Getty Bijan Robinson while working out during the 2023 NFL combine.
The Detroit Lions have plenty of ways they can go about the 2023 NFL draft, and that’s especially true given the fact that the team has 10 picks, including four in the first two rounds.
Detroit is a team with few glaring holes at this point after a solid offseason, so theoretically, they can go with the best player available approach when they tackle the draft. That means with regards to offense and defense, anything could be on the table in terms of additions.
In ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper’s latest mock draft, the team had one of their better hauls of the projection process. Kiper gave the Lions Alabama edge Will Anderson Jr. with the sixth-overall pick. Later, the team lands linebacker Jack Campbell with pick 48 in the second-round, and Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt with pick 55.
The move that caught the attention of ESPN analyst Marcus Spears from the projection, though, was that of Robinson. Kiper had the talented running back going 18th to the Lions. As Spears explained on an episode of NFL Live, Kiper’s mock of Robinson to Detroit would provide the team a boost with one of the best players in the draft, and someone who could make the team even more dangerous.
The Lions take Bijan Robinson in @MelKiperESPN‘s latest mock and @mspears96 can’t ‘love it enough’ 🤩
“I think Bijan Robinson is a top three football player in this draft.”
“I couldn’t love it enough. When you think about Detroit and the identity that Dan Campbell has built, especially offensively, that run game was one of the most terrifying things in football. And the play action. Coincidentally, Jared Goff had one of his better years at quarterback. You add another dynamic runner in the backfield, remember (Jamaal Williams left in free agency. I think Bijan Robinson is a top-three football player in this draft. Detroit, they get him at 18 (in the mock), he’s an immediate impact. The offensive line is intact, the system is intact. We saw multiple running backs have success in this scheme. He just brings another thing to the table. That is his elusiveness, running in between the tackles and on the outside and on the perimeter and also he can hit a home run. Even though people know he’s not a blazer, he somehow never gets caught from behind,” Spears said on the show.
Detroit signed David Montgomery this offseason to a three-year, $18 million dollar deal, so he will be a part of the mix moving forward at running back. The team also has D’Andre Swift for another year before they have to decide whether to keep him on a new deal or move on.
That situation could leave the team primed for an addition in the draft of a young player, and Robinson could make a ton of sense for the Lions in this very case. Picking a running back early in the draft would be a gamble, because the position hasn’t seen much success recently so early.
Still, the Lions had the 11th overall rated rushing attack in the league, and by adding Robinson to an already solid young room, the team could take steps toward being the best in the NFL at running the ball.
Spears sees that as something which would be a fantastic move for the team.
Mel Kiper Likes Bijan Robinson’s Fit With Lions
While Kiper also gave Detroit Anderson Jr., Campbell and Hyatt in his mock, the attention-grabber of this piece was Robinson given the role he can play for a team offensively.
The running back is talented at his position, and someone who could be one of the top players in the entire class given what he can do. In the mock, Kiper admitted that by adding Robinson, the Lions would get a complete package type player that they can insert seamlessly into the offense.
“People keep telling me Robinson won’t last into the 20s. He’s that good. It’s just really tough to find the perfect landing spot for him because teams finally understand the value of running backs in Round 1. So I’m going to follow Todd McShay’s lead and slot in Robinson to Detroit. Why? Because he’d be better in 2023 than D’Andre Swift, who is a free agent next year, and because he’d bring a receiving threat to the offense that free agent signing David Montgomery just doesn’t have. Robinson is a luxury pick, but the Lions really don’t have that many needs. They can afford a luxury selection here,” Kiper wrote within the mock.
Detroit will have a decision to make whether to go with defense and boost a defensive backfield that sustained another hit with the departure of Jeff Okudah via trade to the Atlanta Falcons, or add to a luxury position like running back or wide receiver if available.
As Kiper saw it in the mock, the Lions can find a cornerback further down the board, and instead elect to nab a pair of game-changers on both offense and defense with Anderson Jr. and then Robinson.
“The Lions traded cornerback Jeff Okudah to the Falcons on Tuesday, opening a starting spot in their secondary. Corner was a need even before the trade, though. In this scenario, with Anderson on the board, I still think Detroit would go with the elite edge rusher. Remember: It has another first-round pick and two picks in the second round,” Kiper’s update read in the mock.
It seems as if in a deep cornerback class, the Lions could be enticed by going with the best player overall as Kiper suggests.
Bijan Robinson’s College Stats & Highlights
There’s no question that Robinson will offer the NFL plenty when he transitions to the league, especially given what he’s been able to do while playing for Texas in college.
Robinson was arguably the top running back in the 2022 season, posting a solid 1,580 yards and 19 touchdowns. He also has caught 19 passes for 314 yards and two scores, and had several electric plays to his credit.
As a whole, Robinson has totaled 3,410 yards and 60 touchdowns on the ground in college. That’s to go with 805 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in his career catching the ball. It’s clear he is a diverse weapon capable of stretching out a defense.
Robinson has been seen as a potential first-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft, and he’s a player who’s talent could lead him to be selected within the first half of the draft this year, potentially even by Detroit.
Should that play out, Spears would likely think the team hit a home run relative to what Robinson brings to the field.