Orlovsky doubts Lions will draft QB or WR at No. 7
As the 2021 NFL Draft nears, multiple different opinions have started to circulate in regards to what the Detroit Lions will attempt to accomplish in the firstround.
ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky explained in a teleconference Tuesday that his gut feeling regarding the Lions at Pick No. 7 is a selection to “impact the bigs.”
Unlike many pundits who have the Lions targeting a quarterback or a wideout, Orlovsky expressed that his gut tells him the team won’t look to a player that will end up appearing on the highlight reel on nightly sports shows. He could even see the Lions looking to trade down with a team like the New England Patriots.
“I think they would want to impact both sides of the football (offensive and defensive line) before they ever start to entertain kind of the pretty part of football, which is the skill position guys,” Orlovsky explained.
He added, “Just a gut feeling, because of who their general
manager is and where he comes from, and how the Rams rebuilt their football team, which was the defensive line and offensive line, and then coach Dan Campbell and knowing Dan and having played with Dan and kind of knowing how he’s wired, I would imagine that they’re doing
whatever they can to impact the bigs on either side.”
In a recent mock draft released by NFL.com, the Lions select left tackle Christian Darrisaw at pick No. 16 after trading down.
NFL analyst Nate Davis has the Lions staying at No. 7 to select offensive lineman Rashawn Slater in his latest projection.
“Given the state of their rebuild — which is pretty much at square one — and new QB Jared Goff’s restructured deal, they could be out of the quarterback sweepstakes for now,” Davis writes. “A receiver makes sense after Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones signed elsewhere. But adding a quality blocker like Slater, who can play anywhere on the O-line, seems to align with new coach Dan Campbell’s personality and new OC Anthony Lynn’s desire to run the ball — something the Lions have rarely done effectively since Barry Sanders retired.”
According to many pundits, the level of talent that is available along the defensive line is not as impactful as the talent available on the offensive line.
Penei Sewell and Rashawn Slater are currently projected as being the top two offensive linemen that could be selected in this year’s draft.