Is Quinyon Mitchell Lions' No. 1 Cornerback of Future?
In case you weren’t already convinced, the Lions’ NFC Championship Game loss to the 49ers should have done the trick. It should've proved that Detroit clearly needs secondary help.
And Lions general manager Brad Holmes could very well choose to address the need with the team's first-round pick in this April's NFL Draft (No. 29 overall).
If Holmes decides to go in that direction on the first night of the draft, Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell would be a near-perfect pick.
In recent mock drafts, Mitchell has been a popular pick for Detroit with the 29th overall selection – and for good reason.
In the immediate aftermath of the end of the 2023 season, the Lions’ most-pressing need exists at cornerback. Cam Sutton, Kindle Vildor and Will Harris, among others, all took their turn getting burned by opposing wideouts this past season, including in Detroit's NFC title game loss to San Francisco.
Subsequently, it's become crystal clear that the Lions need to upgrade their cornerbacks room this offseason – and in a major way. And, drafting Mitchell would be a great start to accomplishing just that.
Mitchell grew into one of the top corners in the nation in his final two seasons with the Rockets. The 6-foot, 190-pound defensive back recorded at least 19 passes defensed in each of the past two seasons, and also grabbed six total interceptions in his final two collegiate seasons.
He also impressively allowed a passer rating of just 34.8 and 51.1 in back-to-back seasons. And, for his efforts, he was an AP All-America selection in both 2022 (third-team) and 2023 (second-team), and earned high marks from Pro Football Focus in both seasons.
In 2022, he logged 883 defensive snaps, including 481 snaps in coverage, and received a 92.5 overall grade from PFF.
Meanwhile, in his final year at Toledo, he recorded 781 defensive snaps, including 437 in coverage, and earned a PFF overall mark of 91.5. Additionally, he excelled in both man coverage and zone coverage, earning grades of 88.7 and 85.9, respectively, in the two types of coverage schemes.
As G5 Football Daily's Joe Londergan penned about Mitchell, “On tape, fans can see that Mitchell's instincts as a cornerback are fantastic. Outside the numbers, he has this ability to give the illusion that his man is open, but really he's setting himself up to jump the route. It worked impressively well against the majority of offenses Toledo played the last few years.
When opposing offenses get in the red zone, his play style becomes much more physical, challenging opposing receivers for jump balls - noticeably more so when they try to push the ball into the corners of the end zone. His size and arm length help in that regard, as well. That physicality is far from a bad thing, but it might be something that pro officials will pay closer attention to than what Mitchell saw in college.”
Mitchell, who is playing in Saturday's Reese's Senior Bowl, has a chance to continue to shoot up teams’ draft boards with solid showings in such pre-draft showcases.
However, if he ends up being available at No. 29 overall come April 25, he'd be a slam-dunk pick for Detroit.
