New Mock Draft Projects Top Defender Dropping to Lions

There have been countless scenarios presented as it relates to what could happen with the Detroit Lions in the 2020 NFL Draft, but until this point, none may have seemed as delicious to fans as a recent one.

Recently, Pro Football Focus writer Michael Renner put together a fresh mock draft. It didn’t follow the same script as plenty of others have, however. Renner had the Washington Redskins drafting Tua Tagovailoa with the No. 2 pick, and Chase Young coming off the board to the Lions with pick No. 3.

Here’s what Renner wrote as it relates to why he sees such a move playing out, and what it would mean for the Lions to grab Young:

“If the Lions are going to come away from the first round with only one pick, this is the absolute dream scenario. Last year’s starter, Romeo Okwara, had fewer pressures his final two seasons at Notre Dame combined (40) than Young had in each of the past two seasons (75 and 56). That sounds like quite the upgrade.”

Young would be an upgrade indeed, but the wonder for Lions fans would be if the team could actually land him. The Redskins just drafted Dwayne Haskins a year ago, and it would be interesting to see if they would even consider a quarterback. It seems off the table now, but the draft often times breeds strange results.

Safe to say Lions fans would be thrilled if Young slipped into their lap with the No. 3 pick in the draft.

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Another Mock Draft Gave Lions Chase Young

The team might not have the fast track to landing Young, however, considering the Washington Redskins could be in the market to take Young with the No. 2 pick in the draft. Most experts have been mocking that exact outcome, but few have been so bold as to predict the Redskins either won’t take Young or will trade out of the spot.

MLive.com’s Kyle Meinke, like Renner, went rogue in his latest mock, predicting that the Redskins will trade out of No. 2 with the Miami Dolphins, who will select Tua Tagovailoa. In the pick before that, the Cincinnati Bengals select Joe Burrow. That leaves Young to slip into the Lions’ lap.

Here’s what Meinke wrote about how Detroit would approach a situation like this:

“Nobody stands to benefit from a run on quarterbacks more than Detroit, which already has a franchise quarterback playing at a high level. Of course, it still lost 12 games last year because of a near-historically bad defense. There was no bigger reason for that than their pass rush, which was among the league’s worst. This defense won’t work without better peformances [sic] up front, and Young just so happens to be the best pass rusher in this draft. Hell, he might be the best defensive prospect overall. As long as you have a quarterback in place, you don’t pass up the opportunity to lock in a playmaking pass rusher on a cost-controlled contract like this. Detroit won’t.”

Such a scenario would be a dream come true for the Lions, who need all the help they can get rushing the passer. Obviously, Young would be the biggest feather in their caps to do this, and someone vaulting Detroit to pick a quarterback or a pair of passers coming off the board in rapid succession would be just about the best scenario for the team.

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Chase Young Stats

It’s easy to see why teams are drooling over Young in this process. The defensive end out of Ohio State has the look of a generational talent at his position given his combination of size and strength. As a whole, Young has dominated, piling up an astonishing 30.5 sacks, 9 forced fumbles and 40.5 tackles for loss.

Young has threatened to go back to college in 2020, so it will be interesting to see if that actually happens, or he ends up taking his talents to the NFL. The bet is that the league will get to see Young join their class in 2020.

Obviously, thanks to these numbers, he figures to be a player that can make an immediate jump into perhaps being one of the more fearsome defenders in the league. The Lions would love to land him if this mock scenario plays out.

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