An 0-5 start to the 2022 season has Detroit Lions fans already looking forward to the draft, so here is a seven-round Lions mock draft.
The Detroit Lions season so far has been filled with heartbreak. They have lost their first five games of the season, including two of those losses coming off of 50+ yard game winning field goals as time expired.
This is a relatively weak roster, with a lot holes and not much talent, so while they deserve credit for playing hard in all of their games, sometimes that doesn’t matter when you simply don’t have enough talent.
So without further ado, here is a Detroit Lions 2022 seven-round mock draft.
Round 1, 2nd Overall: Derek Stingley Jr., CB, LSU
The Lions are going to be in an interesting position in this draft. They have to determine whether there’s a quarterback worth taking with where their draft pick lands or if they should select one of the blue-chip non-quarterback prospects. They could also potentially trade down.
As of now, with Spencer Rattler having a very disappointing season, there doesn’t appear to be a quarterback that teams would select over some of the top non-quarterbacks in the draft. I do think Malik Willis could be worth a selection here, however over recent years NFL teams have shown that they don’t like passing on can’t miss players like Derek Stingley Jr., even when they do need a quarterback.
Stingley Jr. is easily one the best players in the draft, arguably the very best, and on top of that he plays corner, which is a position that is very valuable in today’s NFL.
He possesses all the physical tools you could possibly want in a corner as he’s got great size (6-foot-2), he’s very athletic, and he moves quite fluidly. What makes him truly special as a corner however are his rare ball skills, as a freshman at LSU he picked off six passes and broke up a total of 15, which are numbers you almost never see, especially from a freshman playing in the SEC.
Stingley Jr. had a medical procedure on his foot last week and doesn’t have a timetable for his return. While it’s unfortunately that he got injured obviously, the good news for him is that it won’t really affect his draft stock as he’s already proved himself as a high-level player.
Round 1, 24th Overall: Nicholas Petit-Frere, OT, Ohio State
This selection comes from the Los Angeles Rams via the Matthew Stafford trade which nets them a first round pick for this year and next year. Obviously, getting an additional first rounder for a team with a lot of holes is valuable, even if it’s a late round selection, now it’s just a matter of using the pick wisely.
The Detroit Lions took Penei Sewell with the seventh overall pick of last year’s draft, so pairing him with Nicholas Petit-Frere would really sure up this offensive line for the future. Petit-Frere switched to left tackle this year, but played right tackle for the Buckeyes for two seasons before so he should be able to switch back without an issue.
Petit-Frere checks off a lot of the boxes of what you want to see from offensive tackle prospects. He’s a former five-star, he’s got a good combination of movement skills, hand usage, and strength, and he’s simply just produced consistent play for a while at Ohio State.
Round 2, 33rd Overall: Drake London, WR, USC
Wide receiver is an area where the Detroit Lions are lacking talent and on top of that a lot of their receivers are free agents, so it will be a priority for them this offseason.
Drake London is someone who’s flown up draft boards this season with his remarkable play this season as he’s caught 64 passes for 832 yards and five touchdowns through just six games.
London has a lot of areas to his game to really like. First off, standing at 6-foot-5 he’s excellent in contested catch situations as according to PFF he’s hauled in 18 contested catches so far this season, which is an incredible number considering it’s through only six games.
Another thing there is to like about him is his quickness and ability to force missed tackles with the ball in his hands. Usually you don’t expect tall, with a bit of skinny build receivers like London to be quick and elusive, but he is and has proven that by forcing 14 missed tackles this season so far at USC.
Round 3, 66th Overall: Henry To’o To’o, LB, Alabama
Linebacker is an area that the Detroit Lions could use help at and on top of that both of their current starters are set to be free agents next offseason, so linebacker is a need for them.
Henry To’o-To’o was a often discussed player this off season as he transferred from Tennessee and was rumored to be considering a lot of big-name schools before choosing Alabama.
Watching him at Tennessee you can quickly see why he was highly-sought after as he has good instincts, especially against the run, to go along with good speed. He lead the Vols in tackles in both 2019 and 2020 and racked up 12.5 tackles for loss over 22 games.
He does have room for improvement as he has had some struggles with missed tackles and in coverage, but I still think he comes off the board no later than day two.
Round 6, 180th Overall: Chris Atman-Bell, WR, Minnesota
Minnesota’s Chris Autman-Bell is a bit of a unique prospect as he’s built like a running back (6-foot-1, 215 pounds) playing wide receiver for the Golden Gophers. The biggest thing that Autman-Bell brings to the table is contested catch ability, he isn’t an elite separator but he makes up for that by being able to come down with 50-50 balls.
This is a big year for him as he should get a lot more targets with last year’s first-rounder Rashod Bateman off to the NFL. Unfortunately, he’s missed some early season action here as he missed the first two games with an ankle injury before re-injuring his ankle on the first play of Minnesota’s fourth game against Bowling Green. Hopefully for him, he can perform well in the back half of this season and improve his draft stock.
Round 7, 243rd Overall: Ja’Von Hicks, S, Cincinnati
With draft picks this late you’re trying to add depth and find guys who can make the roster. Ja’Von Hicks isn’t a superstar by any means, but he is certainly a good player for one of the best defenses in college football right now in Cincinnati.
Hicks recorded five interceptions in the 2019 season, and so far through five games this season he’s picked off one pass and has broken up three.