The Detroit Lions should not feel obligated to select a quarterback in the 2021 NFL Draft; Jared Goff buys them plenty of time.
Since joining the Detroit Lions, general manager Brad Holmes has quickly put his fingerprints all over the organization. Whether he’s willing to use use the term rebuild or not, it’s precisely what the team is forced to endure once again.
Holmes quickly flipped the team’s 33-year old franchise quarterback for an abundance of future draft capital and a bridge quarterback that is just 26-years old with, quite frankly, a more impressive resume to date.
As I’ve mentioned in the past, the blockbuster deal is good for all parties involved. Matthew Stafford gives Rams head coach Sean McVay a new toy to operate his high octane offense. The Detroit Lions, who are desperate for a complete roster overhaul under their new regime, need as much draft capital as possible, plus they received a quarterback in Goff who is a plug-and-play signal-caller.
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Jared Goff buys GM Brad Holmes and the Detroit Lions time.
Last season the Detroit Lions should have used the third overall pick on a quarterback, but instead, Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia decided to make one last ditched effort to put a winning product on the field in hopes of saving their job.
This is where not having a ‘football’ mind in upper management to squash that notion became detrimental to the organization. Team President Rod Wood is a businessman, and he will be the first to tell you that he’s indeed not a football guy. The organization addressed this by adding many new faces to their management team, including former Lions great Chris Spielman.
It’s not every day a team has an opportunity to pick in the top three of the NFL Draft; it’s actually a rarity, even for the Lions. Quinn proved he’s no poker player time and time again during his tenure in Detroit, but that 2019 draft was his worst moment sitting at the league’s high stakes table.
Quinn couldn’t bluff enough to trade out of the third spot and still land Jeff Okudah later. Or simply draft either Tua Tagovailoa or Justin Herbert. Imagine having a young quarterback in place and then trading Stafford for an abundance of draft capital?
It is what it is, but Holmes won’t need to reach for the fourth or fifth-best quarterback in the draft. The Detroit Lions can roll with Goff for a year, two years, three years, whatever Holmes sees fit, or until they have an opportunity to draft their top option in the coming years.
Every single season a top quarterback emerges. Before starting the 2019 NCAA season, Joe Burrow wasn’t even on the radar to be the top overall pick in 2020.
Let me reiterate, I’m ok if the organization drafts a quarterback in 2020 if they get ‘their guy’ but don’t just take a QB for the sake of taking one.
Instead of the fourth or fifth-best QB, the Lions will have an opportunity to draft a cornerstone lineman such as Penei Sewell or Rashawn Slater. Or perhaps a playmaker like Kyle Pitts or Ja’Marr Chase. The Lions may also choose to trade back, adding more draft capital, and select a defensive playmaker like Patrick Surtain, Jaycee Horn, or Micah Parsons.
Although many of us refuse to accept it, the Detroit Lions will be in a position to draft a quarterback likely with a top-five pick in each of the next two NFL Drafts, plus in each; they have an additional first-round selection to continue building a youthful roster around said, quarterback.