NFL Draft season is upon us and for the next few weeks we will be ranking our top five options for the Lions at each position of need. We'll also be ranking players based off of where the Lions are picking. So these will be players that they will be able to draft. We've already done cornerbacks, receivers, tight ends, edge rushers, safeties and interior defensive linemen. Now it's time to do interior offensive linemen
Right off the bat, I'm not as high on the Lions needing an offensive linemen as everyone else. I think they have some promising ones on the bench right now in Colby Sorsdal, Kayode Awosika and Connor Galvin. Still, I have some guys that I like for the Lions and here they are:
The UConn guard might be the best guy on the board outside of Oregon's Jackson Powers-Johnson. Haynes allowed just three sacks through his entire time in college. That's it. Just three. He would fill in at right guard after a year of flexing in with Kevin Zeitler. He's an immediate starter for years after that.
Haynes is currently slated to go in the second round.
When you like a guy, you like a guy. McMahon isn't going to be as high on everyone else's rankings like he is on mine. I don't look at him in the immediate. I see the potential future with McMahon.
He's like the next Graham Glasgow at best and the next Evan Brown at worst. McMahon can play left guard, right guard and center. He started at all three spots at North Carolina State. the versatility is the draw here.
Zinter was very good for Michigan. But that's just part of the reason I think he's a good fit for Detroit. The big thing is that the Lions can give Zinter what he really needs and that's time.
The Lions don't need a starter right now with Kevin Zeitler and Graham Glasgow holding down the fort. That gives Zinter time to heal up and be ready for late 2024 or the 2025 season. Then you can see what you have in him. I'm guessing you'd have a lot.
Beebe is sort of falling down the board these days. There was time he was a day two pick. Now he's slated to go at the top of day three. Beebe is a guy that can come in and immediately play and flex into the Lions offensive line. He's also someone that has a history of starting at left tackle. The problem is that he has no history on the right side.
Bortolini is a project for the Lions. He bounced all over the Wisconsin offensive line during his time there and finally wound up starting at center last year. He did a pretty good job. There's something to the idea of grabbing a center and working him up over the years because you never know what the future is going to hold for Frank Ragnow.
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