Georgia Football: Two Former Bulldogs on One Team, Stafford Out in Detroit?
With the NFL Draft just two months away, ESPN Analyst Mel Kiper released a very interesting first-round mock draft that saw some shakeup at QB and the possibility of two Dawgs going to play for the same team.
As we all know, Joe Burrow is all but a lock for the Cincinnati Bengals unless he shocks the nation and decides to pull an Eli Manning and leverage his way out of Cincinnati. Assuming he does go to the Bengals, what is interesting to note is that Kiper has QB Tua Tagovailoa going as the third overall pick to the Detroit Lions as the second quarterback off the board.
This may seem strange as former Bulldog Matthew Stafford is the current QB for the Lions and just came off a year where he threw for 2,499 yards, 19 TDs and 5 INTs in only 8 games, posting the highest rating of his career at 106.0.
Anyone who has followed Stafford’s career is aware that the offensive issues with the Lions have always begun at the o-line, with the former Bulldog taking a beating for it. Ever since Megatron (Calvin Johnson) retired, they have not had a consistent WR1 or receiving core for that matter either.
Add on top of that the fact that they have made no offensive staff changes in the off-season save for the firing of their TE Coach Chris White. Regardless, if this is how the Lions pick, it appears as if they believe he will either retire soon or they are simply moving on from his services.
When asked about it on ESPN airways today, Todd McShay said, "This could be Mel doing that Kiper thing where he places the player in the draft slot, but not the drafting team." Indicating that a team could potentially trade into the third overall spot to take Tua ahead of the Dolphins who sit at the 6th overall pick as of now.
McShay did say however that he could see Detroit "pulling the trigger" on Tua if their medical staff signed off on the decision.
OT, Andrew Thomas leading the way for RB, D'Andre Swift
What Mel Kiper did have in common with the rest of the mock drafting world was the placement of D’Andre Swift as the 26th overall pick to the Miami Dolphins. The only difference is OT Andrew Thomas was taken 18th overall pick to the Dolphins as well in the latest version.
If this does occur, the Dolphins would be one of two teams in the NFL to have a former Bulldog on the line and in the backfield, the other being the Patriots with C David Andrews, OT Isaiah Wynn, and RB Sony Michel.
That on top of adding Andrew Thomas to a team that has struggled at tackle, and you have yourself a much-improved offense for the 2020 season.
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