Getty Rudy Ford celebrates a pick for Jacksonville in 2021.
The Detroit Lions didn’t play in Week 9 and remain winless, and yet the team still found a way to have a great week without being on the field.
Scoreboard watching was a major friend of the Lions on this week, as the team managed to find a way to pad their lead on the top overall pick in a big way. The Lions watched as both Jacksonville and Miami won games, taking the pressure off the top pick. While Houston lost, the Lions still have a lead on them for the top overall pick.
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Here’s a look at how things shaped up for the week. The good news? Other than Houston, the Lions hold a 1.5 to 2 game lead on the top overall pick at this point in time.
Dolphins win. Jaguars win. Massive day for the Lions in the race for No. 1.
Overall, it was just about the best week possible for Detroit in terms of scoreboard watching down the line. The Lions needed a lot of results to go their way, and almost all of them did, including some other games further down the list of importance.
Lions Biggest Week 9 Break Came From Jaguars Upset
Coming into the bye week, the Lions were hoping for a few miracles, and quite possibly the biggest was Jacksonville’s 9-6 win over Buffalo. If there’s a team that has rivaled the Jaguars for futility this year other than the Lions, it has been the Jaguars. To see Jacksonville win and Buffalo lose was a true shock, but likely a welcomed one for the Lions all things considered.
Other than this game, the Lions also got favorable results down the draft board with wins by Miami, the New York Giants and Atlanta. Overall, it was a very good weekend for the Lions in terms of keeping their luck running for the top overall pick by season’s end.
Lions’ Top 2022 NFL Draft Needs
If the Lions manage to secure the top selection in the draft, there’s a multitude of ways they could elect to go with the pick given the unique needs of the roster. The team’s defense needs playmakers up front to rush the passer along the defensive line, and could also need depth on the back end at cornerback. Offensively, the Lions have a major need for a big time pass catching wideout to help their down field attack on offense. As always, quarterback is going to be a position to watch near the top of the draft, especially considering the early struggles of Jared Goff with the Lions in 2021.
The good news for Detroit? They also have the first-round pick of the Los Angeles Rams by virtue of the Matthew Stafford trade for this year and next year, and figure to gain multiple compensatory selections for 2022 so some serious building can occur for the roster if the team manages to secure the top overall pick. Obviously, there is no shortage of needs for the team to ponder with all of their selections next year.
So far, the Lions remain on the right track to secure that pick.