Lions love: Thursday at the NFL Scouting Combine, cornerbacks, safeties and tight ends spoke to the media. A popular question for prospects here in Indianapolis is who they mirror their games after or look up to at the NFL level. Detroit Lions players were well-represented.
Ohio State safety Caleb Downs mentioned Lions safety Brian Branch as a player he looks up to. Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren talked about Lions safety Kerby Joseph, a player he studies and wants to be like. Ohio State tight end Max Klare mentioned 49ers TE George Kittle and Sam LaPorta when asked about his favorite tight ends in the NFL. Edge rushers Anthony Lucas and T.J. Parker had great quotes Wednesday on looking up to Aidan Hutchinson. Several linebackers Wednesday mentioned Lions All-Pro linebacker Jack Campbell as a player they study.
In 17 years coming to the Combine, I can't remember a time when more Lions players were talked about by these draft prospects. It says a lot about the job Lions general manager Brad Holmes has done acquiring top talent to this roster.
$100 investment: South Carolina cornerback Brandon Cisse told a story Thursday about begging his mother for $100 as a senior in high school to attend an NC State football camp. He said it took some convincing, but she agreed and it turned into a scholarship offer a week later from NC State. After two years at NC State and last season at South Carolina, Cisse will probably hear his name called on Day 2 of the NFL Draft. That's quite the return on a $100 investment.
Interview process: One of the more valuable parts of the combine for Lions head coach Dan Campbell and Holmes is the interview process. Getting the players in a room and going through the tape, diagraming plays and getting to know the person, not just the football player. Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy met with the Lions this week and said they installed a defense with him and had him interpret it back to them in real time from his responsibility within it. He said he enjoyed the meeting.
Age is just a number: Miami edge rusher Akheem Mesidor turns 25 in April, making him one of the older players in this draft class. Mesidor is considered a first-round pick after recording 63 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks for Miami in his sixth collegiate season this past season. He doesn't see himself being older as a negative.
"You can call me a seasoned rookie," Mesidor told media members Wednesday. "I think I'm coming in more mature with a different approach, different mentality than a lot of younger guys. I think my age could be a plus."
Rare attributes: Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks is quite the rare physical specimen. He measured 6-foot-6 and 327 pounds. His 35-inch arm length is in the 94th percentile for the position and his nearly 86-inch wingspan ranks in the 99th percentile.
Early start: Indiana cornerback D'Angelo Ponds is an interesting prospect in this class. The second-team All-American is a bit undersized (5-9, 173) but was wildly productive with 11 passes defended and two interceptions for the national champions. Ponds said he started playing football when he was four years old in something called Super PeeWee football in the Miami area. No wonder that region of Florida produces so many great football players if they are starting to play organized football at age four.
Undervalued trait: This is a stacked wide receiver class at the Combine, and it was interesting listening to NFL draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah talk about it Wednesday. He said play strength is something teams are looking increasingly at in that position. Hands, speed and the ability to separate are still important for the position, but teams are looking for players like Rams WR Puka Nacua, Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown. They all possess terrific playing strength with the ability to break tackles, block in the run game and make tough catches in traffic.
Proving people wrong: Texas cornerback Jaylon Guilbeau is 5-foot-10, 186 pounds. Reading most scouting profiles, one of the first things mentioned about him is a 'lack of ideal size.' One of the players Guilbeau looks up to is Detroit Lions cornerback Amik Robertson (5-9, 183).
"Amik, he's a ball hog. He go get the ball, see ball, go get ball and I would say that's what you get paid off, go and get the ball," he said "And I say, he play with a chip on his shoulder. A lot of people said he was small, he couldn't play, so I would say he proved people wrong, and that's what I like to do, I like to prove people wrong."
Big man flying: Penn State's Zane Durant (6-1, 290) led the way for the defensive tackle group in the 40-yard dash Thursday with a 4.76 time and maybe an even more impressive 1.66 second 10-yard split, which is the more important number when watching the defensive tackle group. Durant had 4.0 sacks from the interior for the Nittany Lions last season.
