Assuming the Detroit Lions don’t trade out of the No. 6 spot in the upcoming NFL draft, the most logical option for the team is setting up to be one of the top edge rushers not named Will Anderson.
That sentiment is rooted in the logic of positional value, married with a lingering roster need for the Lions, despite the additions of Aidan Hutchinson, Josh Paschal and James Houston in last year’s draft. Anderson, the Alabama standout, has long been viewed as a likely top-five selection, leaving the Lions to grab the next-best available at the position.
Most analysts have listed Texas Tech’s Tyree Wilson and Clemson’s Myles Muprhy as the top options in that scenario, although another name, such as Iowa’s Lukas Van Ness, could work the way into the conversation by the time the draft rolls around.
So, if there’s not a trade, and Anderson and Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter are off of the board, as expected, what separates the players in that next group of edge rushers? NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah offered his assessment, noting Wilson has risen to the top of that conversation, and in some circles, has even surpassed Anderson.
“Yeah, for me it would be Tyree Wilson by a pretty significant margin,” Jeremiah said. “I think there’s a lot of buzz around him around the league. The league has it with him and Anderson a lot closer than people might think. (Wilson’s) got just freakish wingspan and burst and the ability to kinda use those long levers to get home. I think he’s a really talented rusher, and I think he’s a big-time athlete.
Jeremiah, who had Wilson going No. 3 to Arizona ahead of Anderson in a mock draft posted earlier this week, said he doesn’t expect Wilson to showcase his physical gifts at next week’s scouting combine after suffering a foot injury that required surgery at the end of the college football season. Still, in 10 games, the 6-foot-6, 275-pounder posted 61 tackles (14.5 for a loss), 7.0 sacks and 50 quarterback pressures, a 35% increase from his junior season, despite playing in three fewer games.
With Murphy, Jeremiah sees many of the same physical tools Wilson offers, but a skill set that’s less developed, particularly as a pass-rusher.
“Murphy is a tricky one,” Jeremiah said. “It’s all in there. He has it all in his body. He hasn’t got it all figured out just yet. But between his combination of length and explosiveness, I think there’s more there. I think he’s going to develop more as a rusher. I don’t think he has a great (rush) plan at this point in time.”
In 13 games last season, the 6-foot-5, 275-pound Murphy finished with 6.5 sacks and 16 fewer overall pressures than his counterpart from Texas Tech. That lack of refinement to his game has opened the door for Van Ness, who is climbing on many draft boards, as analysts like Jeremiah gain more insight on prospects from NFL decision-makers.
Playing in a rotational role for the Hawkeyes, Van Ness tallied 46 pressures and 6.0 sacks last season.
“I’m going to end up moving him up in my next update of my top 50,” Jeremiah said after ranking Van Ness No. 22 on his first big board, posted at the end of January. “Again, it was curious when you’re watching him because he doesn’t start. I know a lot of people are sitting there going, ‘How in the world are you going to take a guy in the top 10 (if) he doesn’t start at Iowa.’ But, I had a chance to do my homework on that, and look, that’s just the way their program runs. They’re going to run with the older, upperclassmen, the leaders that have been in those spots. They’re just going to roll those guys out there as starters even though everybody knows this was their best guy.
“He’s got big-time, big-time explosiveness and power,” Jeremiah said. “He’s kind of a bull in a china shop. Again, he’s someone just figuring it out, but when you watch him against the best tackles he played against, he got after them.”
The first round of the 2023 NFL draft is scheduled for Thursday, April 27.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers