Senior Bowl 2018: Five players to watch who may interest Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions still can’t make their head coaching hire official, and they only have part of their staff under contract. But that hasn't stopped the organization from preparing for April’s NFL draft.

The Lions will be at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., this week to get an invaluable and up-close look at many of this year’s top draft prospects. Senior Bowl practice begins Tuesday, and the game is Saturday.

In his two drafts as Lions GM, Bob Quinn has taken five players who've played in the Senior Bowl

Here are five prospects who should interest the Lions this week:

• DE Marcus Davenport, Texas-San Antonio — Every year a lesser-known prospect uses the Senior Bowl to vault into the national spotlight, and Davenport could be that guy this year. He’s 6 feet 6, had 8.5 sacks this season and could wind up as a first-round pick. The Lions desperately need help for their defensive line, at both the end and tackle positions. But with Ziggy Ansah a pending free agent, they need a young pass rusher to groom more than most.

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• RB Rashaad Penny, San Diego State — If not defensive end, then running back might be the Lions’ biggest need this offseason, and the early word is there’s good depth at the position once again. Most of the draft’s top backs aren’t in Mobile, but Penny, Oregon’s Royce Freeman and unique North Carolina State back Jaylen Samuels are three to watch. Samuels caught 76 passes as a hybrid fullback in 2017, and it’ll be interesting to see how he’s used at the Senior Bowl. Penny is a pure rusher who led the Division I with 2,248 yards. With a good week, he can solidify himself as a top 75 pick.

• C Mason Cole, Michigan — Quinn likes versatile offensive linemen, and the Lions will need to draft another one this year with center Travis Swanson slated to hit free agency. Cole tied a U-M record with 51 consecutive starts, and he played both left tackle and center during his career. He’ll be an interior lineman in the NFL, and his weigh-in will be important as some teams will want to see how much weight he can carry. Cole is one of two Michigan players in the game (along with linebacker Mike McCray) after Maurice Hurst pulled out. No Spartans are in the game this year, but Central Michigan (Tyler Conklin) and Western Michigan (Darius Phillips, Chukwuma Okorafor) are represented.

• DT B.J. Hill, North Carolina State — Hill doesn’t project to be a great pass rusher, but Matt Patricia’s defenses have typically featured an immovable object at nose tackle. Hill, listed at 6 feet 4 and 315 pounds, could be that guy. He won’t be the flashiest defensive tackle in Mobile this week. Stanford’s Harrison Phillips is the headliner and Nathan Shepherd is a small-school prospect from Division II Fort Hays State who could impress. But Hill is the kind of Day 3 prospect who could fill a need.

• QB Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma — The Lions don’t need a quarterback and won’t be drafting one as high as Mayfield will go, but the better Mayfield and Wyoming’s Josh Allen perform this week, the more likely a top player is to slip to the Lions at No. 20. Allen has a huge arm and some think he could go No. 1 in the draft despite a lackluster season. Mayfield will turn off some teams with his size and personality, but he had a heck of a college career and his competitiveness would make some team picking in the top 20 happy.

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Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

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