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Originally Posted by Bobble
Agreed. I was getting flashbacks of Okudah (who I loved as a pick but the knock was that he didn't have the speed) and Teez Tabor (same draft as JRM if you can believe it). But I trust that the Lions staff have a plan on how to fit them into the defense or fit the defense to them.
On doubling down with Rakestraw, I was a little worried in the moment but Rake felt like another steal even if we end up "overstocked" at CB. There wasn't an edge rusher worth snagging at the time and we got Wingo later. Or, we could have gone OL but we end up with Mahogany later.
I will say, though, I wasn't crazy about giving up so many draft assets for a long-shot OT in Manu and an ... I'm-not-sure-what-position guy in Vaki. I don't have any particular player that I think we should have taken instead. It just seemed like a lot to give up for those guys. Trust the Villains, I guess.
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I very much agree. I, too, can't get Teez Tabor flashbacks out of my head. Okudah it seemed was a mix of mental makeup combined with that bad injury. It was a horrible pick.
Trading a 2025 3rd rounder for Manu was really... odd. So was the move up for Vaki (the 2025 4th rounder). Manu seems to be this year's Brodric Martin. On one hand, when it comes to drafting, Holmes definitely deserves the benefit of the doubt, on the other hand trading away that kind of draft capital for a super raw project OL and a guy who played two years of college football as safety and drafting him to play running back and special teams seem like crazy reaches.
If the Lions had picked Wingo and Mahogany in the 4th and Manu and Vaki in the 6th, I think we'd feel better about it.
I was listening to the Ringer NFL show the other day and they were talking about how when teams reach for players like Manu and Vaki versus where they are slotted to go in the consensus board, it rarely ever works out. Teams over estimate their ability to scout/evaluate players and fall in love with certain players. I feel like that's exactly what happened to Holmes/Campbell here. They even admitted to as much.
I really hope these guys work out. If anyone can make the Manu pick work at the moment, it's the Lions. They have a great o-line coach, great culture, Sewell and Decker are fantastic mentors, so Manu is in a really good spot to succeed. The same could be said of Vaki. If he's got skills, Ben Johnson should be able to use him effectively.