2021 NFL Draft: Huge QB trades in pre-Super Bowl mock draft
2021 NFL Draft: 7th pick
CB. Virginia Tech. Caleb Farley. 7. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. player. 50
If you get drafted by the Detroit Lions, you had better be ready to bite some kneecaps.
New general manager Ray Farmer made a bold statement in his first move running the team by trading former first overall pick Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams for another former top pick in Jared Goff along with three draft choices, including first-round picks in 2022 and 2023.
The Lions have to take an open-minded approach with their top pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and in this scenario, they actually take the first defensive player off the board in Virginia Tech cornerback Caleb Farley.
Farley is 6-foot-2, well-built, and he has ball production for days.
Lions fans may not be over-eager to draft a cornerback again with how Jeff Okudah struggled in his rookie season, but you can’t evaluate or draft like that.
The Lions and their defensive coaching staff have to see the best in Okudah and get it out of him. They also have to look at the option of drafting Farley and think about how incredibly envious other teams would be to have the duo of Farley and Okudah to build around in the secondary.
Detroit could just as easily go with an offensive weapon here, but they will not be able to get a playmaker in the secondary like Farley beyond the first round, there are a ton of receivers to choose from, and the linebacker depth is great, so Micah Parsons (and his potential off-field concerns) would be a reach here.
Farley opted out of the 2020 season but he may have the highest upside at the cornerback position in this class.