Allen Park — Earlier this month, we explored the Detroit Lions’ options with the No. 6 pick. Today, we take a closer look at many of the potential fits with the team’s second selection, No. 18.
At the top of the draft, things are condensed. There are only so many players who possess the combination of talent and upside meriting consideration at that spot. But as you get deeper into the first round, the possibilities expand. And even though we aren’t addressing the possibility in this space, the ability to trade up or down also is increased further down the board.
In all likelihood, Detroit’s decision at 18 will be influenced by its earlier selection. While we can’t rule out the team taking defensive linemen or defensive backs with back-to-back choices, it’s not the probable outcome. With those factors in mind, here is a pool of a dozen prospects who fit the Lions in the middle of the draft’s opening round.
▶ Joey Porter Jr., CB, Penn State
There’s a reasonable chance the Lions grab a cornerback with the team’s earlier first-round pick, but if they go a different direction at the top of the draft, the long-term need at the position would merit attention.
Porter Jr., if he lingers long enough for the Lions to have a shot, would be a good get. A big, long, physical press corner, he broke up nearly as many passes (11) as completions he allowed (15) as a senior, earning second-team All-American honors for Penn State.
Porter tested better than expected at the scouting combine, both with his speed and explosion metrics, alleviating some concerns about his athleticism. Still, his film shows some trouble with short-area quickness, when needing to recover after initially getting beat on a route. Additionally, he’ll have to get better control of his hand usage at the next level. He drew 13 flags the past two seasons and collegiate officiating is far more lenient than what he’ll experience at the next level.
▶ Deonte Banks, CB, Maryland
If you built a cornerback in a lab, he’d look and move like Banks. Measuring in at 6-foot-1, 197 pounds, the Terrapins standout ran a blazing 4.35-second 40-yard dash and posted a staggering 42-inch vertical. In coverage, the speed and size play, with quarterbacks only able to complete 43.3% of the 60 passes when targeting him. But crisp route runners can give him trouble and he’s not nearly as comfortable with zone assignments as he is playing man.
There also figure to be questions about Banks’ playmaking ability. He broke up only eight of those 60 targets and finished his college career with just two interceptions. Where he sets himself apart is his contributions in run support. He’s aggressive coming forward and is arguably the best open-field tackler at his position in this class, missing just three tackles across 16 games the past three seasons.
▶ Brian Branch, DB, Alabama
The Lions found themselves fortunate to land C.J. Gardner-Johnson in free agency. The versatile, playmaking safety is likely to see plenty of reps as a nickel corner one year after tying for the NFL lead with six interceptions.
Branch’s profile is remarkably similar. Extremely smart, he can line up anywhere in the secondary, seeing snaps as a deep safety, box safety, slot corner and along the line of scrimmage for the Crimson Tide last season. And he thrived at each spot, tallying 90 tackles, including 14 for a loss, three sacks, seven pass breakups and two interceptions.
Highly competitive and able to quarterback a defense, Branch might not see much action as a rookie with the way Detroit’s depth chart is stacking up, but could easily be the long-term replacement for the role Gardner-Johnson will fill this year.
▶ Lukas Van Ness, edge, Iowa
Don’t get hung up on the fact that Van Ness didn’t start at Iowa. That’s more reflective of a coaching staff’s old-school approach than the player’s talent. When you take a closer look, you’ll see no one logged more snaps along the defensive front, and he was certainty the team’s most productive lineman, racking up 46 quarterback pressures and six sacks in 13 games.
The 6-foot-5, 272-pounder’s calling card is his power, possessing the ability to overwhelm an offensive tackle with his bull rush. He’s also a top-tier edge-setter when defending the run. Still, the potential is so much greater, which is why there’s a good chance he’s off the board by the time the Lions are back on the clock. Van Ness displayed elite athletic traits at the combine, and if he’s able to develop a few more reliable pass-rush moves, he has the potential to produce double-digit sack totals at the next level.
▶ Myles Murphy, edge, Clemson
Like Banks, Murphy has the attributes of a video game create-a-player. But the appeal goes beyond the 6-foot-5, 268-pound frame, or even the impressive 4.53-second 40, which included an exceptional 1.59-second 10-yard split. What’s compelling about Murphy is he was able to log more than 1,500 snaps at Clemson and is still just 21 years old.
The concern is Murphy is pretty much the same player he was as a freshman two years ago. Maybe that’s on Clemson’s coaching staff for not doing a better job with his development. For all the physical gifts, Murphy hasn’t taken big enough steps forward to maximize them, even seeing a decline in his pass-rushing production from 2021 to 2022.
Like Van Ness, if Murphy is able to expand his pass-rush move set and tighten up his fundamentals, he has the makings of an impact rusher to complement his NFL-ready run defense. Of course, the downside of having more than 1,500 snaps under your belt is it can take a little longer to overwrite pre-existing muscle memory.
▶ Bryan Bresee, DT, Clemson
After making no meaningful additions to the team’s front seven in free agency, the Lions could use an injection of talent to the defensive interior after allowing 5.2 yards per carry last season.
A former five-star recruit previously viewed as a top-10 pick, Bresee struggled to maintain that trajectory while going through an overwhelming amount of personal adversity, including the death of his younger sister, a torn ACL, a kidney infection and a nagging shoulder issue.
If the medicals check out and you believe the developable traits still exist from his impressive freshman season, this represents a chance to get good value in the middle of the first round. The 6-foot-5, 298-pounder has shown his versatility through his college career and impressive athleticism at the scouting combine, particularly his short-area quickness and explosion.
With workhorses Alim McNeill and Isaiah Buggs still on the roster, the Lions can afford to take a prospect like Bresee, who might need to be handled with care during his debut season.
▶ Calijah Kancey, DT, Pitt
One of the most difficult players to project in this class, Kancey possesses some of the rarest physical gifts we’ve ever seen from an interior defensive line prospect. But there are legitimate concerns about his 6-foot-1, 280-pound frame. And more than the less-than-ideal height/weight combination, it’s his historically short arms that make it difficult to predict success.
There are plenty of people who have projected Detroit to have interest in Kancey, but we have to wonder if that’s because Lions GM Brad Holmes played a role in the scouting and selecting of another undersized Pitt defensive tackle, Aaron Donald.
Kancey is extremely quick and explosive off the snap, and combined with his natural leverage, he should find himself in the backfield with some regularity. But if he’s only going to carry value as a pass-rusher, the skill set might be redundant with the edge players on the Lions’ roster who kick inside on third down, such as John Cominsky and Josh Paschal.
▶ Hendon Hooker, QB, Tennessee
While we can’t definitively rule out a quarterback at No. 6, it continues to feel unlikely given the steady support the organization has voiced for starter Jared Goff the past two years. But with a desire to improve the backup spot, and the ability to get a player who could legitimately push for a starting job down the road, Hooker fits the bill.
In an ideal world, the Lions would be able to take Hooker with a later pick, but the reality is they probably won’t be able to wait that long. There are enough teams in the market for quarterback that the Tennessee standout is unlikely to last until the team is back on the clock at No. 48.
Hooker would be a surefire first-rounder if he wasn’t going to turn 26 years old in January or working his way back from a torn ACL. But his age, and more importantly, experience, should be considered a plus for the Lions, who are looking for someone capable of stepping in and leading an offense in a pinch, not needing to be the face of the franchise.
Hooker is accurate, demonstrates touch, has extensive experience working out of play-action and has above-average mobility to extend plays or do damage with this feet.
▶ O’Cyrus Torrence, G, Florida
The Lions had a bigger need at guard a month ago, but after convincing Halapoulivaati Vaitai to take a significant pay cut, and bringing back veteran Graham Glasgow to compete for that starting job, there’s no longer an immediate hole in the starting lineup.
But long-term, guard is still a concern. Vaitai’s contract now expires after this year, Glasgow re-upped for just one season, and Pro Bowl left guard Jonah Jackson is also on an expiring deal and due a massive raise. So yeah, there’s value in adding a piece who can solidify what is already considered by most to be the strength of the roster.
Torrence is a mountain of a man at 6-foot-5, 330 pounds. A three-year starter at Louisiana, he transferred and continued to dominate at Florida last season. He didn’t allow a sack in 2022 and continued to be a road grader in the ground game, although he’s not quite as effective when asked to pull, due to his size.
▶ Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas
Calling it a longshot, which is probably an understatement, we mentioned Robinson as an option at No. 6, strictly based on the talent. But given the positional value, he’d make far more sense at No. 18, assuming he’s still available to the Lions.
Robinson is the best running back prospect to come out in the past five years. He makes tacklers miss at an absurd clip, can be a steady contributor in the pass game, and outside of some fumble issues (six in 539 collegiate carries), he is a true total package as a backfield talent.
Where does Robinson fit in Detroit following the addition of David Montgomery and D’Andre Swift still on the roster? That’s a problem you can sort out later.
▶ Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU
After specifically targeting DJ Chark’s size and skill set last offseason, the team allowed him to walk in free agency a year later, signing 33-year-old Marvin Jones as a replacement.
Lions fans are plenty familiar with Jones’ skill set, namely his ability to make tough grabs when tightly covered, but he’s coming off one of the least productive seasons of his career, catching just 46 passes in 16 games for the Jaguars in 2022.
With Jones, Kalif Raymond and Josh Reynolds all playing on expiring contracts, there’s room to add talent, especially talent with size, to the mix. Enter the 6-foot-3, 208-pound Johnston. He was a big-play machine for TCU, both on deep balls and doing damage after the catch, averaging 19.0 yards per reception through his college career.
Admittedly, other top receiving prospects could be available at 18, but Johnston’s size is why we chose to spotlight him.
▶ Michael Mayer, TE, Notre Dame
Detroit’s tight end depth chart isn’t sexy, but the young collective of Brock Wright, James Mitchell and Shane Zylstra held their own after the team traded away T.J. Hockenson at the deadline last season. The holdover trio especially has a nose for the end zone, combining for nine scores in 2022.
Of course, there’s room to improve that group, and plenty of pundits have looked to slot a tight end to the Lions in their mock drafts. If the franchise went that route, it would mark the fourth time since 2009 the Lions have selected a tight end in first round. That’s something no other team can say, probably because the historical success rate isn’t good.
While Dalton Kincaid and Darnell Washington have their supporters, Mayer is viewed by most as the best prospect in a deep class. A captain, Mayer led the Irish in receptions and touchdowns last season. And at 6-foot-4, 265 pounds, he has the necessary specs to succeed as a blocker. Competitiveness certainty isn’t lacking in that department.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers