DETROIT LIONS

Round 1 (3): CB Jeffrey Okudah, Ohio State
Round 2 (35): RB D’Andre Swift, Georgia
Round 3 (67): EDGE Julian Okwara, Notre Dame
Round 3 (75): G Jonah Jackson, Ohio State
Round 4 (121): G Logan Stenberg, Kentucky
Round 5 (166): WR Quintez Cephus, Wisconsin
Round 5 (172): RB Jason Huntley, New Mexico State
Round 6 (197): DI John Penisini, Utah
Round 7 (235): DI Jashon Cornell, Ohio State

1st Round: You can talk all you want about how the Lions should have traded out of this pick to get more value, but the truth is no one is sure what kind of offers (if any) were on the table. Okudah is a special cornerback prospect, a player who has allowed a completion percentage of 50% or better in each of the past three seasons. He has nearly as many forced incompletions over the last two years as he does first downs allowed. From athletic profile to production, it would be hard to draw up a better fit for Matt Patricia’s man-heavy coverage scheme than Okudah. No team played more man coverage than the Lions last season, which is a philosophy that head coach Matt Patricia brought over from New England. In that same vein, Patricia also puts a huge emphasis on matchups, having specific corners travel almost everywhere with specific receivers week after week. You must have a true No. 1 corner to consistently do this. What reigning Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore has brought to New England, the Lions hope Okudah will bring to Detroit.

Balance Of The Draft: Swift is a complete running back. PFF says that if you're valuing him highly, you better have a plan to take advantage of his receiving ability. He’s the top-ranked running back on PFF’s board but just the 71st-ranked player. With sustaining third-year back Kerryon Johnson aboard, expect Swift to fill an Alvin Kamara type role ... PFF insists that of all the players they were high on this year, Okwara is the one who should have gotten more love. Under-drafted Okwara is undersized, but “he is already one of the best bull-rushers in the entire draft class and can convert speed to power exceptionally well. He played only nine games this past season before breaking his leg but earned a 90.4 pass-rushing grade in those outings,” said PFF’s Mike Renner ... “Jackson is quite easily my favorite pass-protecting guard prospect in the entire draft. On 460 pass-blocking snaps last season, Jackson allowed all of 10 pressures. Of those 10, only one came via a true one-on-one pass-rushing situation. This was nothing new, though, as he allowed even fewer pressures in 2018 (seven) on 398 pass-blocking snaps at right guard for Rutgers before transferring. He should be able to replace Graham Glasgow seamlessly for Detroit,” Claims PFF’s Mike Renner ...  One could argue that the Lions were looking to upgrade both starting options at guard heading into the draft, and after selecting Jackson in the third round, they doubled up with Stenberg in the fourth. Stenberg has a mean streak that should play well into the physical play style that the Detroit Lions seem to be building towards. His solid work in pass protection is also promising. Stenberg has pass-blocking grades of 75.0 or higher in each of the past two seasons ...  Penisini isn’t going to get after the quarterback at a high level, but he is going to do one thing better than most - stuff the run. After notching a run-defense grade of 83.2 in 2018, he bumped that all the way up to 90.6 this past season. 

Steal Of The Draft: Jonah Jackson
Draft Grades: Playbook A- 
ESPN: B... PFF: A...  SI: A... Composite: A-

In closing we highly recommend you view the PFF Player Grades for each player in the 2020 NFL draft. PFF assigns a grade for every play to each player during a football game. Each grade is reviewed at least once, and usually multiple times, using every camera angle available, including All-22 coaches’ tape. You can view it here: PFF.Com/Grades