Detroit Lions: Gearing up for Day Two of the 2021 NFL Draft

After what I consider to be a day one home run for the Detroit Lions, it is expected to be a hectic day two. As it stands, the organization is set to make three selections throughout the evening, one in round two, plus a pair of choices in the third round.

First, many folks continue to point towards the Chicago Bears’ decision to trade-up to get quarterback Justin Fields out of Ohio State and wonder if that is the Aaron Donald of 2021.

As you know, you can do this routine in any of the previous drafts, but I want to shift the narrative and leave you with this when it comes to this topic.  I strongly believe that Penei Sewell will be the Aaron Donald of the 2021 Draft for both Cincinnati and Miami, who chose to pass on his services.

I truly believe the Detroit Lions hit a home run selecting Sewell; we’ll surely revisit this over the coming years to see how it plays out.

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We’re so used to bashing the organization for reaching with their draft picks; it’s a new regime, a new team.  This time the franchise saw a bonified superstar at his position fall into their lap, and rather than overthinking the situation, they simply made the correct choice and selected the player.

After landing the top offensive lineman in the draft, there is plenty of work left for the Detroit Lions to do, and it starts on day two.

When you look at the top available prospects that failed to hear their name called during the first round of the NFL Draft, a few of them really jump out.

Linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (JOK) had been projected to be a first-round selection, and defensive tackle Christian Barmore, safety Trevon Moehrig plus pass-catcher Elijah Moore.  All four are expected to be taken very early on tonight before the Lions are on the clock.

The Detroit Lions will pick ninth (41st overall) in the second round.  If they hope to land either of the three players I just mentioned, they will need to trade up to do so.

Now, the decision comes, are they willing to mortgage a fourth-round pick to move up and get JOK knowing they don’t have a sixth or seventh-round pick in ’21?  Maybe Brad Holmes moves a future mid-round pick in a pick-swap with Jacksonville tonight.

This is why Holmes gets paid the big bucks.  He will need to see if the combination of potential Lions second-round picks like Rondale Moore, Jevon Holland, Jabril Cox, or Asante Samuel Jr. staying at 41, paired with two third-round choices outweigh trading up and potentially forfeiting one of two third-round selections in a trade-up scenario.

I will say this, Owusu-Koramoah would be a tremendous consolation prize to Micah Parsons.  And pairing JOK with Sewell makes for an elite first and second-round draft combination for the Detroit Lions.