Daily DLP: 5 Potential Draft Targets to Avoid - Detroit Lions Podcast

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2:01March Madness enters its fourth day. March 22nd. Happy spring to all of you. Welcome to mud season in Michigan. It's the staying out, getting late, getting light later in the day and staying light later at night, which I personally like. We got some things to talk about with the Detroit Lions. Today I wanted to focus on, I want to do a little draft show, but I want to do it a little bit different because everybody always talks and wants to know what I would do or what I think the Lions would do. There comes a point in time where we have to establish out there what we also don't want them to do. There are players who fit with the general theme of the Lions that I just am not as interested in them taking as I am with other options or as other people might be. I'll give a couple of examples of this. Let's go back to the Sambo Port of Draft where it was pretty obvious that the Lions were

3:04going to be taking a tight end that year. There were a lot of good ones. One of the guys that I was really against the Lions taking that year was Luke Musgrave. He had one of the worst senior bulls I've ever seen. He could not get off a jam and all couldn't make a contested catch. Really struggled to get himself space in the red zone drill. I remember Chris and I were in Rust Brothers there too and we were all looking at you like, why is this guy touted so high? I'm very glad that the Lions opt for Sambo Porta and Musgrave went to the Packers and thus far has not done a whole lot and he was a good, perfectly viable prospect. We'll go back to last year and those of you who have been watching the DLP for a little bit even though the daily didn't start then, you'll know that I was mortified about this time last year that the Lions were going to take landed Jackson, the defensive end from Arkansas, who definitely fits the crush the can style, looks the part but dude just had

4:13no twitch, makes Celtic Falk look super twitchy and I was scared that the Lions were going to take him and again solid football player, like I think he's going to be okay in the NFL but I just wanted other options, I wanted the Lions to avoid him. So I want to put these guys out there on record now and again it's nothing personal with these dudes, it really isn't and there's a variety of reasons for each one, we'll get to do them all but there are guys that I would just prefer that the Lions overlook even though they probably fit what the Lions would look like, I could say I don't want them to take the first round running make, obviously I'll put Cher on my lows ridiculously good, number two overall player, but I will start with, and I'll start with the layup, corner packs your mod McCoy from Tennessee, he is currently the number 20 overall player on the Detroit Lions podcast, consensus board, big board that updates daily, great tool

5:19that Chris has put out there, please look it up and use it because it's sweet. McCoy, cornerback from Tennessee, missed the 2025 season with an injury that he suffered in January of 2025, had opt in not to play even though he was allegedly cleared to come back, decided they wanted to sit up for his draft stock, okay I'm not going to fault the guy for that, didn't work out at the combine because he still wasn't right, he's got a pro day coming up at the end of next week, it leaves the 31st of March, and there is a little bit of consternation that he might not work out there either, that he still might not be right. This is a guy who started 17 games in college across two programs, his 2024 tape at Tennessee was filthy good. Legitimately, first round caliber stuff, speed, instincts, power, ability to adjust to

6:27routes, man that injury and that inexperience, I'm going to have to fix on that, and some of it is the fact that the Lions don't really need a first round corner either, we talked about this the other day, with Terry Arnold, DJ Reed, now Ruckia sins back, you add Roger McCurrie and in the slot, Christian Isian can play either spot, slot or outside I thought I think he's going to be more safety. This Friday, the time traveling comedy movie of the year arrives, Mike and Nick and Nick and Alice only on Hulu, the film stars Vince Vaughn, James Marsden and Asa Gonzalez and a wild action comedy about one disastrous night that spirals out of control, and here's the twist, there are two Vince Vaughns, don't miss Mike and Nick and Nick and Alice written and directed by Ben David Grubinsky, streaming this Friday only on Hulu, rated R. America leads the world in medicine development, it matters, we get new medicines first, nearly

7:32three years faster, five million Americans go to work because we make medicines here at home, and not relying on other countries keeps us safe, but China is racing to overtake us. Will we let them or will we choose to stay ahead? When America leads, America cures, let's tell Washington to keep us in the lead, learn how at AmericaCures.com, pay for by pharma. I still like Nick White's side, they potentially already have their top five cornerbacks on the team already and I'm good with what they've got, like I wouldn't bother me all if they added somebody, but I would rather it be somebody who I trust can play. This is a case where he's a good prospect and I think he's going to be a good NFL player, but I want another team to fight that out or not. Again, nothing against McCoy, but look, I am always, and people who follow me in the drafts since I started doing this professionally in 2004 will know this, I'm always more

8:34gun shy than most of my draft media peers on injuries, especially guys that don't come back from injuries and show that they can do it. So that's McCoy. I will also throw a guy that I don't think that Lions have any interest in simply because they are loaded at White Receiver now, and that's Jordan Tyson from Arizona State who is, wow, skill wise, he's the best White Receiver in this draft. But a lot of injury history with him, he's another guy that still isn't working out after he suffered his injury and the way he plays, he is hell bent, man, he is not going to protect himself. That's just not who he is. So I would, I'm not worried about that one so much with Detroit because I don't think that they're in the market for a White Receiver, at least before the middle of day three. We'll see if that holds true. We'll get the one that's not injury related because again, I am, it's very difficult for

9:39me personally to reconcile the fact that Brad Holmes loves to take risks on injured players and it's like my biggest repulsion, like I've come to terms with it because in general Brad has done a very good job in the draft for the most part and his rick straws, Josh Paschal, Levi Anzarek, like I've had to learn to accept that that's what's going to happen. This would mean I have to love it. We've now signed a guy who makes Marcus David Port look healthy to replace Marcus David Port and I have to reconcile that one too, but this pain in terms of very low risk proposition, but right now he's edge three, that'll change in the draft, he can be edge six by the end of the draft for all we know, which would be nice. Well, he's on a minimum contract, we're good. I will get to another guy who could very well be in the Lions plans to be their edge number

10:43two, and I like this player quite a bit. He is the number 20 overall player, right? Oh, McCoy's 15 overall, a key mezzador, number 20 overall on the current bigboard, and there's a whole lot to like about a key mezzador and it's all related to how well he plays when the ball is snapped. He's got power, he's got eyes, he gets off blocks, he attacks the run, tenacious finishes pretty darn well. Couple of things though that make me hesitant and make me hope that another team drafts him and not the Lions. Again, nothing like what I'd be upset if they drafted him at 17, not really, no, because he's a good football player and he would make the Lions better, but I think there are

11:44better options there. First off, he's going to be 25 as a rookie and if you watch the Miami tape, specifically the last two years, he's gotten by a fair amount by just being more physically mature and mentally football wise more mature than the guy is trying to block him, and I don't think that's going to fly as well in the NFL. No, he's also been around a long time, six years in college was productive in about two and a half of them, thick a lot of what he did this past season was related to blocking attention focused on Rubin Bain on the other side, now in Detroit, he would also have that benefit because they're going to focus on Ed Hutchinson more, so I get that one, that's kind of a weak critique, but again, it's just just my gut on that one, like I'm not going to fault anybody, I know Bishoff loves him, not going to say he's wrong, I think Akima

12:46is going to be a football player, but I would rather find it out with another team. That's just me, open to being wrong on that one though. Next up, Caleb Banks, we're going to go back to the injury bank, no pun intended. Defensive tackle from Florida, who is currently nursing a broken foot, it's the second time he's broken it in a year. Fun football player, very impressive athlete for being his size, he's 325 pounds, he is by the way, is the number 28 overall player on the consensus board. A bit of a snap jumper, doesn't exactly play the run all that effectively, so I'm not too concerned that the Lions are going to be interested in him in the first round, the second round though, if he's still there at 50, and based on the injuries and his scatter shots approach to run defense, he might be.

13:47First off, I think that last part is going to repel the Lions from him, but I just want to say that because he does beat the Elin McNeil mold, and if they're looking for a direct backup to Elin McNeil, like Banks makes sense, there's almost with another team, that's one that, you know, I'm pretty certain on that one, he is much lower on my board than he is in the consensus board, I will probably bring that down, and then again, injuries are part of it, and again, I'm sketched my injuries like straight up, can't help it. LT Overton, talked about him when I made him the prospect of the day, I'm not really sure exactly what he does well. Two teams, one cup, the prime time stage is set for the TGL presented by SoFi finals, Los Angeles Golf Club versus Tiger's Jupiter links, keep up, it's playoffs, tune in Monday, March 23rd, 9 p.m. Eastern on ESPN 2, and Tuesday, March 24th, 7 p.m. Eastern on ESPN,

14:52and on the ESPN app. My day kicks off with the refreshing Celsius energy drink, then straight to the gym, pre-capic up, back home to meal prep, time for my fire session shift, one more Celsius gotta keep the lights on. When the three alarm hits, I'm ready, Celsius, live, fit, go, grab a cold refreshing Celsius at your local retailer, or locate now at Celsius.com. Well enough at the NFL level to be more than like a fifth or a sixth round draft pick. He's not super twitchy, he's not exactly quick, not the best athlete. He's a former five star that it looks like he peaked early athletically, and has sort of gotten by on that, and for the race that he's projecting, again, what is he, 87 overall, that's the third round. I don't see a third round player there, so I hope that that's one that, you know, the ship goes sailing by.

15:53Last one I'll bring up, and this one is gonna be one that I probably will anger a few people based on the amount of times that he has selected in mock drafts, in the mock draft channel on the Detroit Lights podcast Patreon, because he's a popular one, that's Kyle Lewis. Does he linebacker, is he a safety, is he both, is he neither? Player from Pittsburgh. I worry that he's more of the night there. Great athlete plays safety, and I think he's much more of a safety than an oversized safety than an undersized linebacker. He's what, he came in at six foot, 220 pounds, pretty darn good athlete, but not a great tackler. The first thing you notice about him, he's a diver at feet, he bounces off of tackles at times, doesn't anticipate blocks well.

16:56When you're coming down, if you're a box safety, one of the things you have to do is you have to be able to strafe around blocks, you have to be able to see around blocks. He doesn't do that very well. They played him as a linebacker, they played him as a hang defender. Okay, that's nice, if you can cover. You'd allow a 75% or greater completion percentage at all three of his years. So while we do need somebody to replace Alex Anzlone as a coverage linebacker, and Lewis looks like he's the part in practice, in college, in the ACC, that's not who he was. You're projecting him to be in the NFL, something that he wasn't in college. I will let another team do that. And if he proves to be successful at it, then you side him to a second contract in four years. I think he's a day two player, probably third round, and that's one, again, chance to be a good football player, no doubt about it. And he definitely fits the grit, too, based on what I understood from people who've talked

18:00with him, but that's one that I just rather other people go in. That's the guys on my list that I hope that the Lions avoid, again, israeli related or lack of positional fit, scheme fit, whatever. I get these guys every year, and I thought I'd put it out there a little bit earlier as the pro-day circuit keeps going on. Wanted to bring up one guy that I am very interested in as I've watched him more and was tipped off to him recently, and by the way, check it out at footballrealgm.com. I posted, I had the chance to meet with a couple of different people, an NFC West area scout, who's, I bet with after one of the recent pro-days, and also a former player-turned assistant and the last timeframe is fairly recent, not immediate, but recent, and I met with him as well, and he was very high on this guy, and I will bring him up.

19:06Yeah, Travis Burke, offensive tackle, Memphis Tigers, six foot nine, 325 pounds. You're thinking, Dan Skipper, yep, thinking Cornelius Lucas, who, by the way, is still playing in the NFL 10 years later, yep, he is that big, he is a fun one. His film, while inconsistent, offers a lot. He's bounced around a little bit, four-year starter started for Gardner Webb at left tackle for a year, moved to FIU for two years, started at left tackle there. By the way, the person that he took over for there, Miles Frazier. One, so there's a little bit of a connection there, and then he moved to Memphis and became

20:06their right tackle, and he is a right tackle in the NFL, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that he is a run-blocking nightmare on the edge, specifically when he crashes inside, oh my goodness, like, Travis fading power, when he blocks to his inside shoulder or down blocks, which is like picking off the guy, won't get the inside. During Lowe's pro-saving days, save more on what goes into the job. Add power to your lineup, with a free to walk 20 volt max five amp hour battery, when you buy a select to walk 20 volt max tool, plus get up to 35 percent off, select major appliances for whirlpool, maytag, and more. Get the job done right, keep more in your pocket, that's pro-saving's days. Our best lineup is here at Lowe's, valid to 327 selection fairs by location, while supplies last. When he run blocks, you don't know that he's six nine, he blocks with very good leverage

21:08and decent pad level. Just a pros here. I'll standing like that, he understands how to play with it. What I mean by that is that he knows how to be tall. There are some tall, taller players, Obena Aze, who we had a couple of years ago as an undrafted free agent, didn't know that. He thought he was small and tried to move like it, and that's one of the reasons why he's not around. Burke knows he's a big man and knows how to use it. Impressive latch strength and shoulder torque in the run game. If you watch any of his highlight videos that I suggested doing it, if you're interested in him, he just slams people. It's almost like a pro wrestler, like picking people up and throwing them down, incredible upper body torsion rip, love it, love it. Finisher's mentality goes without saying that he fits the grip. Good leg drive while engaged, and this is one of the areas that a lot of taller guys

22:10and dance skippers included in this, had trouble with, because they don't want to overextend, they will either get narrow or stop their feet in the run game. Burke does not do that, and I watched a lot of tape of his even go back into his FIU days, and he's good about that. Absorbs bull rushes nicely, I wrote. I would say better than average, or better than expected, honestly, for another, again, another thing with tall guys, especially with smaller bull rushers, a guy like Al-Qaeda Muhammad, as an example, who's no longer with us in Detroit, but he was really good at getting his hands into the chest plate and pushing up. Burke does a good job, especially his taller guys, Burke does a good job of mitigating that, and he does have anchor strength, and again, the strength in his legs and his shoulders to take that in. In their decent feel for twists and blitz pickups, it's not perfect, but I thought he got

23:13better at it, the more he played, specifically on the right side, remember, he changed from the left side to the right side, and changed blocking schemes as well, aside from changing colleges, so teammates around him and everything. I thought his end of season tape, that was better than the beginning of, which is kind of what you want to see, the fact that he's not a done thing, like he can adapt and progress. Good punch placement for being so tall, seals the outside edge in the run game. Again, that's probably his best attribute, and he would be Jamir Gibbs' new best friend, my goodness. If you're trying to come across as the backside linebacker, he's going to flatten your ass and let you know it, too. I like that, I like that a lot. There are some throwbacks, one of the reasons why he is generally projected as a day three pick. I think he's got a chance to slide into the end of the third round, or the line's first

24:16pick of the fourth round, I really do, and some of it's based on my conversation that I had recently, again, check it out at footballrealGM.com, the five cents on adrift conversations, but I like it. He does lack quickness off the snap, he doesn't lack twitch, but he's not a quick mover. What I mean by that is, twitch is sort of like reactive quickness, and just being able to switch, it's difficult to explain, but he's not necessarily a quick mover off of it, but once he's going, once he's moving, he does show some twitch. As it consistently set deep enough against the outside rushers, this does show on both left and right tackle. He's afraid to open the gate to the inside, and that's why I wrote down here, leaves the inside gate open when setting wide. The USF Southern Florida game was not good for him, because they had a rusher who could

25:21start outside across his face to the inside, and when he's generally beaten is when he has to worry about guys like that, and I don't want to call it a short set, but it feels like he's not getting deep enough, because he's worried about them crossing his face to the inside, and that will leave the outside shoulder vulnerable, and he can get beat there. The good thing is, he's long enough that he can at least get an arm on them, and does a decent job of keeping them from flattening to the quarterback. I'd be perfectly happy with him as the Lions first forth round pick. I think he's probably needs to play at right tackle. I think he is a guy that also, if you're going to move Penae to the left side, you can probably put Larry Borom in for half a season or so until Burke is truly ready to play, if you're not ready with them right away.

26:21I like him. Prospect of the day. Travis Burke from Memphis, can't be all negative all the time. Sometimes you get it, sometimes you get like guys, sometimes I get rushily like guys. That's what we do in this industry. I appreciate you all liking and subscribing, joining in on the Daily DLP. Enjoy your Sunday, Jeffers, and signing out. Be good to one another.