Each Saturday during the college football season, we’ll highlight five prospects with locally televised matchups who could be a fit for the Detroit Lions in the 2023 NFL Draft, based on projected needs.
The list aims to highlight early-, mid- and late-round prospects. This will give you a chance to watch the players performing live, instead of playing catch-up in the weeks before the draft.
Sean Tucker, RB, Syracuse (No. 34)
Purdue at Syracuse, 12 p.m., ESPN2
The Lions face some interesting decisions at running back in the coming years. First, Jamaal Williams’ contract expires at the end of the season and the team must weigh the value of his leadership and durability against modest production.
Secondly, and more importantly, the Lions must choose whether to pay market value for dynamic dual-threat D’Andre Swift before his rookie deal expires in 2024. That’s never easy at a position with diminishing returns, and for a player who has struggled to stay healthy, but Swift’s talent is undeniably rare, having been on full display in last Sunday’s season opener.
Tucker provides an alternative for one, and if you squint, maybe either. The 5-foot-10, 210-pounder rushed for a school-record 1,496 yards last season with his one-cut-and-go running style that’s accentuated by impressive acceleration and top-end speed. On top of that, he’s ball secure, only fumbling one of his 266 touches.
As a receiver, there’s plenty of untapped potential. He hauled in 20 balls in 2021, but he has a skill set that points to a loftier ceiling. Blocking will be a work in progress, but that’s the case with most running backs coming out of college.
Tucker could be a high-end complement to Swift in 2023, but also has the skill set to provide the Lions some schematic insurance if and when their star’s durability costs him future playing time.
Noah Sewell, LB, Oregon (No. 1)
No. 12 BYU at No. 25 Oregon, 3:30 p.m., FOX
The first Sewell the Lions drafted has been working out pretty well, so it’s worth exploring going back to that well in 2023.
Penei’s brother, Noah, thrust himself into draft conversations with a highly productive 2021 season. In 14 games, he racked up 114 tackles, four sacks, five pass-breakups and an interception en route to all-conference honors from both the media and Pac-12 coaches.
What the younger Sewell immediately offers is size in the second level. At 6-foot-3, 251 pounds, he has the type of frame the Lions lack at the position. But size only works in the modern NFL if it doesn’t hinder your movement skills. On tape, that doesn’t appear to be the case. You can see clear athleticism to match the physicality you’ve come to expect from someone with his last name.
With Alex Anzalone operating on a one-year contract, and Derrick Barnes yet to turn a corner in his development, adding a linebacker early in the draft makes plenty of sense for Detroit.
Joey Porter Jr., CB, Penn State (No. 9)
No. 22 Penn State at Auburn, 3:30 p.m., CBS
If the name sounds familiar, yeah, Porter is the son for former All-Pro Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Joey Porter. The son plays a different position, but he plays with a physicality that reflects his father’s playing style.
The younger Porter also offers exceptional size for the cornerback position, listed at 6-foot-2, 194 pounds. He also possesses impressive length that he uses to disrupt routes off the line of scrimmage and swallow up ball carriers in the open field.
As he’s progressed through his college career, he’s made steady improvements in coverage. In his first season as a starter, in 2020, he allowed nearly 68% of passes in his direction to be completed, but trimmed that to 60% last year.
The lack of ball production is disappointing. He only got his hands on four of 55 targets in 2021, including the lone interception of his collegiate career.
With a track background, speed isn’t a concern, but change-of-direction quickness could be an issue with his frame. Some NFL teams could look to move him to safety because of the overall package of size and skills. If the Lions view him similarly, they kind of already have that guy on the roster in Ifeatu Melifonwu.
Tyler Van Dyke, QB, Miami (No. 9)
No. 13 Miami (Fla.) at No. 24 Texas A&M, 9 p.m., ESPN
Just like last year, we can’t ignore the quarterback conversation in Detroit. Yes, Jared Goff is under contract. And yes, the team’s general manager is probably Goff’s biggest supporter. But if the Lions’ starter can’t get it done in 2022 with the weapons he’s been allotted, the team will have to consider alternatives.
Van Dyke isn’t at the top of anyone’s big board, but the third-year sophomore has been steadily working his way into the mix to be an early-round choice. Last season, his first as the Hurricanes’ starter, he completed 62.3% of his passes with a better-than-good 25 touchdowns against six interceptions.
And the 6-foot-4, 224-pounder is off to an even better start to the current campaign, completing nearly three of every four throws for No. 13 Miami as they head into a difficult road environment for a stiff early-season test.
But everything you hear and read about Van Dyke is he loves these types of challenges. In a recent ESPN feature, a teammate revealed the QB loves being booed on the road. Things like that fuel his competitive fire.
Van Dyke clearly has an NFL-caliber arm, and the moxie to play at the next level, but one thing he doesn’t offer is a dual-threat skill set in a league where that’s becoming more common and nearly a prerequisite.
Andrew Vorhees, G, USC (No. 72)
Fresno State at No.7 USC, 10:30 p.m., FOX
The Lions have a pretty good idea what life will be like after Halapoulivaati Vaitai, given the starting right guard has missed time each of his three seasons with the franchise and is once again on injured reserve, this time because of a back issue.
Last year, undrafted rookie Tommy Kraemer stepped in to fill the void, while former fourth-round draft pick Logan Stenberg got the call in last weekend’s opener. Both offer decent potential with plenty of room for growth, but the Lions might not feel they can afford patience when an offensive line is only as good as its weakest link.
Assuming Vaitai is released next offseason, in a move that will save the Lions nearly $8 million in cap space, finding a plug-and-play solution could easily be a priority. Vorhees is a fifth-year starter who has seen time at both guard spots and left tackle during his time with the Trojans.
With a thick base and good lower-body power, Vorhees gets consistent movement as a run blocker. At 6-foot-6, there are leverage concerns, particularly when asked to pull, but it doesn’t often show up as an issue with his college tape.
The pass-blocking isn’t as clean, particularly when dealing with quick-twitch rushers, but he’s allowed just two sacks and 27 total pressures in his last 878 protection snaps across the past three seasons.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers