Here’s something that’s been on my mind since Monday. The Detroit Lions offensive line suffered a bit of a blow last week when Jonah Jackson signed with the Rams. It was something that has been expected for a while now and I think that’s likely why most mock drafts that you have seen since they’ve started dropping have had the Lions taking an interior offensive lineman in them.
On Monday the Lions went out and signed Pro Bowl right guard Kevin Zeitler to the team and that changed some things. That move gives the Lions a starter that they can rely on right away and it gave them time. So the theory then became that the Lions would still draft a guard and then give that guy time to learn before throwing him in the deep end. This was a theory that I had as well. It makes sense.
After a couple of days I’ve been thinking of a different route. Maybe it’s different routes actually. The first one has me wondering if the Lions see this as opportunity to grow a player that they can draft in April or if they see this as an opportunity to grow the players that they already have on the roster.
The Lions took Colby Sorsdal in the fifth-round of last years draft and while we can all agree that he wasn’t ready last year, he did show some promise this past season and mocking a guard to the Lions this year almost feels like we’re looking past the idea that the Lions aren’t done trying to see where things can go with him.
Bringing in Zeitler gives Sorsdal time to continue his training. This is a kid that played guard for the first time in his career last year. He was a tackle at William & Mary and the Lions took him to be a guard. Here’s their chance to see if that investment can pay off. Zeitler and Glasgow are the perfect veteran duo to learn from while on the job.
The Lions also have Kayode Awosika. He’s another young player that has shown a lot of promise when he’s gotten the chance to play. He even started the NFC Championship game and played fairly well. The Lions have brought him back for next season for a reason and that’s to see where they can grow with him.
Drafting a guard high in the draft would prevent the growth of at least one of these players before you even get a chance to see what they can do. That’s why I wonder now if it’s even something the Lions should be interested in.
The second route is that they do take an offensive lineman, but they wait until later in the draft. North Carolina State’s Dylan McMahon is a guy that I have brought up a lot because of his ability to play every spot along the interior like Graham Glasgow can. That’s an invaluable trait that I think the Lions could explore and it’s one they could explore without having to push aside any of the projects they’re already working on.
We’ll see what the team decides to do soon enough. The 2024 NFL Draft is rapidly approaching.