When fans think of colleges that are big NFL pipelines, the Missouri Tigers program isn’t typically one that springs quickly to mind. Yet around the mock draft universe right now, the two most common projections for the Detroit Lions and their first-round pick are from Mizzou.
Cornerback Ennis Rakestraw and defensive end Darius Robinson are very popular picks for the Lions at No. 29. One or the other has been featured there in recent mocks from Athlon, Touchdown Wire, ESPN, CBS and The Athletic, among others.
NFL.com draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah shed some insight on why so many folks believe the Tigers duo make good fits in Detroit. Jeremiah talked about both Rakestraw and Robinson in his pre-combine conference call this week.
“Cam Jordan is a name that you throw around there just from a body type-
wise. I remember watching Cam Jordan at Cal work out with the skill guys and run with the skill guys because he was such an athlete. You have a guy who is 286 pounds that can really move like that, and I thought he’s just — he’s better as a fit on the outside standing up on the edge.”
Jeremiah continued on Robinson,
“He can rush through your chest with power. He can really close from the backside. I just thought kind of the wider alignment with him really helped unlock him, and you saw that at the Senior Bowl. He feels to me like somebody that’s going to go somewhere in the 20s more than likely, and I think that’s — he’s worthy. He has the ability to go in that range.”
Later in the conference call, Jeremiah turned his attention to Rakestraw’s potential fit with the Lions. Jeremiah currently projects RAkestraw to the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 21 overall, but he does like the potential pairing with the Lions at No. 29.
“I think he is in that range, yeah. I have him a little bit higher than that. I know in talking to teams I’m a little bit higher on him than some of the teams are. The feistiness and toughness, the aggressiveness that he plays with, the
energy, the passion that he plays with, yeah, he fits 100% with Detroit.”
They’re both players to watch from a Lions perspective during the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, which kicks off on Wednesday for the players.