KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tyree Wilson did not work out at the NFL combine or his Texas Tech pro day because of a foot injury he suffered last fall, but the imposing defensive end said Wednesday he expects to be a full participant in spring workouts for whatever team drafts him.
“I’m recovered,” Wilson told the Free Press at a community service event for draft prospects. “I got cleared like three weeks ago. The main thing was just being, we had to get the screws out. I wanted to do pro day, but it’s best — we had to do what’s best for my future and not just the moment.”
Wilson suffered a season-ending foot injury Nov. 12 in a game against Kansas and underwent surgery nine days later.
ON THE EDGE: Top pass rushers offer big risk, reward in Round 1
He said Wednesday he did not need a second surgery on the foot and only underwent a procedure to remove the hardware last month. His surgeon, Dr. Robert Anderson, sent a letter to teams advising him not to sweat for 15-20 days while the incision healed, NFL.com reported.
While Wilson’s medicals could be a hang-up for some teams in the draft, he still is expected to be a top-10 pick.
The Houston Texans at No. 2, Arizona Cardinals at No. 3, Seattle Seahawks at No. 5 and Detroit Lions at No. 6 are all potential landing spots.
Wilson did not make a top-30 visit to the Lions, but said he had a formal interview with the team at the combine that went “great” and would relish the opportunity to play opposite Aidan Hutchinson on the Lions’ defensive line.
UNDER CENTER: C.J. Stroud pushes back on S2 test results, ‘could be’ in play for Lions at 6
FREEP FLASHBACK: Last 10 players selected with the No. 6 overall pick in NFL draft
“It’s just been great encounterment throughout the process,” he said, “I feel like coach Campbell is taking that program to another level and getting Aidan Hutchinson to line up across from me, me and him feed off each other. Him being a top D-end off the board last year, that’d be great and ideal.”
‘He’s not gone for life’
NFL Network draft analysts Daniel Jeremiah and Charles Davis said they do not expect the Jameson Williams suspension to have much impact on the Lions’ draft plans.
Williams, the No. 12 pick of last year’s draft, was supsended the first six games of the 2023 season for gambling on non-NFL games from an NFL facility.
LIONS INSIDER: Jameson Williams’ mnor NFL transgression may be bigger cause for concern
“It’s nothing,” Jeremiah said. “What is it? I always think about ‘A Few Good Men,’ when he’s like, ‘It’s nothing, Harold. It’s a hockey season.’ This is literally six games. That shouldn’t alter your thinking.”
The Lions were counting on Williams to play a big role on offense before the suspension, though he made limited contributions as a rookie. Williams had one catch and one carry in six games last season, when he missed the start of the year while recovering from a knee injury suffered in January 2022.
With Williams out, the Lions likely will lean more heavily on Josh Reynolds, Kalif Raymond and Marvin Jones to complement Amon-Ra St. Brown. Williams and St. Brown are the only receivers under contract beyond 2023, and the Lions had a long-term need at the position they seemed poised to address in the draft even before Williams’ suspension.
“I don’t know that it impacts them in the early part of it,” Davis said. “It may impact them later. They may want to grab a few extra guys. Listen, they were already in that area of tight end? Do we add to the defense? What do we do? Now, if one of those top receivers that they really like is sitting there, potentially. But it’s a six-game suspension, he’s not gone for life, so they may want to go ahead and add other places. Plus, I’ve said this is not a — how do I say it, this is not a draft where we’re going to have seven receivers in the first round, but there’s seven rounds of receivers. So they can find people later, I think.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.