Lions Rookie Carted off Field With Apparent Leg Injury

Jashon Cornell

Getty Jashon Cornell playing for OSU.

The Detroit Lions didn’t add a ton to their defensive line this offseason, but one of the players they did add in the NFL Draft was Jashon Cornell.

A defensive lineman out of Ohio State, most figured Cornell could push for a rotational role with the Lions considering his ability to push the pocket up front. Unfortunately, Cornell’s bid to make a difference for the team in 2020 could have hit the skids early in camp.

Tuesday morning, Cornell was carted off the field after sustaining what reporters called a serious looking leg injury.

It was merely the second day of padded practice for the Lions, but the team is going hard due to the fact they have no preseason games this season. Fortunately, it’s been their only injury during practice thus far.


Jashon Cornell Called Underrated Talent

The hope is that the injury is not serious, because Cornell was an under the radar talent. According to Pro Football Focus, Cornell was one of the most productive interior defensive players in college football last season. Interestingly, his 90.2 rating compared favorably with Derrick Brown, a player the Lions were reportedly considering selecting in the No. 3 slot of the draft.

Cornell, of course, slipped to Detroit with a late pick considering he wasn’t high on the depth chart while playing with the Ohio State Buckeyes until his solid senior season, but obviously, these numbers show there is pro potential for the player once he takes the next step into the league.

Another thing working to Cornell’s advantage? He joins a Detroit defensive line that has not added much this offseason. Fellow rookie tackle John Penisini was the only player drafted from the class, and they will join Danny Shelton in the middle of the line. Obviously, the chance is there for Cornell to show he belongs if and when he gets healthy.


Lions Draft Class Rated High Against NFL

Cornell helped the Lions round out what looks like a solid draft class. How does Detroit’s draft class rate against all their competition in the league as a whole? It’s a hard question to answer, but recently, a pair of NFL.com writers tried by stacking up all the drafts against each other and rating them 1-32.

Detroit’s 2020 class shapes up pretty well. According to a piece by Gennaro Filice and Dan Parr, Detroit should score an A- for their draft work a few weeks back. The entire class itself ranks within the league’s top 10, coming in as the No. 8 overall class in the NFL.

According to Filice in a lengthy writeup, the way the Lions filled needs in a diverse fashion offensively and defensively means their draft was very successful. Detroit added defense early with Jeff Okudah, scored potential steals with D’Andre Swift and Romeo Okwara and managed to help fix their ground game with Jonah Jackson and Logan Stenberg, a pair of guards with different skill sets yet similar outlook.

Obviously, it’s true the Lions have done a great job in this draft considering all their needs and how they managed to balance them out. That’s just what this in-depth analysis seems to show. As a result, the team could be able to turn the corner in the short term given the elite class.

The hope is Cornell can turn into something in time and give the class more depth. For now, the Lions will simply have to hope the injury isn’t bad.

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