For the first time in a long time, a Detroit Lions mock draft has absolutely nothing to do with the word “rebuild.” In fact, this is the first time in franchise history that Detroit legitimately appears as if they could be the best team in the division. It would be their first NFC North division title. That is what is at stake with the 2023 NFL Draft.
Detroit addressed many of its most significant needs in free agency. They absolutely needed to do so regarding the secondary, and they did just that by adding Cameron Sutton on a three-year deal while also bringing in Chauncey Gardner-Johnson on a one-year contract and Emmanuel Moseley on a similar deal with less guaranteed money.
The Lions have a strong offensive line that added Graham Glasgow as much-needed interior depth. They added David Montgomery to split the load with D’Andre Swift and retained both Alexander Anzalone and John Cominsky. Detroit’s defensive line is already looking stacked, and we haven’t even seen what Josh Paschal can do yet.
In other words, the team is talented with few apparent holes.
Latest Detroit Lions 2023 NFL Mock Draft
PFN’s Mock Draft Simulator collects selection data from users to give us an idea of what players fans and analysts prefer when it comes to drafting for the Lions.
Jalen Carter, DT, Georgia | Round 1, Pick 6
There may have been a spot of gamesmanship by Dan Campbell at the annual league meeting. When asked about Jalen Carter, Campbell had some… interesting… comments.
“We talked to a teammate of his the other day, and, man, he told us some things we didn’t know,” Campbell told reporters. “That nobody probably would’ve known. It was like, ‘Oh, that’s interesting.'”
If Campbell had been told something negative about Carter from a teammate, there’s be no real reason to discuss it with reporters. But if Detroit believes he’s the best player in the draft and they have him atop their draft board, the comments make sense.
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That comment could be meant to plant a seed of doubt in the Cardinals and Seahawks, the two teams ahead of Detroit that likely won’t draft a QB and could use Carter’s services on their own defensive lines.
Placing Carter alongside Alim McNeill makes for quite the athletic thunder-and-lightning combination. The Lions also possess a stable of pass rushers like Aidan Hutchinson, the Okwara brothers, Charles Harris, and the shockingly productive James Houston.
But defenders rotate in and out of the lineup, and there’s no such thing as too much depth. Carter is selected more by Lions users in one-round mock drafts and overall than any other player.
Deonte Banks, CB, Maryland | Round 1, Pick 19
Trade: Detroit trades pick 18 to Tampa Bay for picks 19 and 92.
Speaking of never having too much depth, the Lions add a cornerback at 19. With Moseley coming off an ACL tear and being on a one-year deal, and Gardner-Johnson also on a one-year deal, the decision to add another DB was simple. The question was, “who would it be?”
The user pick breakdown looks a bit like this around pick 19 for those who were still available in this particular situation:
Deonte Banks – 1.6%
Brian Branch – 1.1%
Joey Porter Jr. – 1%
It was not a simple decision. Each player has pros and cons to their game and is fit for the Lions. But there were advantages to Deonte Banks‘ and Brian Branch‘s play styles that gave them the edge over Joey Porter Jr. Additionally, while Porter is a fine prospect and ranked higher than Banks on our board, this analyst personally prefers Banks.
And for Detroit, Banks is a bit of a no-brainer over Porter. Because while in Indianapolis for the medical checks, the doctors found something in Banks’ scans. He had that dawg in him.
Sports Illustrated’s Zach Hicks attended Maryland’s Pro Day and tweeted that Banks was a “real quiet kid but confident as well.”
Banks must let his play do the talking because he’s the kind of menace that Campbell could fall in love with. Some of his press snaps are devastating for receivers, and he makes absolutely no qualms about taking on pulling linemen with a shoulder to maintain his run responsibility. He’s a sure tackler and a phenomenal athlete.
While Branch is currently the better football player and a physical presence himself, the idea of adding a potentially lock-down cornerback who can ease his way into the lineup because the environment around him allows for it was too enticing to pass on.
Jack Campbell, LB, Iowa | Round 2, Pick 48
“Linebacker, got to give credit to Jack Campbell, he’s a great player,” Minnesota center John Michael Schmitz said at the Combine when asked who were the top players he faced in college. “His length, his size, he was one of the bigger linebackers. And just how fast he was to get to the ball. Another thing, how physical he was.”
Jack Campbell doesn’t usually play to his ridiculous 9.98 Relative Athletic Score, but it wouldn’t be the first or the last time we ever see that. One of his closest RAS comps, Leighton Vander Esch, played a similar style at Boise State.
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While that more passive play style has continued at the NFL level, it hasn’t hindered Vander Esch’s ability to play effectively, even if he’s infrequently in the backfield. Consistently being in the right place at the right time with ideal run-fit integrity is the key, and Campbell shows that.
Luke Musgrave, TE, Oregon State | Round 2, Pick 55
Draft athletes at tight end. It’s a position that is immensely difficult to make the transition from college to the professional level. It’s incredibly rare that we see the position flash immediately. Travis Kelce didn’t post a 1,000-yard season until he was 27. We’re still waiting on consistent greatness from T.J. Hockenson, Cole Kmet, Noah Fant, and other highly drafted players at the position.
However, athletes like Jelani Woods, Daniel Bellinger, and Chigoziem Okonkwo found some success as rookies because they’re athletically gifted. Luke Musgrave‘s RAS comps are Kelce, Woods, Bellinger, and Greg Olsen. Musgrave would fit a need, and apparently the culture as well.
“The limited knowledge I have is from watching ‘Hard Knocks,’ and Dan Campbell just seems like a great coach,” Musgrave told the Free Press at the Senior Bowl in February. “Just a hard-nosed football coach that I’m used to. I think that would suit me. Obviously, a lot of teams would suit me. But yeah, Lions are awesome. I like the mascot, too.”
Sydney Brown, S, Illinois | Round 3, Pick 81
While we’re on the topic of drafting athletes, let’s talk about the selection of Sydney Brown, who posted a 9.67 RAS. His closest RAS comp is Troy Polamalu, who is a near-identical comparison in size and athleticism.
The 23-year-old Brown is an interesting prospect that analysts seem to have all over the place. He was not in Dane Brugler’s latest top 100. So while he currently ranks 68th on NFL Mock Databases Consensus Big Board, he’ll probably begin to slide closer to that 100 mark.
Having three safeties on the team that can legitimately play is no longer a redundancy. A season ago, the Cowboys found a way to play three safeties each over 900 defensive snaps. The Colts, Patriots, Seahawks, 49ers, and Commanders each played three over 700 snaps, with Carolina missing out on that list by 16 Jeremy Chinn snaps.
More teams are deciding to replace their three-linebacker base to a big nickel. That way they still have a decent run defender to defend a gap while taking less talent from the coverage.
A.T. Perry, WR, Wake Forest | Round 3, Pick 82
Jameson Williams can be the team’s downfield decoy to open up the rest of the field, but they shouldn’t want him to be. As a first-round pick, he must bring more to the field as an underneath and intermediate player. He has to eat targets.
Let A.T. Perry take DJ Chark’s role. Although the former Jaguar and Lions WR didn’t fill up the stat sheet, Detroits’ passing attack was far better with him on the field (0.15 dropback EPA/play) compared to off the field (0.01 EPA).
Having a length speed threat opens up the intermediate areas of the field, most specifically over the middle. Perry will probably never be a high-volume target, but he doesn’t have to be that for Detroit. They have Williams and Amon-Ra St. Brown for that!