Livingston Today

Asians for Liberty issued the following announcement on Jan. 3

With the regular season in the books, it’s time to play with some hindsight as we redraft the 2019 NFL Draft for the Detroit Lions based on rookie performances and what we know now.

The Lions added nine players through the draft last year, with four of those playing a substantial role as four others earned an increased look as the season went on. Detroit’s first two picks, tight end T.J. Hockenson and linebacker Jahlani Tavai, both ended the season on injured reserve.

The Lions finished the season 3-12-1, losers of 12 of their last 13 games and nine in a row. Both general manager Bob Quinn and coach Matt Patricia will be back for the 2020 season armed with the third-overall pick.

We’ll take a closer look at each of the team’s nine picks from last year and redraft it based on who was available, how that player performed all while considering Detroit’s season:

Original pick: Round 1, No. 8: T.J. Hockenson, TE, Iowa

Redraft: Devin Bush, LB, Michigan (Originally picked by the Steelers in the first round, 10th overall)

This re-do isn’t so much a negative outlook on T.J. Hockenson as much as it is a positive one for what Devin Bush could have added to Detroit’s defense. The former Michigan standout turned in a streaky rookie season no doubt but flashed some game-changing ability in Pittsburgh.

Hockenson’s season ended after 12 games due to an ankle injury. He caught 32 passes for 367 yards and two touchdowns but left his mark with the best debut for a tight end in NFL history. Hockenson caught six passes for 131 yards and one touchdown in Week 1 but then saw his usage fluctuate throughout the year.

Bush found his footing after a rocky first three weeks for the Steelers. He posted three of his worst coverage grades of the season early on before bouncing back. Pro Football Focus gave Bush an overall grade of 62.9, 63.2 stopping the run, 62.2 rushing the passer and a 65.3 in coverage. He didn’t turn on the heat like Jacksonville’s Josh Allen did as a rookie, but flashed his all-around ability that would have fit in nicely with Matt Patricia’s defense that asks a lot of its backers.

Bush finished the season with 109 tackles, nine tackles for loss, one sack, four fumble recoveries, one forced fumble, four pass breakups and one touchdown. Devon Kennard was Detroit’s highest-graded linebacker in coverage with a 68.7 mark from PFF. Outside of that, it wasn’t pretty. Jarrad Davis and Christian Jones came in at 40.4 and 43.8 overall, respectively. Davis was the fourth-worst graded linebacker to play at least 20% of snaps in coverage at 32.6, while Jones wasn’t far behind at 49.5.

Original pick: Round 2, No. 11 (43): Jahlani Tavai, LB, Hawaii

Redraft: A.J. Brown, WR, Ole Miss (Originally picked by the Titans in the second round, 51st overall)

Jahlani Tavai was forced into playing time early and held down a regular role before landing on injured reserve with a shoulder injury coming out of Week 16. He flashed some potential and was one of the team’s most sure tacklers, but appears to have some limitations as a three-down linebacker.

He graded out at 60.5 overall, 66.0 on the ground, 51.4 rushing the passer and 59.0 when dropping back in coverage. Tavai has a role on this defense moving forward for sure, but A.J. Brown turned in a highly productive season for a playoff team in Tennessee.

Brown was named to PFF’s All-Rookie team and as the analytics site’s offensive rookie of the year. He also led all receivers in yards after the catch per reception and ranked fourth in broken tackles after the catch. The 6-foot receiver caught 52 passes on 84 targets for 1,051 yards and eight touchdowns. He clicked with Ryan Tannehill down the stretch and even added three carries for 60 yards and one score. He was credited with only four drops this past season and emerged as one of the most promising deep threats in the game -- not to mention steals of the 2018 draft.

Original pick: Round 3, No. 18 (81): Will Harris, S, Boston College

Redraft: Jamel Dean, CB, Auburn (Originally picked by the Bucs in the third round, 94th overall)

Jamel Dean came out of nowhere down the stretch in Tampa Bay. The original third-round pick out of Auburn didn’t see the field until Week 6 and turned in a poor 35.8 coverage grade in Week 9. In the seven games after that, Dean was one of the better players at his position in the league and not just among rookies. He posted a 95.6 coverage grade against Arizona’s high-volume attack, and then an 81.5 mark against these Lions. After allowing nine catches for 155 yards and three touchdowns in Week 9′s nightmare, he allowed only 14 grabs on 33 targets in the final seven weeks. His forced incompletion rate of 30.3% led the NFL over the last seven games.

Will Harris was forced into playing time here in Detroit, thanks to the trade of safety Quandre Diggs and injuries to Tracy Walker. Harris turned in his best effort of the season in Week 17, which came on the heels of two of his better performances. He finished the season with a 55.3 overall grade but turned in some unacceptable marks when it came to tackling. PFF graded Harris with a grade of lower than 42.6 in tackling a whopping six times. He was credited with six missed tackles while allowing a passer rating of 147.4 when targeted.

Original pick: Round 4, No. 15 (117): Austin Bryant, DE, Clemson

Redraft: Gardner Minshew, QB, Washington State (Originally picked by the Jaguars in the sixth round, 178th overall)

Considering the fact the Lions went through 11 quarterbacks and three starters this season, it would have been nice to have Gardner Minshew waiting in the wings behind Matthew Stafford. Minshew proved to be ready for action out of the gate as Jacksonville’s $88 million investment at quarterback, Nick Foles, injured his shoulder in Week 1. The rookie went on to start a series of games before Foles returned, and then even took the job back in the home stretch.

Minshew was the highest-graded rookie quarterback and led the league with a 129.0 passer rating on balls of more than 20 yards downfield. He completed 285 of 470 passes for 3,271 yards with 21 touchdowns and six interceptions in 12 starts. Minshew also scrambled 67 times for 344 yards and could be a potential franchise signal-caller moving forward for Jacksonville.

Austin Bryant, on the other hand, was limited to four games of sporadic action as he worked his way back from injury. The defensive end has some versatile potential but has been dealing with injuries dating back to his days at Clemson. Bryant logged 54 snaps in Week 17, which was easily a career high. PFF graded him at 62.2 overall, but with an impressive 76.6 stopping the run in his most substantial playing time.

Original pick: Round 5, No. 8 (146): Amani Oruwariye, CB, Penn State

Redraft: Amani Oruwariye, CB, Penn State

Amani Oruwariye flashed enough in limited playing time to warrant this fifth-round pick. If A.J. Brown hadn’t filled the receiver spot in the redraft’s second round, this would easily be Darius Slayton, who eventually went to the Giants with pick No. 171.

Oruwariye saw his first action in Week 11 and would go on to see double-digit snaps in five of the last seven games. He showed excellent ball skills with an interception in Week 12 and then Week 17, but faltered in coverage along the way. Oruwariye got torched against Tampa Bay and on one Davante Adams touchdown but showed some upside next to Darius Slay and Justin Coleman. He finished his first season with a 75.3 grade in coverage and two interceptions on 215 snaps.

Original pick: Round 6, No. 11 (184): Travis Fulgham, WR, Old Dominion

Redraft: Armon Watts, DL, Arkansas (Originally picked by the Vikings in the sixth round, 190th overall)

Travis Fulgham spent most of the season on the practice squad after being a healthy scratch for the first three games. He saw the first three targets of his career spread across Weeks 16 and 17. Fulgham was credited with two drops on those three looks as he failed to haul in a catch on 63 offensive snaps.

Armon Watts got his first taste of playing time in Week 10 for Minnesota, and never left the defensive line rotation. He finished the season with an overall grade of 69.6 and a 74.8 mark rushing the passer. He struggled in the tackling department with a grade in the 40s but was solid against the run. Before going down with a leg injury that will cost him the playoffs in Week 17, Watts accounted for 13 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble and nine-run stops.

Original pick: Round 6, No. 13 (186): Ty Johnson, RB, Maryland

Redraft: Ty Johnson, RB, Maryland

Ty Johnson’s performance in the season finale likely saved his spot on this redraft. He continued to see touches out of the backfield all season but struggled to break free and flash the top-flight speed he was teased as possessing. After failing to do much of anything on consistent touches through 15 games, he exploded for 65 yards on three carries against the Packers.

He was forced into a regular role too early thanks to Kerryon Johnson’s injury but got it clicking as the backfield returned to full health. That’s enough to merit a sixth-round pick. Ty Johnson finished the season with 63 carries for 273 yards to go with 24 catches for 109 yards.

Original pick: Round 7, No. 10 (224): Isaac Nauta, TE, Georgia

Redraft: Malik Reed, DL, Nevada (Undrafted rookie signed by the Denver Broncos)

Every year there’s an undrafted rookie or two thrust into playing time who takes full advantage of the opportunity. When Bradley Chubb went down in Week 4 with an ACL injury, it was Malik Reed to answer the call in Denver. He shined between Weeks 6 and 8 with impressive all-around outings and proved to be a more than capable defender throughout the year. Reed finished with three sacks, 14 quarterback hurries and 11 run-stops. He showed balance with a grade of 69.7 on the ground, 60.1 rushing the passer and even a 74.0 in coverage.

Isaac Nauta spent most of the season on the practice squad before getting promoted to fill the hole left by Nick Bawden at fullback. When Hockenson went down, his versatility on offense and special teams helped fill some gaps without question. He caught two passes on three targets with one drop for 13 yards.

Original pick: Round 7, No. 15 (229): P.J. Johnson, DL, Arizona

Redraft: Steven Sims, WR, Kansas (Undrafted)

Seeing as P.J. Johnson didn’t make it to the regular season with the Lions and only just recently signed with the Chargers’ practice squad, this was an easy redraft. The name that sticks out as a potential perfect seventh-round pick is Washington’s Steven Sims. The return specialist/wide receiver possesses that versatility desired by players of his billing in Detroit, and would have been quite the value at pick No. 229.

Sims returned a kick 91 yards for a touchdown against the Lions. But, he wasn’t limited to just special teams as he caught 34 passes for 310 yards and four touchdowns while running nine times for 85 yards and a score. Sims was credited with four drops but continued to produce at a high level for any rookie and not just an undrafted one.

Original source can be found here.