Getty Carson Strong on the field with Nevada in 2021.
Many have figured the Detroit Lions will be looking at a quarterback in the 2022 NFL draft, so nearly every name has been tied to the team in the mock draft process until now.
Fans clearly had been forgetting about one name, but now, he’s been linked to Detroit in a new mock draft, so it might be official that the team is looking at every single one of their options for 2022. After looking at mocks for weeks with names like Malik Willis, Kenny Pickett and Matt Corral, a different quarterback has surged into the mix potentially.
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In a recent mock for NFL.com, former running back Maurice Jones-Drew had some surprises for Detroit some fans will love, such as his assertion that Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson will fall to the second-overall pick and get snapped up by Detroit. Later on in the mock, though, he has another surprise that some folks will be very confused by. Jones-Drew has the Lions snapping up Nevada quarterback Carson Strong with pick 32.
“In a surprise move to some, the Lions select a strong-armed quarterback to learn under Jared Goff for a year before taking the reins in 2023,” Jones-Drew writes in the recap as it relates to why he had the Lions take Strong.
Strong has not been mocked to Detroit at all in recent months, nor has he been mentioned as a first-round pick much if at all. Safe to say this would be an off-the-wall move if it were to play out like this in Detroit, and one that would create a ton of headlines across the league.
Strong’s Stats & Highlights
Strong’s name has been one that has come up time and again in the 2022 draft process, but rarely as a first-round pick. Many have had the Nevada quarterback further down the board into the middle rounds, but all it takes is one team or executive to jump to make a situation like this happen. Strong doesn’t have bad stats from his time in college, putting up 9,368 yards and 74 touchdowns. The highlights show a player who can certainly sling the football around the field:
Strong has some talent, but his profile has been more of a middle-round pick rather than an early selection thus far. This would be a move that would be widely debated by the Lions fanbase given the team’s needs elsewhere plus their potential affinity for other quarterbacks in the class.
Lions Offseason Quarterback Plan With Draft, Free Agency
Who could the Lions look at in the draft for quarterback in 2022 if they choose? There are plenty of options for the team, and that’s especially true after the Lions watched the Senior Bowl last week. While at the game, the Lions saw the likes of Kenny Pickett, Sam Howell, Malik Willis, Matt Corral and Desmond Ridder excel. Any of those players could be early picks for the team, and while some make more sense than others, the Lions could conceivably roll the dice on one of these names if they are happy with how they can develop. The team also seems happy with who they have on the roster given they re-signed Tim Boyle as well as David Blough.
Jared Goff’s presence ends up helping the Lions in a big way. The team can select a quarterback if they find one they like and believe in, but they don’t have to make a sudden move whatsoever and take a player they aren’t sure about for the future. If that is the plan, a guy like Strong could make sense but only later on in the draft, not necessarily in the first round.
Whether he is on the board or not, the Lions could create a ton of differing opinions with this move. The only thing left to do is sit back and watch what happens.
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