colton Hood makes sense. Get down in here. See, I think TJ Parker is listed at 39 here. I think I do think that the lions have, significant interest in in him in the first round. But I am gonna go to what I think the lions would do. And in this situation, I think they're taking Blake Miller, offensive tackle. Now we move forward. Faulk and McCoy coming right off the board. Lomu getting into the run of defensive players here. Proctor there, going to Houston. I don't buy that for a second, by the way. Texans, look at defensive line first. Brown state, Chris Bell. I like that big for Chris Bell for the Browns. Gabe Yakis gone. That hurts. TJ Parker gone. That also hurts just before 50. That's another trade that I would do in real life, but I'm gonna reject it. The charger's offering 55 and 86 for 50 and $1.28. 59 and $1.00 6 for fifty and two twenty. So, absolutely, I'd do that pick in a heartbeat. But in order to keep it, you know, acknowledge, we're we're good. These ads are killing me. I get it, but Eli Stowers, I don't think the lines are gonna be super interested on the the tight end who is basically Isaac to flaw. That's what he is. He also isn't very good at contested catches, so I don't think that the lines are gonna be interested in that. So let's look at the overall work. Chris Johnson as an outside corner, oh, man. We might just stop the conversation right there because he's a really good fit. So we got some of the other names that are available here, though. Malachi Lawrence, certainly some intrigue there. Kayla Banks with the foot injury. Insert snarky comment here about Brad being attracted to guys that have foot problems and big guys with injury problems.

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Speaker 1: No. There's not a lot of offensive players on this range. That's that reinforces why you would take the offensive tackle first. And look at the the the top the the top offensive players, Jadarian Price, running back. You're not taking him. Stowers, tight end. I don't I don't think the lines are gonna have any interest in him. You know, Williams, no. He's sort of a an under he's a redundant receiver to what, what they have in in Alman Russell Brown isn't nearly as good at that. Chris Brazel, the to slot is better than him, I think. I think the Lions would think that's your goal day at linebacker. I'm gonna say Chris Johnson, quarterback from San Diego State, and I have now a lot of options at quarterback. And I love the fact that it would give him time to develop into being a starter. He doesn't have to be thrust in right away. But if he earns it, he can earn it. Because some of the names that come up here in the third round as we go forward. Kyle Lewis, trade on Stukes. Kielan Rutledge is an interesting one. I do think the Lions would have some interest there, and the Georgia Tech offensive lineman. Big Citrus going to Jacksonville. I like Big Citrus. I like I think the Lions like Big Citrus as well. Dominique Orange from Iowa State. He's kind of a immovable object type nose tackle. He's got more than that, but he's got some juice. Not to make a citrus plum there or anything, but I I like him. And I I know that the Lions have spent some time on him. Jude Bowery gone there. Demetrius Crownover. So the the range of offensive tackles who you wouldn't who would you might pass on in the first round if you wanna, you know, keep going down, they've all just come off the board, basically. So now we get the one eighteen. And who are the top prospects here? Daryl Jackson, not I'm gonna say the lines aren't gonna have a lot of interest in that one. Logan Jones, no. You can't rule it out, but Devon Moore is an outside corner. Good good scheme fit and football player, but, again, we just took a corner. We'll look at the edges that are available here. Got Anthony Lucas, Mason Reager. These guys aren't very good value according to consensus board, but I like, do we do we think that Brent cares about the consensus board? I don't. Lewellen's interesting. I'm gonna pause on him, though, because I think I want him to be my next pick. I do. Let's look at the linebackers. Oh, I had Chris Trepaso, from draft grade book on recently, and he talked up Caleb Milamzor. I like him a lot here as the Alex Anzalone replacement who can do a little bit more long term. But he can come right in and be a platoon player where Rodrigo plays run downs and then Elumzor plays passing downs and, you know, flex I guess, flex out tight ends and things like that. That's gonna be a tough one for me to bypass, honestly. Chris McClellan from Missouri, he's a four one. Caleb Proctor, Might be a little early for him for what he offers, although he is I mean, he was in he's been in mocks that I've done. I I I dare say that I want the Lions to want him more than I think that they would. But in this range, he would certainly be in play. Doctor Corleone, the Godfather, good player. See, all these other guys, you can wait on those. Safeties. Taffy. Vijay Payne makes a lot of sense here. I like Vijay Payne a lot. And looking at who I've taken, am I really gonna ignore edge and linebacker again? They'll load up on the secondary, but Vijay Payne sees he fits that Brian Branch role. And looking long term, you know, Branch has the injury. He does have an expiring contract coming up. He makes some sense there. Lewis Moore, okay. And then now you're you're dipping much deeper there, to these guys who I think would be available later. And I think that the Lions would see it that way as well. Tight Ends. Delp. No. Trig. Hell, no. Lions won't have an interest in him at all. Bull Kerker, he's percher. He's fun later. Rear end's coming off of an injury. Getting star Starkey coming here. I'm gonna go I'm gonna make the executive decision. Charles Demings is there too, and I just took a cornerback. That hurts. I'm gonna go with Elan's org. And I do think that the Lions I know I well, I know that they've shown interest in them. I know they met with them at their pro day. Beyond that, not sure, but he's he fits what they are looking for. So, again, my picks now. I'm at one twenty eight. Caleb Proctor just went. Cage Casey just went. He would be the guy that I would have been interested in this range. Back up. Isaiah Wirral. Oh my god. An injured guy who doesn't belong in the top one fifty going in the one twenties. That's the fun part of the draft. Okay. So who's still here? McClellan is still here. Edge. Let's look at the edges. Now my next pick is in the one fifties. Do I think Max Lewellen is still gonna be there? Is Tyreke Sapp? Oh, will it and I do think that he fits the Brit and their style of crush the can. Would he be there later? Yeah. I think so. Anthony Lucas. I like him too, and I think the Lions would as well. Go to the safeties. BJ Payne. BJ Payne is screaming at me here. Not gonna lie. Tayden, you got the same discussion. And so that was the difference between and, like, Lake McCree, Jaren Kanek.

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Speaker 1: RJ Maryland is interesting. That is, Russell Maryland's son. He is much more of a I mean, he's he's ridiculously fast. He can't block. See how that that plays out? Running backs? Kaitron Allen, certainly a great fit. Kaelin Black, another great fit. A lot of these guys are. Adam Rangel, my guy. I like him. I don't think that the lines would take him this early, though. The all the the bigger backs who can catch them out of the backfield, I think, is what they're looking at. The the the and and, again, there's a lot of quantity here. So I'm gonna pass on that, and I am gonna go back to where my instincts told me. There's a lot of good cornerbacks here. Now see, now I'm regretting taking Chris Johnson just because there are so many corners who aren't that much worse than him relative to, like, the worst the edges of available base versus who I could have taken there. But that's, you know, that's that's part of the draft process. Edge. Safety. I'm gonna take Vijay Payne, because I I know that he is the lion's type. Again, could be Brian Branch's eventual replacement, can play right away. At worst at worst, he's your third safety, and can also play in the slot, play quarterback. He can actually play linebacker a little bit if you really wanted to. We need some technical cleanup there, but looking at the names that are going by here, Jagger Burton's gone. Keyshawn Elliot's a guy that, you know, they would have interest in as a linebacker, I think. Getting into the big guys here. Okay. So Zane Duran and Rayshawn Benny, both of them, nose tackles, gone right before the Lions pick here. Now we're looking at running backs, and and you look at the best of all players, and you're looking at running backs. You're looking at edges here. Anthony Lucas. I think the Lions are gonna like him more than I do, honestly. Jeremiah Wright is a fantastic fit as an interior lineman, but would they value that over edge? So this is where this is where you have to try to put yourself into Brad's shoes. I'm trying my best here. Would he value that player over filling the need at Edge? I don't think so, because I think Anthony Lucas is his kind of player. Let's look at the other edges that are out there, though. Just for fun, Lewellen. You know what? Lewellen definitely fits what they want. Comes from Iowa, that's a program that they know that they have had some success with. Henry Schepsinger though. Gets some Anthony Fitz. I'm gonna take Max Lewellen because I do think that the Lions will like his style. He good pass rush specialist. He falls in love with the spin a little bit too much, but there is a lot to like about him. Any player, has athletic upside. He is more of a guy who can come in and take reps and get a notches off the field a little bit, which is a stated goal, which would be nice. Now we're down into the fifth round, and now we're just taking best player available. Who I think the Lions would find the best player available, add that caveat in here. I don't know if it's running back. Nick Barnett, maybe. The running backs again, there are so many running backs that can be taken in this range. Now Jadon Kennedy, that's an interesting one. He has fantastic eyes. Good nose for the ball. Nadame Tucker, old one year wonder. Love his one year at Western, though. He's 26. Like, Tim Keenan. Okay. Oh, immovable. You know what? That that's the pick. Tim Keenan, nose tackle. Alabama. Gotta get an Alabama guy on the team. Right? That's that's what Brett does. And he fits. He can work into that rotation. He can take the Roy Lopez role and the DJ Reader role, and he can soak up those snaps. The guy who who he he might not record more than 2.5 plays in the backfield, combined sacks and tackles for losses, but he helps Jack Campbell be better. He helps, your linebackers. He helps your SATs be better, creating blitzing lanes, things like that containing the run. Alright. Jeff Caldwell, speed outside receiver with iffy hands. Caden Curry makes a lot of sense here. Oh, you know what? I'm not even gonna look deeper because I think Caden Curry is a guy that the lions will like a lot as a power to speed pass rusher who's effective. He led the Buckeyes in sacks. He'll probably win some money, betting on that. Yeah. He's gonna be the guy. Just looking at the other guys who are available here, though, you're looking at a lot of people that don't really differentiate themselves from the competition that's available where it's at. You know? Jordan Hudson makes sense. Matthew Hibner, Red Murdoch. Shout out to Petersburg, Virginia. We're saving Caden Curry. Quick look at where we're at for the lions. We've taken Blake Miller, Chris Johnson, Caleb Elams Orr, BJ Payne, Max Lewellen, Tim Keenan, Caden Curry. We're down to our final two picks here. The best availables. Will they take a quarterback? It's a good question. I don't know if they will or not. I would I would take a quarterback here. I would take Allmayer here if he's available. See if my boy's available. He is, as does Klubnick. I could honestly see them having some interest in K Clubnick here, but I I don't know. Now we're looking at guys who might have special teams upside. Jacoby Thomas makes a lot of sense. Andre Fuller from Toledo, cornerback. Look at the other edges. Gomes, former tight end in Northern Illinois. Trey Moore. Cabrera, not athletic enough. Peyton, not really that good. Michael Hellman, Central Michigan. He might be my last pick. I might return to him in a few big Tishon James Newby is the guy that I put in my first mock draft for the lines. Certainly intriguing player. Jack Pyburn as well. But those are guys that you don't really need to take here. We want a running back. Jimmy Rolder is still available. That's gonna be a tough value to overlook. He tested much more athletic than he ever showed at Michigan, but that might hit at some upside. He does have very good eyes and everything.

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Speaker 1: Olivia Moss, Jay Hall, I Jaylen Husky is fun. I wonder I wonder where they would go here. This is this is tough. Honestly, in trying to put put in what you think the lions would do here. Let me look at the running backs. Swimming way too much time on this last pick last couple picks. I know. That's right. Oh, special teams galore there. Converted was a linebacker at Ohio State. Tygan at Ohio State. Like, or he can play tight. Like, there's a number of different things you can do with him. He fits into the athlete as much as he has a running back. Jam Miller, they probably like him more than I do. Hold my tongue on that one. I just didn't see a lot to like. Wide receivers, you're not looking at anybody here that's better than Dominic Lovett. Just I'll frame it that way. And I don't think that the Lions will see it that way either. Any other offensive tackles if you wanna dip in? Double dip, triple dip. Yeah. I I might be we're gonna cheese in her oh, Tristan Lee. Oh, that's a tough one. Could you draft both Clemson tackles? That would be interesting. Alan Hirano is a project. There's a lot of athleticism to like there. I just I'm looking at it. There's my guy Bruno on Wuzor on Wuzor. Six foot eight, thirty six inch arms, eighty six inch wingspan. Virginia State Trojan, d two dominated down there. I put it up on social media, earlier this week that, if you're looking for a late round or UDFA guy to work with, I will tell you from having watched him at BSU, he walks in with the same level, if not better technical proficiency than where than where Giovanni Manu is right now and has played well against playing American football against, you know, against d two. The CIAA is not a great league, but I'll say it was a Andrex free agent. I am going to go, however, the best player available that I think the Lions will take, Jacoby Thomas. Think he fits the grid? Last pick. Let's see who they took. Aaron Anderson, Reggie Virgil. See, we're getting a lot of guys don't make a whole lot of sense. Lee went right away. Now we're looking at what would the lions do here with a reward Andre Fuller. We've got a lot of cornerbacks we've taken already. Defensive backs. We'll go back to that offensive line. Ebner Sawyer right now. I think Okarimono's fun. There there's a lot of figuring out which of these developmental types the lions would like the most is probably fruitless for me to spend a lot more time on. So I'm just gonna pull the trigger here As I keep scrolling down, I'm hoping that somebody will jump off and say, draft me. The lions will draft me. And I'm not really seeing it. Max Bradeson. Let's go to the top. Oh. I think the picks could be Matthew Hittner, tied in from SMU. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the draft. My picks to recite Blake Miller, offensive doc, Clemson, Chris Johnson, cornerback San Diego State, Caleb Elams, or linebacker, TCU VJ Payne Safety Kansas State Maxwell Edge, Iowa, Tim Keenan, Nose Tackle, Alabama, Caden Curry, Edge, outside linebacker defensive end from Ohio State. I wish this would stop scrolling like that. Jacoby Thomas, safety from oh oh oh, it goes to the final grade. I don't worry about the grades the game may be. That's fine. I don't I don't care about the grading metrics. And the last one being that you didn't hear. Tight end the versatile tight end potential Brock right replacement. Remember, the Lions are gonna be, potentially all three of the the current tight ends had expired contracts. I do think that Laporta will get taken care of, but Brock Wright and, Tyler Contlin are both free agents at the end of the year. Getting a good guy in here now makes a lot of sense. So that is the draft. I will print that off when I'm done, but until then, we'll yank that. We got a week to go, guys. I posted my final big board at Real GM today. It should be up by the time this is on. If not, keep looking for it. Footballrealgm.com. I went up to 341 players. Yeah. It's an ordeal. We will have a lot more content coming in the coming days. We're working on scheduling a group mock draft where we do things. If you like if you like how this one went, I will do another one of these probably over the weekend where I do the picks that I personally would make, and we'll make it into the, you know, what Jefferson would do mock draft, because those are always fun to do as well, given the situations. Yeah. Hopefully, you got your taxes done. Hopefully, you're not flooding. By the way, the rain and the flooding situation, it's bad in a lot of areas across Michigan. For those of you who are in the mitten state, please stay aware, please stay safe, and hopefully, hopefully, the the bad fortune avoids you. With that, you know what? Let's call the show. Jeff Risen signing out. Be good to one another, everybody.