With the No. 2 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions select…
At this point, it seems like a no-brainer that the sentence above can be completed with the name Aidan Hutchinson (Michigan) or Kayvon Thibodeaux (Oregon) as they are at the top of almost everyone’s draft board.
Almost everyone.
But according to the most recent 3-round NFL Mock Draft put out by Luke Easterling of Draft Wire, the Lions will pass on defense and select QB Kenny Pickett out of Pittsburgh. Easterling follows that up by having the Lions select more offense with their second first-round pick (via Rams).
Here is what Easterling has the Lions doing in the first three rounds (four total picks) of his 2022 NFL Mock Draft.
2. Detroit Lions | Pitt QB Kenny Pickett
Start getting comfortable with the idea of Pickett going higher than you might expect. He’s got many of the same traits that sent Joe Burrow flying up the board not too long ago, and a strong predraft process could easily convince a QB-needy team like the Lions that he can have the same kind of impact Burrow is having right now in Cincinnati.
30. Detroit Lions (from LAR) | Purdue WR David Bell
After landing their quarterback of the future, the Lions need to upgrade the weapons around him. Free agency decimated this unit last offseason, and while the emergence of Amon-Ra St. Brown has been a pleasant surprise, the Lions would do well to pair him with a big, athletic target like Bell.
34. Detroit Lions | Michigan S Daxton Hill
66. Detroit Lions | Alabama CB Josh Jobe
Now, let me be clear about something. I believe that Kenny Pickett COULD be a solid NFL quarterback, but in my opinion, he is not even the top QB prospect in this cycle as I currently have Malik Willis out of Liberty in that slot. For the Lions to take him No. 2 overall, they would truly have to believe that he is a slam dunk, which I don’t see happening.
If the Lions want to select a QB in this draft cycle, my thought would be that they wait until the end of Round 1 and use the pick they are getting from the Rams.
The Lions absolutely must land a solid pass rusher during the offseason and I believe that will be (and should be) either Hutchinson or Thibodeaux. Hopefully, Hutchinson as he is the safer pick.
