3 Players That The Lions MUST DRAFT, If They Fall In The 1st Round...

AtoZ Sports

Mike Payton talks about 3 prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft, that the Detroit Lions cannot afford to pass up, if they fall far enough.

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00:00If one of these three players falls to the Lions, they got to go get him because he'd be perfect.

00:06Let's go talk about it.

00:10I'm Mike Payne from A to Z Sports Detroit.

00:12Today we're going to talk about three players that could fall in this draft in the first round that the Lions absolutely need to go get.

00:20Because they fit perfectly for what Detroit needs.

00:24Let's start off with a position that everybody wants to talk about.

00:27It's the edge rusher position.

00:28We'll go with Georgia's Mikel Williams.

00:32He's a guy that I know a lot of Lions fans are certainly interested in.

00:36There's a lot to like there.

00:38Super long arms.

00:40Just a really great bend.

00:42Good explosiveness.

00:44Has a lot to bring to the table.

00:47But you still look at him and you can see that there are some switches that have yet to be flipped for him.

00:52Like he could still be better than what he is now.

00:55And, you know, they have the term like he's barely scratching the surface.

00:59Well, I don't think he's near the surface yet.

01:02Like I think he could get to the surface, scratch it, and then bust through it.

01:05You know what I'm saying?

01:06Like that guy has a lot of possibilities.

01:09Problem is he's probably going to be gone a little bit earlier.

01:12There is some questions or some, you know, concerns about some injury type stuff.

01:16And maybe that could push him down the board.

01:18And if that does, then the Lions could be waiting there at 28 to grab him.

01:23But in reality, he's probably, you know, top 15, top 20.

01:28If he does fall, it probably won't be that much.

01:31But if he does get to 28, Lions got to sprint to the podium on that one.

01:35The next guy is Arizona receiver Teter Owen McMillan.

01:38Now, look, I know Lions fans want an edge rusher.

01:41They want somebody on defense.

01:42But, man, this is the guy at receiver in this draft.

01:47And it's kind of weird.

01:49It seems like some teams are just kind of overthinking it with this one.

01:52Like he should just be a top 10 pick.

01:55He should be gone long before the Lions even have to think about drafting at 28.

02:00But there's a possibility that Luther Burden from Missouri could go before him.

02:06Matthew Golden from Texas, a guy actually the Lions brought in for a top 30.

02:10He could wind up going before McMillan.

02:12And if that happens, if all those things happen and McMillan gets to 28, again, Lions have to sprint to the podium on that.

02:19This is a gigantic X receiver, exactly what the Lions need.

02:24A guy who can go up, high point the ball, make contested catches, can still burn down the field,

02:29separate, just everything that the Lions want in a receiver, you know, it's him.

02:37That's the guy.

02:37That's the guy who could do so much for this team.

02:40And a group of Aminra St. Brown, McMillan, Jamison Williams.

02:45I mean, have fun, Jared Goff.

02:47Go off.

02:47Like, do whatever you want out there.

02:49It's unbelievable.

02:50You know, the thing is, with him, like, I think he's so good that even if he got to, you know, the upper to mid-20s,

02:59the Lions should move up to get him.

03:00Like, that's how good I think this player is.

03:03But we'll see what happens.

03:04The final guy is Alabama linebacker Jihad Campbell.

03:07Now, I know Lions fans think this team has too many linebackers.

03:10But I don't look at Campbell so much as a linebacker as I see a guy who could be an everyman.

03:15Like, I think he could very easily switch to the edge rusher position.

03:20Like, he got a lot of pressures, a lot of sacks last year, but he could also be good in coverage.

03:25There's so much you could do with him.

03:26He could be like a Sam, you know, Sam linebacker, that sort of thing.

03:29But, I mean, I see this guy as just a potential to do it all, do anything on the field.

03:36And when you've got a guy like that, that's what you want.

03:39That's what this defense needs is somebody who can do anything that they want him to do.

03:44And that's what they love about Brian Branch.

03:46That's why a guy like Branch is never going to go anywhere because he can play safety.

03:50He can play slot corner.

03:51He can play outside corner.

03:52He can play anywhere.

03:54And for, you know, the Lions, Campbell would be another version of that.

03:58So, it'd be interesting to see what they would do there.

04:03But, like I said, I think this guy could be an edge rusher.

04:05And this is probably the one guy of these three players that has a real chance to be there at 28.

04:10He's expected to go kind of, I mean, 20 to 25 range.

04:16Maybe he slips a little bit.

04:18If he gets to 28, that's another guy the Lions got to go get.

04:21We'll see what happens on draft night on Thursday.

04:25Until then, let me know what you guys think in the comments, and we'll see you next time.

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