Don’t rule out quarterback as an option for the Detroit Lions with the No. 7 pick in the 2021 draft.
General manager Brad Holmes already made a major splash and reshaped the team’s footprint by trading longtime starter Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams for Jared Goff, a deal that becomes official March 17.
But Holmes is not done scouting quarterbacks by any stretch as he looks to build a contender alongside head coach Dan Campbell.
The Lions not only landed Goff in the QB swap with the Rams, but a pair of future first-round picks and a third-round pick in the 2021 draft. That’s enough ammunition for Holmes to make a move now — or bide his time.
“The quarterback position in general, what’s cool about this year is that they’re in all different flavors,” Holmes said. “You have a guy that can actually do it all, do it from the pocket, do it with his legs. You have another guy that probably a little bit more does it with his legs, a little bit more of being creative. There’s another guy probably does it more from the pocket.
“So all the different flavors makes it very, very intriguing in terms of when you’re looking across the whole scope of the class of these quarterbacks.”
The top four or five quarterbacks in the draft are expected to have final draft grades worthy of first-round consideration based on Field Level Media’s rankings: Trevor Lawrence (Clemson), Zach Wilson (BYU), Justin Fields (Ohio State), Mac Jones (Alabama) and North Dakota State wildcard Trey Lance.
“When you’re picking in the Top 10, I don’t think you can ignore and I think it’s smart drafting business anyways, when you’re picking in the Top 10 that you make sure you know that quarterback class very thoroughly,” Holmes said.
Free agency is likely to sharpen the Lions’ needs into focus with wide receiver Kenny Golladay, a candidate for the franchise tag, and pressing questions along the offensive line.
–Field Level Media
