Detroit Lions 2014 redraft: Fortune teller and just better editions
By Ash Thompson
Round Two: Kyle Van Noy
Kyle Van Noy just didn’t fit what former Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin was looking for. He isn’t the worst player selected in the second round, there are a few guys who have not made it to 2018 on an NFL roster. He has gone on to a productive, but unspectacular role with the New England Patriots.
In Hindsight, the Lions should have taken running back Devonta Freeman. Both Reggie Bush and Joique Bell fell off after their extremely productive 2013 seasons. The Lions running game never recovered. Freeman has been incredibly productive in Atlanta. He played only spot duty in 2014 but has since hit the 1500 yards from scrimmage mark in two of three seasons and scored 35 touchdowns over that stretch. Freeman was considered a mid to late round prospect at the time, but he would have solved a large number of the Lions problem since this draft.
On the day of the draft, Timmy Jernigan would have made sense. While spending the number ten overall pick, the third first-round pick in five seasons, on a risky defensive tackle was a bad idea, spending a second-round pick to replace the outgoing Nick Fairley is just good business. The way that Teryl Austin used his defensive tackles against the run was tailor-made for Jernigan’s skill set, and the former Florida State Seminole has shown solid pass rush chops as well. The Lions thought they would be able to keep Ndamukong Suh, and this would have been a solid complement beside him.
Round Three: Travis Swanson
Travis Swanson was actually a solid pick. I will maintain forever that Swanson was ruined by former offensive line coach Ron Prince. The more exposure Swanson had to Prince, the worse he got. The Lions needed to move on from Swanson this offseason, but this could have been very different with better coaching. At the time, Swanson made perfect sense for the team. They needed interior offensive line help with Dominic Raiola nearing retirement. Swanson was the player that made sense on the day of the draft.
With perfect hindsight, however, the Lions should have drafted Trai Turner. This would have added a pro bowl caliber guard to the Lions line up. Rob Sims wasn’t the weakest link in the team but he was a below average NFL starter. Solidifying the left side of the line with a superior option at guard and looking for a replacement for Raiola when he needed to be replaced would have been a better move in hindsight.
Wide receiver John Brown would have been a solid choice for the Lions in the third round. He would have given the team a decent third wide receiver as a rookie. Before a series of nagging injuries slowed him down Brown looked like the heir apparent to Larry Fitzgerald in Arizona. The Lions lack of depth at the position had Corey Fuller, and Jeremy Ross starting games when Calvin Johnson went down with an injury. A better general manager would not have let that happen.