In Latest Mock Draft, Lions Land DE Chase Young
Kyle Meinke, Detroit Lions beat writer for MLive.com, released his first mock draft of 2020 Tuesday.
There is a run of quarterbacks early, as Meinke has the Cincinnati Bengals selecting former LSU quarterback Joe Burrow with the No. 1 overall pick.
The Miami Dolphins execute a trade with the Washington Redskins, and move up to No. 2 overall from No. 5 to select quarterback Tua Tagovailoa from Alabama.
As Meinke writes, "Nobody stands to benefit from a run on quarterbacks more than Detroit, which already has a franchise quarterback playing at a high level. Of course, it still lost 12 games last year because of a near-historically bad defense. There was no bigger reason for that than their pass rush, which was among the league’s worst.
This defense won’t work without better performances up front, and Young just so happens to be the best pass rusher in this draft. Hell, he might be the best defensive prospect overall. As long as you have a quarterback in place, you don’t pass up the opportunity to lock in a playmaking pass rusher on a cost-controlled contract like this. Detroit won’t."
More and more mock drafts have emerged recently that explore the possibility of teams trading with the Redskins in order to select Tagovailoa.
On Monday, it was reported by NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport that Tagovailoa’s hip fracture has healed.
If he continues to showcase he's on track medically and impresses at the NFL combine, more teams could end up being in the mix for his services.
If so, it would increase the likelihood that Detroit lands Young -- the premier pass rusher in this year's draft class.
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