The Detroit Lions are changing defenders for 2021, from Matthew Stafford to Jared Goff, but that won’t stop them from taking a call at the start of this year’s NFL project.
General manager Brad Holmes, who is not yet allowed to discuss Stafford-Goff’s trade until it becomes official when the league’s new year begins on March 17, said on Tuesday that he likes what he sees in this defensive class. .
“The position of defender in general, what is interesting this year is that they are in all different flavors,” Holmes said. “You have a guy who can do everything, do it out of pocket, do it with your feet. You have another guy who probably does it a little more with his feet, a little more like he’s creative. There’s another guy who probably does it more out of pocket.
“So all the different flavors make it very, very interesting when you look at the whole class range of these quarterbacks.”
Holmes mentioned several times during his press conference on Tuesday that he liked this defensive class project, which is titled by Trevor Lawrence, Clemson, Justin Fields of Ohio and Zach Wilson of BYU.
And when you choose the top 10, he said, you can’t overlook any position. This includes a spot that is undergoing major changes for Detroit. Goff will have a maximum salary level of $ 28.15 million in 2021 and $ 26.15 million for 2022, according to OverTheCap.com. Of course, lions can create more space if they restructure Goff’s contract, which has just over $ 25 million in base salary, once it officially becomes part of the franchise. But it is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post.
In addition, Stafford will calculate $ 19 million in dead money on this year’s ceiling for Detroit.
What does this have to do with writing a quarterback at number 7? It may depend on how the team sees Goff in the long run – something he has not yet been allowed to address publicly – and what he thinks of the quarterbacks in this class.
“When you choose in the top 10, I don’t think you can ignore it and I think it’s a smart writing business anyway, when you choose in the top 10, you make sure you know that quarterback class very well,” Holmes said.
Holmes added that when choosing in the top 10, you need to know the top prospects at each position because of the potential level of talent. He said he knows the team needs beginners and depth in several positions, some of which could be addressed at number 7.
“There are some pieces that we definitely need to add,” Holmes said. “We can start with the defensive side of the ball. We definitely need a little more depth. We’re going to need beginners in certain places, so these are things we’re going through.”
Offended, Holmes said he likes what the Lions have on the offensive line. but they need depth. The receiver’s camera – whether or not it uses a franchise label on Kenny Golladay – needs to be overhauled. All of this has to do with a defender, which leads to a multitude of decisions that Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell make while evaluating what to do in the free and draft agency, starting with election no. 7.