Getty Christian Darrisaw celebrates a touchdown with his teammates.
The Detroit Lions are setting out to come up with the best way possible to attack the 2021 NFL Draft, and a major focus for the team could be finding a way to make trades in order to squeeze as many picks as possible for the rebuild.
So far, that’s been a theme of plenty of mocks around the internet, but in a new mock, an intriguing theme has emerged about Detroit’s hopes. As NFL Network reporter Peter Schrager hypothesized, the Lions will be open to making some big moves and big trades this season.
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Schrager has the Lions trading back with the Arizona Cardinals, who deal up to the number seven slot to take wideout Jaylen Waddle. Detroit trades back to the 16 position and nabs offensive lineman Christian Darrisaw from Virginia Tech.
Schrager wrote:
“The Lions could be a team that trades back not once but multiple times in this draft. With Detroit in re-build mode and with just six draft picks this year, look for GM Brad Holmes to be wheelin’ and dealin’ during the entire three-day exercise. Darrisaw is a former lightly recruited prospect out of prep school who has been magnificent the past few years with the Hokies.”
The takeaway here? While Schrager might be off on who the Lions are targeting, he could be right when it comes to the team wanting to trade back, and perhaps even multiple times. Schrager is in the know in NFL circles, so if he’s reporting that the Lions are open for business, it’s likely the team is open for business heading into the NFL Draft this season.
Rumors have held the Lions could be in-play for an offensive lineman in the first round, so it’s possible the team would consider moving around if they knew they could still pick up the kind of player that they like while maximizing their draft return.
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Darrisaw’s Stats and Highlights
An under-the-radar prospect, Darrisaw is the kind of player who hasn’t attracted much high-level attention going into the draft, but if the Lions were looking to grab one of the top three tackles this year, he could fit the bill in a major way. Last season, Darrisaw was a first-team All-ACC player along the team’s offensive front. Darrisaw has played for the Hokies since 2018, and is 6-5 and 314 pounds, making him the perfect size to fit in up front for the team.
Here’s a look at some of Darrisaw’s highlights.
While he’s an underrated prospect, there are plenty of good things to see on tape about the tackle.
Offensive Line Could Be Target for Lions
It makes sense that the Lions could target another lineman for their rebuild. Even though the Lions have Taylor Decker, Jonah Jackson and Frank Ragnow in the fold as well as quality young depth pieces like Tyrell Crosby, the team could need one more elite piece to perhaps cement their transformation toward one of the best groups in the NFL. While wideout and defense are big needs for the Lions, the team could simply stay put and take an elite talent like Rashawn Slater or Sewell in order to help out their offensive line for the near future.
It’s clear Rashawn Slater or Penei Sewell are the types of players who could move the needle for the Lions in terms of getting a tough lineman up front, and Darrisaw could be as well if Detroit trades back enough. Whether the draft plays out like this or not is anybody’s guess, but right tackle could be a need deemed too important to pass up in the end.
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