There has been plenty of talk about whether or not the Detroit Lions will be able to trade the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. At this point, that seems pretty unlikely as there really is not a sure-fire elite prospect that NFL teams are drooling over.
That being said, maybe the Lions could trade up from No. 32 to land who I believe will be an elite player at the NFL level.
http://gty.im/1236827840
That player is LB Devin Lloyd out of Utah.
Lloyd, who is 6-2 1/2 and 237 lbs, played safety in high school (he only weighed 200 lbs back then) but he was quickly moved to linebacker during his freshman season at Utah.
Lloyd is an absolute beast who can absolutely fly around the field to make plays. In fact, during his final season at Utah, he racked up 111 tackles with a whopping 22 tackles for loss and 7.0 sacks! In 36 games at Utah, Lloyd had 43 tackles for loss.
Here is what Dane Brugler of The Athletic has to say about Lloyd:
Instantly accelerates and closes the gap with his long strides … doesn’t lose foot races to the sideline … quick to key-and-diagnose and make plays in the backfield (totaled 43.0 tackles for loss in 33 games the last three years and ranked No. 2 in the FBS with 22.0 tackles for loss in 2021) … face-up tackler who pounces on his prey … allows his long-levered, angular frame work for him … skilled block-slipper due to his short-area quickness and body control … scrapes from gap-to-gap and fills with violence … able to leverage gaps because he arrives before the blocker … active blitzer with excellent timing and knifing quickness … very aware in coverage and covers a lot of ground when he drops (moves like a former safety) … has the fluid lower body to quickly react with the eyes of the quarterback … high school wide receiver and notched five career interceptions (four as a senior), with three returned for touchdowns … two-time team captain and described as a “student of the game” by his coaches (Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham: “He watches as much film during the course of a week as anybody we’ve ever had here.”) … played both the “Rover” and “Mac” linebacker positions in the Utah defense … saw time on each special teams coverage (523 career snaps) … durable and productive.
When I watched Lloyd play live this year, it did not take long for me to fall in love with him and covet him as a player that I would love to see on the Detroit Lions.
In my opinion, Lloyd is one of the top 10 players in this draft class and if he somehow starts to slip down into the mid to late teens or so, I think the Lions should trade No. 32 and No. 34 to move up and grab him.
Nation, would you like to see the Lions move up to select Devin Lloyd if he slips far enough?
