Continuing a seven-round mock draft series, this version changes up the position of the Detroit Lions’ first round pick but keeps in on the defensive side.

In the weeks leading up to the 2018 NFL Draft I’m playing out several scenarios for the Detroit Lions in the form of seven-round mock drafts. With each mock I will start with a different position for the first round pick to force a look at a new scenario with each edition. The first mock in this series led off with Washington defensive tackle Vita Vea so that position is off the table for the first pick this time around.

As I said when I led off this series with the first seven-round mock, this isn’t what I think the Lions will do, nor is it necessarily what I think they should do. Simply, this is a look at what they could do. It’s all about playing out various scenarios rather than trying to be “right”, whatever that even means in a mock draft.

To play out as realistic of a scenario as possible, I used the Fanspeak mock draft simulator, this time set to run with the draft board from Draft Countdown (3/20/18 update). I was in charge of all the Lions’ picks and could only select players who were available in the simulation at the time of the pick. That means no cherry-picking or gaming the draft.

While defensive tackle was off the board for the first round, this version not only stays on the defensive side of the ball but on the defensive line.