What will the Detroit Lions do when they are on the clock with the No. 2 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft?
With the draft now under two weeks away, the rumors are really starting to fly around about which direction the Lions will go.
On Thursday, NFL insider Albert Breer released an article in which he reveals the latest he is hearing about the upcoming draft and he had some interesting intel on the Lions, specifically when it comes to EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux.
A lot of people are convinced they will go edge rusher here regardless. And I’d agree that if Hutchinson is there, this will become academic for them. If he’s not? Well, I can tell you that no one I’ve talked to at this point believes that Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux is in any way a culture fit for Detroit coach Dan Campbell. “His personality is a lot,” said one exec, “and you hear the head coach there isn’t a fan.”
The intel Breer passed along is something that I have been saying (my opinion) about Thibodeaux since January and some of his actions since then have only solidified my stance that the Lions will pass on him when they are on the clock with the No. 2 overall pick.
Breer then went on to talk about who he does believe the Lions will ultimately select with the No. 2 overall pick and that player is EDGE Travon Walker out of Georgia.
(Travon) Walker, on the other hand, would make sense, if the Lions are confident they can develop him into more than he was on his college tape. The biggest issue there, really, is most of his splash plays in college were made in open-field situations, where he’s simply chasing someone down, rather than doing what you’d hope he would as a pro, which is rushing the passer off the edge.
One position that was put on my radar for the Lions at No. 2 on Thursday is defensive back. That may seem a little early for Cincinnati’s Sauce Gardner, LSU’s Derek Stingley Jr. or, for that matter, Notre Dame’s Kyle Hamilton (whom I’ve heard they like), given how Hamilton ran at the combine. It’d also be a head-turner, since the Lions took a corner with the third pick two years ago. But looking at the makeup of the class overall, this might just be the year where, if you’re picking this high, you just take the guy you like best. That said …
Best early guess: Georgia DE/OLB Travon Walker
Walker had tremendous athletic ability but, in my opinion, he is not worthy of being the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft as his production just does not match his potential.
Nation, would you be ok with the Lions selecting Travon Walker with the No. 2 overall pick?
Sannes’ Win Total Projections: 5 Bets to Make Based on Opening 2022 Win Totals
It’s a betting bonanza kind of week. We had the women’s basketball national championship last night with the men on tap Monday.
Then we sprint to Thursday with The Masters and MLB opening day at the same time.
But the NFL had to stick its snoot in the action, too.
Last Friday, FanDuel Sportsbook posted its first win totals for the 2022 season. As if there weren’t enough already on our plates.
We could ignore these for a bit until the non-NFL sports start to chill out. But then we’re missing out on — potentially — the softest numbers we’ll get all year. We want to pepper these before the market grinds them into efficiency.
As such, let’s run through just the spots where my numbers differ most from the market in order to pick off the biggest values. Then we can circle back and run through more bets later on.
Here are the five totals where my win total projections differ from the market by at least one win. As a note, I omitted the Seattle Seahawks over 5.5 (-130) because my numbers are currently assuming DK Metcalf will return. A trade there would make their projection much lower than its current mark of 6.7.
