Detroit Lions steal Sage Surratt as an undrafted free agent

No NFL war room was more pumped up for their 2021 NFL Draft pick than Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes after he selected Oregon offensive tackle Penei Sewell.

Holmes’ excitement over the Sewell selection was fun to watch, but he clearly carried that same energy throughout the Lions’ entire 2021 NFL Draft class, which was pretty tremendous from top to bottom, especially with picks spent on the trenches.

One of the areas of his team that Holmes was tasked with really rebuilding from top to bottom was the wide receiver position. The Detroit Lions let veteran Kenny Golladay walk in free agency to the Detroit Lions, they cut Marvin Jones (who signed in Jacksonville) and Danny Amendola is gone.

There are some short-term contract players coming in like Breshad Perriman, Tyrell Williams, and Kalif Raymond. The Lions also drafted USC receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown in the fourth round.

With all of that being said, there’s definitely a chance for undrafted free agent Sage Surratt out of Wake Forest to work his way into the mix even as a rookie with Detroit.

Surratt checked in at the Wake Forest pro day at a shade over 6-foot-2, 209 pounds, but ran a disappointing 4.69 in the 40-yard dash. Although speed was certainly not the name of his game on tape, you can’t help but wonder what Surratt spent his 2020 opt-out doing if not training for the 2021 NFL Draft.

Back in 2019, Surratt was one of the best receivers in the ACC, and looked like he might have been on his way to a pretty high draft status.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

Still, when you turn on the Wake Forest tape from that 2019 season with Jamie Newman throwing the ball (Newman also went undrafted, surprisingly), you see a player in Surratt who can win with physicality and strength all day.

One of the reasons Surratt likely went undrafted? He probably relies on that physicality and strength a little too much.

Still, whether he’s playing the X or a big slot role, he should be able to work his way onto the Detroit Lions’ roster at some point in time because of his vertical playmaking ability, ball tracking, and strong hands.

Surratt would have been a bargain for any NFL team on day three of the NFL Draft beyond the fifth round, but for the price of “undrafted free agent” he’s an absolute robbery for Brad Holmes and the Lions.