When it was all said and done after three days of the NFL Draft, Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn came away with 10 new rookies added to his roster.
According to Quinn, the Lions are a stronger, more versatile football team than they were when they started this process Thursday, with better depth and more competition up and down the roster.
**How important was position versatility with some of these picks?
**
When the regular season rolls around in September, only 46 players are going to be active on gameday. Drafted players like Taylor Decker, Graham Glasgow, Miles Killebrew, Joe Dahl, Antwione Williams and Anthony Zettel all have position versatility.
"I think that's, when we do the evaluation process it's important to not only look at the player and what position they play in college, but have they played a position previously in their sophomore, their freshman year and when you're projecting to the NFL, can they play a different position?" Quinn said.
"As we know, we can only dress 46 players, so every roster spot that we bring to the game is vitally important. So, if a guy can play more than one spot it adds to his value."* *
What does drafting long snapper Jimmy Landes mean for veteran long snapper Don Muhlbach?
"It means Don's going to have someone to compete with this year," Quinn said.
What made Michigan quarterback Jake Rudock the right fit in the sixth round?
Quinn said earlier this offseason that it's "good football business" to draft a quarterback at least every other year, if not every year.
When it came to Rudock, he was the highest graded quarterback on their roster at the time, and his workout in Allen Park really set him apart.
"We had him in here for our local Pro Day, so we got an up close and personal look at him and felt that he would add really good competition to the quarterback room," Quinn said.
"I thought he was extremely smart. I thought he was very composed. I thought he was very accurate. He played in a pro-style system, which was good to see, and I thought he had a really good workout for us here a couple weeks back."
What is the biggest key to Quinn when evaluating quarterbacks?
"The big thing about the evaluation of the quarterback position is it's one of the hardest things for scouts and coaches to evaluate arm strength on film," he said.
"I mean, Matthew Stafford on film, like, you can see he's got a great arm. Some of these college quarterbacks, and we tell our college scouts this, if you're going to put a draftable grade or a make-it level grade on a quarterback, I want you to see the guy live in game.
"The arm strength really is very crucial to see live. In tape, you can see it, you know, is it really good? Is it good enough? There's a lot of wiggle room there, so I think that's kind of what sold me in the end was the workout that we had (with Rudock)."* *
Where will Zettel play to begin with?
The former Penn State defenseman was a more productive player as a junior when he played on the outside at defensive end. His numbers dropped a bit when he was an undersized defensive tackle as a senior.
"We're going to put him out there, probably start him at defensive end, but you know, we're going to use multiple fronts this year like we always have," Quinn said.
"Wherever he fits, that's one of his key characteristics is his versatility and one of the reasons why we took him."* *
Was there much trade talk?
Quinn didn't make any trades through all seven rounds. The Lions went into the draft with 10 picks and they picked all 10 players at their original slots.
"The phone rings all the time and you have to evaluate what you have on the board," Quinn said. "So, you're looking at your players and guys that you like and then you have a call and you're like, 'Well, if I trade back, you know, I get three guys I like here in this cluster. If I trade back and lose all three of them, then that's not really a good trade for me,'
"So, we had a lot of conversations, both, 'do you want to come up, do you want to come down?' I was on the phone a lot with a lot of different teams and in the end just none of them made sense this year."
Where does Killebrew fit in on defense?
Killebrew has good size and speed, but don't expect him to be a Deone Bucannon clone just yet.
"We're really not looking for the linebacker/safety hybrid," said Quinn.
"Now, we're going to be in sub-defense, nickel-defense, for close to 70-percent of the time, so to get a guy that's this size, that can run as fast as he can run, you know hopefully he can have a role covering tight ends. But, in our base defense, you know, he's not going to be a linebacker."
Look for him to be in the mix at strong safety.
Has Quinn picked up Ziggy Ansah's fifth-year option yet?
He has until May 2 to do so.
"We have not picked up Ziggy's option," he said. "I'll have an update on that for you in a few days."
