Detroit Lions draft 2017: Bob Quinn comments on day 3

At the conclusion of the 2017 NFL Draft Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn met with the media. Here’s what he had to say.

Opening statement: “Good third day of the draft. Added six good football players for our team, two guys in the fourth (round), one in the fifth, two in the sixth and one in the seventh. Thought it was a really good process today. We kind of rearranged to the board like we talked about last night after I left here. Came back in this morning, really put a target on I’d say 10 to 15 players and thought we did a pretty good job of managing the situation of who may be available in what rounds. So I want to give a lot of credit to my staff, from Kyle O’Brien, to Lance Newmark, to our pro department, who kind of handles the team needs. Kind of talked a lot about this last year, but they do a great job of sort of predicting what teams are looking for and that really gives us a good perspective of when a guy might be available or what teams are maybe looking for this position. Even though we didn’t make any trades today, it’s a big part of the process and our staff put in a ton of work with that aspect of the draft.”

On if he landed any of the 10 to 15 players he targeted today: “We did. We got a number of them. I can’t say we got all of them, but we got a number of guys that we targeted early this morning at the different levels.”

On who the players were that he targeted today: “Jalen Reeves-Maybin.”

On what he envisions for fourth-round selections LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin and TE Michael Roberts: “Jalen first off, really good football player at the University of Tennessee. Really good tackler, speed, athleticism, playmaker, I’d say. We talked about Jalen (Tabor) the other night in terms of instincts. This guy’s (Jalen Reeves-Maybin) instincts at the linebacker position are very good. So that’s one thing that led to him. I spent some time with him personally down there in Tennessee before the pro day. Really felt fortunate that he was there. We kind of thought that he definitely was going to be probably in the third round. So we were kind of holding on hope there through the middle of the fourth that he was still going to be there. The value was just too good to pass up.”

On if there is something specific that he notices about a player when looking for instincts: “Yeah, I think it’s different for different positons, but like in Jalen’s (Tabor) case it’s anticipation of when the quarterback’s going to throw and what route is going to be run. At linebacker it’s kind of a totally different ball game. It’s, ‘Alright, what direction is the ball going to? What hole is he going to hit?’ Or if it’s play-action, how quickly do they react? It’s tape. Instincts can’t be judged in an interview. Instincts can’t be judged in a test. Instincts are viewed on the film.”

On where the Lions stand at running back: “I feel pretty good about the position. There were a couple running backs that we looked at in the middle part of the draft, but just no one felt that was going to come in and really unseat any of the guys that we have on our roster, so I feel good about that spot.”

On if RB Ameer Abdullah is the starting running back: “He is.”

On getting insurance at the running back position due to injuries at the position in 2016: “It’s a tough balance, but I think Ameer’s (Abdullah) injury last year was sort of a fluke thing and he’s back 100 percent. Theo’s (Riddick) dealing with a few things, but we think he’s going to be ready to go, too. You can’t carry 10 running backs. That’s just the nature of what the NFL league rules are. You’ve got 90 guys on the roster and you’ve got to split them up as best as you see fit. We feel good about Zach (Zenner). We feel good about Dwyane (Washington), feel good about Mike James, so that’s just the way we went.”

On if CB Jamal Agnew possesses instincts that impress him and if he will be a nickel cornerback: “Definitely more of a nickel guy. Small school prospect from the University of San Diego and yes, he’s very instinctive. He’s high on that scale. It’s different though because you have to look at all those things. You have to look into level of competition. He’s not playing against SEC receivers. A lot of those schools out there are actually non-scholarship. Really what solidified Jamal’s evaluation was the pro day. We had a couple guys at his pro day and they came back raving about him. Then we watched the pro day, we watched more film. That guy was a little bit under the radar as a non-Combine guy, but felt really strong about the evaluation and he’s going to come in there and compete on the inside.”

On if Agnew will have an opportunity to return punts: “Yeah, he’ll be in the punt return mix. He’s got a ways to go. He’s got some development there. Catching NFL punts is a little different than guys like me and you trying to punt.”

On drafting QB Brad Kaaya: “Really good value. He was a guy that was like sticking out on the board for most of the day and he kept falling and falling. At one point in time you’ve just got to trust your judgment and just follow the board. Didn’t really go into this draft saying I had to draft a quarterback. We could’ve, so Brad is an intelligent guy. Coach (Al) Golden was with him. He recruited him. So we really had a lot of insight on the kid. So not that we knew more, but I think we had a really good feel for what kind of player we got and what kind of guy that can really learn an NFL offense in an accelerated fashion. Good arm strength, pocket passer, played in an NFL system, so that’s definitely part of the evaluation. So there’s less projection when he’s actually been under center, he’s run some play-action. It seems that when those guys are in shotgun at the college level it just takes them time to kind of transition. Thought it was a good value pick and he’s going to come in and compete with Jake (Rudock) and see how it goes.”

On if drafting Roberts impacts the contract decision on TE Eric Ebron: “I don’t think it affects the decision on Eric that we’ll make here in the next couple days. I would say this though, Michael is a different kind of tight end than Eric is. Eric’s a fast, athletic, ‘F’ tight end, we call them. Big Mike is a ‘Y’.”

On Roberts’ abilities as a red zone threat: “Big factor. This kid’s got like the biggest hands of the draft and the Combine. Like, you shake his hand when you guys meet this guy, like, you can’t even see your hand in there. I think at the pro day we were down there and I think he shook my hand and I kind of just took it out real quick and kind of gave him a fist bump because I just felt a little uncomfortable. He’s a good kid from Cleveland. Red area target is exactly right. Big guy that, for his size, runs well enough. I mean this guy isn’t a 4.5 guy, but for being 275 pounds, this guy moves pretty good. So I’m excited to add him to the group.”

On if he has made a decision on Ebron yet: “Have not.”

On his vision for DL Jeremiah Ledbetter: “Our initial vision for him is defensive tackle. That’s where we’re going to start him. He does play both. When you watch him on film he definitely rotates three-technique, five-technique, seven-technique, you see him all over the place, which is part of why we liked this guy because he has versatility. But we’re starting him off on the inside.”

On what weight he sees Ledbetter playing at: “We’ll kind of wait to decide on that once he gets here, once we get him with our strength coaches, once he gets with the position coach and with our nutritionist and kind of see what the body composition is before we are going to commit to, ‘Hey, get to 300 pounds.’ Like, maybe that’s not good for him. So that takes time to kind of evaluate over the course of the spring.”

On if he has had any recent talks with WR Anquan Boldin: “Yeah, we’ve had some communication with Anquan. That was back in I’d say March, so really no update on our end of things. I know they said he’s been communicating with a couple other teams, but nothing to update. Door’s open.”

On how he feels about the team’s pass rush situation: “I feel good. Ziggy Ansah, Kerry Hyder, Cornelius Washington. Guys on the inside, A’Shawn (Robinson), Armonty Bryant, (Anthony) Zettel. I feel good.”

On selecting six defensive players and three offensive players in the draft: “Yeah, you know, that’s always, like, you go into it and you kind of say, you know, you want to be even or, ‘Hey, I definitely have to go more defense this year. That’s just kind of how it fell this year, to answer quickly.”

On if his staff has already begun the process of contacting rookie free agents: “We are exactly in the middle of that process right now. So that’s actually why I need to get going here in a minute. But yes, I think the rookie free agents, we’re not going to confirm anything until actually these guys put their names on the dotted line, but we’re in the talks right now with numerous guys. Nothing’s official, but we feel good that we’re going to have a good crop of rookie free agents. So that’s another thing I think was really good in terms of scouting staff, like really organizing that. If you guys could ever be in the war room, which maybe someday, it’s chaos. I mean, I’m just telling you. Like, I made a joke today and I was dead serious, the seventh round and rookie free agents is more stressful than the first round because everything’s flying so fast. The picks are coming off the board and you’re sitting there, especially with us where we’re at 250. Is that where we picked Pat (O’Connor)? So 250, and really what it comes down to is you’re looking at the board and you’re saying, ‘OK, I want to draft one of these five guys.’ You’re really like, ‘Which ones can I not get as a rookie free agent when you’re that low?’ You know, if you’re at the top of the seventh round it’s different. But when you’re in the last five or 10 picks, that’s kind of part of the draft strategy. So it’s hectic. Not my favorite part of the draft, but we got through it.”

On when he starts calling players he may want to sign after the draft: “Right after the draft’s over.”

On where he believes he has improved this roster the most this offseason: “Good question. I think you look at the roster, it’s probably more on the defensive side of the ball just in terms of pure numbers that we’ve added. But I think, you know, in terms of the offensive side of the ball with the offensive linemen that we added, the tight end and the receiver today in the draft, I think it’s pretty well-rounded. I think we still have a ways to go to kind of really complement the entire roster. The spring’s early. We haven’t even set our feet on the field yet for OTAs, so it’s a never-ending process for us to try to improve the roster and we try to do it every day.”

On what position Reeves-Maybin will play: “He’ll be an outside linebacker. Probably more of a WILL.”

On players such as Golladay who have unique paths to the NFL: “Yeah, when we talk about the background of these players and the character and where they came from and what’s important to them, that all factors in. I mean, he’s a pretty unique story. Sending out his own highlight tape to try to get, you know, recruited to a Division I school? I mean, that means something. I’m not saying it means everything, but when you sit down and interview a guy you kind of know what’s important in their life and, you know, I think that’s a small factor. But it means something.”

Next: Injured Tigers on road to recovery

*All quotes provided by the Detroit Lions.