Detroit Lions Seven-Round Mock Draft: Defense Dominates Early

Sixth Round

The Lions haven’t drafted a quarterback since picking Matthew Stafford with the number one overall pick in 2009. Stafford is still the Lions franchise quarterback, but Dan Orlovsky is still just Dan Orlovsky. It wouldn’t hurt to draft a long-term project to push Orlovsky, and Brandon Allen fits the bill.

Not only did Allen finish his career at Arkansas with over 7,400 career passing yards and 64 touchdown passes. He also improved his completion percentage, yards passing, yards per attempt, touchdown passes, and quarterback rating every single year, in every category, from his freshman through senior year seasons.

Give him time to learn, and Allen can be a capable backup at the professional level.

The Lions said goodbye to Joique Bell this offseason and hello to Steven Ridley. Still they could use some more thunder to go with Ameer Abdullah‘s lightning.

Arkansas running back Jonathan Williams is a big back capable of running through you. His senior season was lost due to injury, but during his sophomore and junior years Williams ran for over 2,000 yards combined.

He would make a perfect, powerful complement to the slashing, explosive style of Abdullah.

The Lions waited until the seventh round in the 2015 draft to select a big, developmental prospect on the offensive line – Corey Robinson. This time they do it a round earlier, picking Brandon Shell in the sixth round.

Interestingly enough, Brandon Shell went to the same school – South Carolina – that Corey Robinson attended. Even more interesting, Shell is the nephew of NFL Hall of Famer Art Shell.

Shell projects as a right tackle in the NFL. And while he is not the player his uncle was, he is a huge man, who excels in the run game, has the potential to round into a starter down the road.

Next: Round 7