The Detroit Lions will play the final four remaining games on their 2021 schedule and then start the long process of retooling a roster that is as good as their record indicates.
If the team ends up securing the No. 1 overall pick, many NFL pundits have started to mock Michigan Wolverines defensive end Aidan Hutchinson to the Lions.
Todd McShay of ESPN is no different, as he has general manager Brad Holmes making the Heisman Trophy finalist the top selection in his first 2022 NFL mock draft released on Tuesday.
“Instead, the Lions need to take the best player available, and right now, that’s Hutchinson. The production speaks for itself: He has 14.0 sacks, 73 tackles, 19 tackles for loss and a pair of forced fumbles, and he tends to play at his best in the biggest spots," McShay writes.
With quarterback Jared Goff likely remaining on the roster for just one more season, it would behoove Detroit to consider drafting a young quarterback for Goff to groom in 2022.
One of the quarterbacks the Lions could target in the first round of next year's draft is Sam Howell out of North Carolina.
As McShay explained: “Four drafts have featured five first-round quarterbacks (1983, 1999, 2018 and 2021), but all four have included at least two top-10 picks. Here we have five Day 1 signal-callers for a second consecutive year, but all of them fall between picks Nos. 12 and 25. There will always be QB-needy teams, and while this class lacks a surefire franchise guy, it does have plenty of high-upside passers who could become just that. I actually like Howell a little more than Desmond Ridder. The UNC product reads the field well and shows good touch and timing on his throws. Jared Goff’s dead money would fall from $30.5 million in 2022 to $10 million in 2023 and $5 million in 2024, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Detroit drafts someone like Howell at the end of the first round to secure the fifth-year option and lets him learn behind Goff for a year before handing over the keys.”
More must-reads: