Detroit Lions: Three players to target in the second round of the NFL draft
By Bob Heyrman
RB J.K. Dobbins – Ohio State
The Detroit Lions offense is a playmaker away from being one of the most dynamic groups in all of football, well when you look at the teams’ skilled-positions anyway. The offensive line will remain one of the more prominent question marks heading into the start of next season unless Bob Quinn decides to address it in the draft and free agency. At the moment, I expect it to be a mixed-match group once again.
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Surely the team will draft an offensive lineman or two that will compete for a starting job along with a few veteran linemen currently rostered. Letting Graham Glasgow walk is an enormous mistake in my eyes, and this draft hopeful would undoubtedly agree.
Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins, in my eyes, is the most complete running back in the draft. D’Andre Swift, the product of Georgia in my mind, is a close second. Many have Swift as the leagues’ top running prospect, and understandably so, he maintains tremendous receiving skills to go along with his pure rushing ability.
Dobbins has a similar skill-set, maybe not as dangerous as a pass-catcher but the speed and vision of a premier runner. I feel Dobbins’ rushing ability slightly out weights Swift’s receiving skills. Jonathan Taylor is, in my opinion, the best pure runner, Dobbins is a little bit of both combined into one. Dobbins isn’t quite as agile as Swift and not nearly as powerful as Taylor but a great combination of both.
He’d be a perfect fit in Detroit, likely immediately taking over the teams’ lead-back role, deligating Kerryon Johnson to more of a specialty role. Johnson would be the ideal change-of-pace, third-down back in a much-needed shared backfield. It’s apparent that Johnson needs to be on a pitch count after suffering injury-plagued season’s in his first two years as a professional.
Dobbins would bolster the teams’ backfield. His running ability will be a welcoming sight for quarterback Matthew Stafford who hasn’t had a top-tier rusher yet in his 11-year career.
Dobbins accumulated 4459 rushing yards and 38 touchdowns during his three-year tenure with the Buckeyes. He was also able to add 645 yards on 71 catches adding 5 receiving touchdowns.