Detroit Lions: Late-round sleeper who could make an impact in 2020
The Detroit Lions’ top late-round sleeper from the 2020 NFL Draft class.
The Detroit Lions‘ 2020 NFL Draft class is going to need to impact the roster significantly in the upcoming NFL season if this team is going to be competitive in the NFC North.
The team will obviously be counting on their top two picks — cornerback Jeffrey Okudah and running back D’Andre Swift — to be starters right away in 2020 but which late-round pick could be a sleeper to really contribute to this roster?
Although not everyone is sleeping on him, Wisconsin wide receiver Quintez Cephus is one of many wide receivers in the 2020 NFL Draft class who could have an instant impact on his new NFL team, even with the Lions having some veterans ahead of him on the depth chart who could limit his snaps.
One of the reasons Cephus fell to the third day (fifth round) of the 2020 NFL Draft? Questions about his long speed.
Quintez Cephus didn’t exactly light up the Combine
After running an alarming 4.73 at the Scouting Combine in the 40-yard dash, Cephus was able to run again at the Wisconsin pro day and drop his time to 4.56, still a pretty bad number for a receiver with just average size.
Still, this is all about his football skill and only partly about his athletic skill, and Cephus still showed that he’s got some explosive athletic ability with a 38.5-inch vertical jump.
He also showed off his strength with 23 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press.
Although Cephus isn’t the biggest or fastest, he’s explosive and capable of making big plays at the catch point.
Cephus is a solid route runner who can block on the perimeter and use his hands and upper-body strength to create separation from defenders.
He can also use his leaping ability to make plays in the red zone where his strength is also a factor, bullying defensive backs to create leverage and separation.
The Lions had a secondary need at receiver in this draft class and they got a guy many believed with early day three ability and nice upside at the next level as a possession receiver.
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Detroit needed a spark offensively, and the selections of D’Andre Swift and Quintez Cephus could be exactly what they needed.