To wrap up their 2023 draft haul, the Detroit Lions took North Carolina wide receiver Antoine Green with pick No. 219 in the seventh round.
The Detroit Lions wound up having only two picks on Day 3 of the 2023 NFL Draft after an active run of trades Friday night, and writers who cover the team rejoiced. The trade of D’Andre Swift to the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday even brought a move up 30 slots in the final round.
With their final pick in the 2023 draft, pick No. 2019, the Lions took North Carolina wide receiver Antoine Green.
Green was an All-ACC Third Team selection last season, when he had 43 receptions for 798 yards (18.6 yards per catch) and seven touchdowns over nine games. In 2021, he averaged 19.7 yards per catch in 2021 (31 catches for 612 yards) with five touchdowns.
For his career as a Tar Heel, with NFL prospects Sam Howell and Drake Maye throwing him the ball the last two seasons when he became as starter, he averaged 19 yards per catch.
Green (6-foot-2, 199 pounds), ran a 4.47 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. Here’s what Lance Zierlein of NFL.com had to say about him.
Green’s size and deep-ball success make him a more intriguing Day 3 prospect than the overall production and skill set might suggest. Like most vertical specialists, he’s not going to shake man coverage on intermediate routes, but he has decent hands and consistently finds himself overtaking deep coverage with his build-up speed. He might find himself fighting for a spot on a practice squad or the back end of a roster.
2023 NFL Draft: Lions add vertical downfield threat with Antoine Green
Green is a definite downfield threat, first, foremost and primarily, with good hands and as Zierlein tabbed it the ability to “alter early route tempo to surprise and create separation deep.” There is definitely some upside here. And with the six-game suspension of Jameson Williams, along with the indefinite suspension and subsequent release of Quintez Cephus, the Lions need a depth body at wide receiver.
Greene should compete for a roster spot as a rookie, with some chance to eventually earn a bigger role in the future. As seventh-round picks go, not a bad way for the Lions to wrap up their 2023 draft pick class.