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Detroit Lions’ 2018 draft needs evident just six games into 2017 season

By Zac Snyder

CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 28: (L-R) Taylor Decker of Ohio State holds up a jersey with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being picked #16 overall by the Detroit Lions during the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University on April 28, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 28: (L-R) Taylor Decker of Ohio State holds up a jersey with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being picked #16 overall by the Detroit Lions during the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University on April 28, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images) /
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DETROIT, MI – JANUARY 01: Ezekiel Ansah #94 of the Detroit Lions looks up at the score board in the closing minutes of the game against the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field on January 1, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. The Packers defeated the Lions 31-24. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI – JANUARY 01: Ezekiel Ansah #94 of the Detroit Lions looks up at the score board in the closing minutes of the game against the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field on January 1, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. The Packers defeated the Lions 31-24. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) /

Defensive End

Bob Quinn has had no problem finding early contributors in his first two drafts but if there is one thing that has given many Lions fans heartburn it has been eschewing the defensive end position.

Kerry Hyder was a pleasant surprise last season and Anthony Zettel looks like this year’s Hyder. Quinn deserves credit for adding Zettel late in the 2016 draft but he’s still not going to be the kind of elite pass rusher a dominant defense needs. The same goes for Hyder, especially now that he has to work his way back from an Achilles injury.

The Lions were supposed to have their elite defensive end in Ziggy Ansah. He had the look of a breakout star with 14.5 sacks in 2015 but had just two last year in an injury-plagued season and is off to a slow start in 2017. Three of Ansah’s four sacks this season came playing against the human turnstile that is Ereck Flowers.

Ansah is heading toward free agency and the Lions will face a difficult decision in how to approach the situation. The franchise tag is a definite possibility if they are reluctant to commit big money over multiple years but they still need to have some sort of long-term plan for what is a premium position.

Quinn has shown a desire to build his teams through the trenches but that hasn’t happened at defensive end yet. The Lions need to be able to count on a pass rush more consistently and it’s time to add at least one top-end talent at the position through the draft.

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