Detroit Lions 2017 NFL Mock Draft: Upgrading the defense

Many draft evaluators would consider this move a reach but I disagree. Jarrad Davis is the real deal when healthy and has solidified himself as a first-round pick. The only real debate, is what range of the first round does he go?

There’s a lot of value with Davis and he’s only going to get better. At Florida, he tallied up 94 tackles and 11 tackles for loss during the 2015 season. Then injuries got the best of him during this past season. He only played in nine games but he did manage to rack up 60 tackles, six tackles for loss and two sacks. Throughout his career at Florida, he did have his share of injuries. Torn meniscus in 2014 and missed some time this past season with a leg injury.

You could claim that Davis is a boom or bust type of player with his injury history. However, with the poor play from their linebackers last year, they need to bring in a high value player. That player is Davis. He’s an instinctive football player with all the athletic traits you want to see from an outside linebacker. At his pro day, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.62 seconds and had a vertical jump of 38.5 inches. Davis attacks his blocks well by wrong-arming them properly and squares up with good form tackling. He can run downhill well and he fills with his explosive speed.

At 6’1 and 238 lbs., you can plug Davis inside or move him outside, he’s versatile enough to play anywhere. For the Lions, this is a pick based off need and the fact that they were thin at the position last year. Adding a player like Davis gives them a starting linebacker to form a nice trio of Paul Worrilow, Tahir Whitehead and Davis.