tukafan21

Really? You don't see why a team can't draft a QB in the 1st round while then starting their former #1 overall pick over them while on the last year of their deal? It puts the team in a TERRIBLE place no matter how the season goes. If Bryce sucks, you have to answer questions as to why he was still on the team to begin with, let alone starting over the rookie. If he's good, then you run into the situation the Vikings were in last offseason with sticking with the rookie contract or the the guy who just performed instead of said young QB. It's one thing when teams keep a vet around as a bridge QB, it's something entirely different when that QB is still only in their mid 20's and was taken #1 overall by that team. That just doesn't happen and not sure it ever has in NFL history before.

Yea, if we draft a QB in the 1st next year there is a literal 0% chance Bryce is on the roster for even OTA's, let alone by the time camp comes around

I'm from Michigan and have had this discussion with my Lions friends, and they all agree with me, they were never going to take Freeling over Miller. As, yes, you are correct, they could have left Sewell at RT and taken Freeling, but they are in a SB contention window right now. An OL with Freeling at LT and Sewell at RT is not as strong as Sewell at LT and Miller at RT would be for this upcoming season and likely at least next year as well. 5 years it could be looked back upon as a long term "mistake" to take Miller over Freeling, but for a franchise like the Lions, you can't worry about the long term when you have current SB aspirations. It's all about maximizing their current SB window over the next 1-3 years. And it's not about style, it's about day 1 readiness, and a lot of "experts" aren't even sure if Freeling is ready to play Week 1 yet at the position he's used to, let alone switching to a side he hasn't played before, but a career starting RT is going to be more than ready to fill that role for them Week 1. I'm 100% convinced that if our draft positioning was swapped, we'd have still taken Freeling, they'd have still taken Miller, and both teams would have got the OT that they preferred due to what each team needs right now and what their current realistic aspirations are for the 2026 season. We're in a position where we can let our drafted OT sit and learn for a bit, they needed a week 1 starter, for me that's where this discussion becomes very easy to understand why each team took the player they did.

Point being what? It doesn't matter why they have the hole at RT, it just matters that they have it and because they have it, they were always taking Miller over Freeling. Just like if we were ahead of them and both were on the board, we'd have also taken Freeling, and if Freeling was gone, I don't think we take Miller at all. Taking a career RT would have made zero sense for us

Lions were never going Freeling over Miller for the same reason we wouldn't have taken Miller had Freeling not been on the board. Miller is a career RT Lions have a hole at RT, we have a hole at LT. If we took Miller, it would have been for him to backup Moton until he retires and/or we release him, so the best case scenario is it would have been a wasted 1st round pick for at least 1, if not 2 years. At least Freeling has a shot at playing this year without injury ahead of him, he absolutely can win the LT job if he earns it, but Miller would have never supplanted Moton this year unless he got hurt.

I'll say the same thing this year that I said last year, wins and losses aren't important. The only important thing is coming to a decision on Bryce one way or the other. If he looks amazing but we find ways to lose, who cares we lost, we have our QB of the future. If he looks terrible but we find ways to win, who cares that we won, we have to replace him. And that's not me saying I don't want to see us win next year, just saying that wins/losses are secondary and far less important this season than coming to a 100% conclusion on what Bryce is for us. Having said that, the only way I'll be okay with giving him an extension instead of replacing him is if he is a borderline MVP candidate and at minimum, an unquestioned Top 10 QB in the league next year. Even just a season of slight improvement won't be enough for me, that's still not good enough to warrant a big extension, he has the team around him, he needs to show why he was the #1 overall pick, if not, good bye.

I think we go Theineman in this situation

Bryce Young. It really is as simple as that, if he can't improve, we will be worse next year even given the upgrades elsewhere. Frankly we got lucky in a number of our wins last year, if the Bryce plays the same as he did and we don't get those breaks, we're a 5-6 win team. 6 of our 8 wins were by just 3 points, another by 7 (agains the Jets), and then the Falcons blowout. It's very easy to see how this team goes backwards just on that alone, regression to the mean is a real thing when you have that many close games in one season.

Here's the thing, I like the draft we just had, and while a lot of what to like about it will be seen a few years down the line, we still basically need Hecht and Brazzell at minimum to be starters week 1, and hopefully Wheately and maybe Freeling as well. We were a sub .500 team last year and we're still not yet a contender, there is no way we can leave a draft with only one starter coming out of it, and that being a 2nd round NT. In reality, teams have 3 starting WRs now and Brazzell should be #3 over XL, as if he can't beat out XL coming out of camp, my expectations for him will drop from what they are right now. Hecht is going to have every opportunity to take that starting spot at Center and I hope/think he will do so. And Wheately just has to beat out Scott.

ehhhhhh I get it, as a pass catcher he's an upgrade over what we have right now, but I'm also much higher on our TE room's potential than many on here. Plus, our big WRs in T-Mac, Brazzelle, and Coker already take on some of the roles that TE's play on most teams with a smaller WR room anyways. Bringing in an oft injured 30 year old instead of giving snaps to the young guys to see if they can turn into a long term TE solution just doesn't make sense to me. If we were in an actual SB window, totally different story, but we're still a few years away from that right now and Njoku wouldn't be around then anyways, so we need to roll with the youngsters and see what they are. Given the size we have at WR, I like rolling with young/cheap TE by committee anyways, use that cap space elsewhere.

Would have liked to take a swing on a QB, but if he can make an impact on ST as a rookie, will be a good pick

Can’t hate getting ESPN’s 82nd overall player at 151

Did we just land our starting Center in the 5th?!?! This will be a home run pick if he ends up as that, freaking love it

Well seeing as we just took the guy I was hoping we would take instead of trading back, so I’m good with it now haha

Eh, if we can find a starting center right now, then I don’t agree with that. Moving up 30 picks in round 5/6 will give us a chance of drafting a player who might just make the roster instead of getting cut after camp. But when only 1 center was drafted before today, I think whoever we have as the next best center would have been a better move.

Stop trading back and just take the top center on the board already

Exactly, if he's getting past his man, they're going to have to keep a safety deep on his side of the field just in case. As even if it's like you said, Bryce needs to throw it quickly with a ton of arc, if the defense doesn't keep a safety deep, you can take those shots and his speed will burn you. I'm talking myself into liking this pick... IF, and it's a big if... Horn Jr or Metchie are able to be that quick twitch guy in the slot for us this year. If one of them can't adequately fill that role, then I'm going to have wished this was a WR in that mold instead. But if one of them can be that for us, then I really like this pick and the potential (and sure, part of it is thinking he could be a real weapon with a new QB next year).

Honestly, I think we have a chance at having a very fluid set of roles. All 3 of T-Mac, Coker, and Brazzell seem like they can bring something from both the outside and the slot. We saw last year how well T-Mac did when we would line him up in the slot and get mismatches, especially the quick slants (something he was great at in college too). Problem was that he was just far too valuable for us on the outside as for most of the year we didn't have anyone else who could remotely play that role until Coker came on strong late. I very well could see us line up with any of the 3 in any spot in the formation depending what we're trying to accomplish on the play.

Exactly He's only a Coker replacement if he absolutely blows up by the end of 2027 and we have to choose between paying 2 of T-Mac, Coker, and Brazzell, and even then, it still might be Coker if he keeps progressing himself. That's why I was so against a WR in the 1st, as it would guarantee one of them is gone by then. If a 3rd rounder forces us to make that call, totally worth it, but you don't want to get into that position with 1st round picks, they're too valuable.

Fair, and that was my first post on the pick as well, that I like the speed, but it seems more straight line and not quick twitch in the slot. Which is why I'm wondering if they're higher on Horn Jr than we might have thought. If he can be that guy for us it would be great, as we still have him on a cheap deal for 3 more years and that's the type of guy you just replace instead of extend when you have the studs on the outside like T-Mac, Coker, and maybe Brazzell.

And 3, teams weren't afraid of XL making the catch anyways so they didn't bother keeping a safety deep. Also, even with the speed XL has, it's not like he ever really just beats the defense on go routes, Brazzell's highlight reel looks like he will do that.

The thought of this is so tantalizing. Bring in a strong armed replacement for Bryce and it would fully unlock all 3 of T-Mac, Coker, and Brazzell. It would open up T-Mac's downfield jump ball threat like he was in college with Brazzell's speed taking the top off, both of which would then open up the middle of the field for Coker to feast.

It's Horn vs Metchie, one of them is making the final roster, I'm hoping for Horn. They're the only two quick twitch types right now and we have to keep one of them because of that.

I smell a lot of decoy routes to get T-Mac one on one coverage by forcing the safety to stay deep to help on Brazzell, maybe, not sure if teams will be afraid of Bryce throwing that though.

Maybe this means the team likes Horn Jr’s potential this year and he’s going to be the quick twitch guy playing in the slot a lot. This then makes this pick a pure XL replacement and his role is as the guy to give T-Mac and Coker breathers while having big play potential when doing so. Could also see him lined up in the slot next to T-Mac a lot and having him run go routes, would be a great way to keep the safety from doubling T-Mac because they have to protect against the speed.