We are mere weeks away from the 2023 NFL Draft. As usual, there’s a ton of intrigue surrounding the top of the draft, and which quarterback will be selected with the No. 1 overall pick. Of course, that’s not the only place to look for intrigue.
One of the most fascinating teams near the top of this year’s draft is the Detroit Lions. After nearly making the playoffs (!) last season, the Lions have two picks inside the top 18, thanks to the Matthew Stafford trade. That gives them the ability to shape the direction of the draft from the jump, and the state of their roster means they can go in a number of different directions with those picks.
With a bit of help from the Pro Football Focus mock draft simulator, here’s a look at how things might play out later this month …
| 1 | 6 | Anthony Richardson | QB | Florida |
| 1 | 18 | Zay Flowers | WR | Boston College |
| 2 | 48 | Felix Anudike-Uzomah | EDGE | Kansas State |
| 2 | 55 | Tyrique Stevenson | CB | Miami |
| 3 | 81 | Devon Achane | RB | Texas A&M |
| 5 | 152 | Jerrod Clark | IDL | Coastal Carolina |
| 6 | 183 | Juice Scruggs | IOL | Penn State |
| 6 | 194 | Will Mallory | TE | Miami |
Full disclosure: I tried to trade up to the No. 3 pick, but the computerized version of the Arizona Cardinals turned me down. So, I stuck at No. 6 overall and let the draft come to the fictional version of myself that was in charge of the Detroit Lions. And it played out exactly the way I wanted it to.
The first five players off the board were Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Will Anderson Jr., Will Levis and Tyree Wilson. That left me with a choice between taking one of the best available defenders (either Jalen Carter or one of the top cornerbacks like Christian Gonzalez or Devon Witherspoon) or taking a home-run swing on a quarterback of the future. Amazingly, I feel like the Lions are extremely well positioned to take the home-run swing, and also kind of need to do it now because they’re unlikely to be picking this high in the draft any time in the near future. The Lions! (They also might not have offensive coordinator Ben Johnson beyond this season, so it might be a good idea to get the QB in now so he gets at least one season to learn under Johnson’s tutelage.) Richardson is perhaps the most athletic quarterback prospect in NFL history, and his ceiling is incredibly high because of his rare physical gifts. He’s almost surely not ready to play right away, but the Lions have the luxury of knowing they can count on Jared Goff to deliver…
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