Getty Cardinals defender Jordan Phillips buries Jared Goff with a hit in a 2021 game.
The Detroit Lions have wins in two out of their last three games, and with the margin of error thin, it is perhaps not shocking that the team has officially lost their grip on the top pick in the 2022 NFL draft.
Detroit’s 30-12 win in Week 15 has come with the positive of a ton of praise for the franchise, their players and the team’s head coach Dan Campbell, but has come with the drawback of slipping one spot in the standings when it comes to the first-overall pick in the draft.
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As Tankathon.com showed on Twitter following the outcome of the Detroit and Jacksonville teams, the Lions have now flip-flopped in the standings with the Jaguars and are sitting in position for the second-overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft.
Is there a chance of the Lions gaining back control of the top pick? Perhaps, because the Jaguars play the New York Jets in Week 16 before finishing with the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. The Lions play Atlanta, Seattle and Green Bay to finish out the season.
No matter if the Lions end up picking first or second, they will be likely to get a difference maker who could move the needle in future seasons.
NFL Analyst Laments Lions Losing Grip on Top Pick
Naturally, several fans as well as casual observers took time out to pile on the Lions for winning a game that cost them the top selection. NFL analyst Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports was ripping on the Lions for stumbling into a late-season win that could end up costing them everything in the draft standings.
#Lions No. 1 overall pick vanishing “like a fart in the wind”.
@ndblair Nah. Just pointing out that even when the org loses systematically, the times they defy expectations and win, it ends up being damaging. It’s like they can’t even be lucky enough to lose in the moments where it can be helpful.
Robinson seems to feel as if the team needs to keep losing in order to secure a top selection, so his opinion likely mirrors plenty of Detroit fans who didn’t want to see the Lions win. Even such, it’s hard to ignore the positivity that a good result can bring even in spite of what it may have done to the draft position in the end.
Early Lions’ 2022 NFL Draft Primer
Regardless of where the impending pick comes, Detroit will continue to use the draft as the big way to build their roster. If the Lions manage to secure a top two selection in the draft as most will hope they can do, 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 some of the 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 no matter where Detroit’s selection comes. Obviously, there is no shortage of needs for the team to ponder with all of their selections next year.
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