ALLEN PARK -- Bob Quinn has a week to go until he'll use the 20th overall pick to draft what he hopes to be another cornerstone player for the Lions, but it's hard to tell by his mood. The general manager came out to his pre-draft press conference cracking jokes and talking with enthusiastic vagueness about what he wants to try when the first round comes around.

He's used to this challenge by now. In his first year as a GM, he had the 16th pick and took Ohio State left tackle Taylor Decker. Last year, he sat at 21 and picked Florida linebacker Jarrad Davis.

This year, he picks 20th. And though he said it could be any of five or six players he has lined up in his mind right now, he at least feels like he knows what he'll be looking for.

Quinn rattled off the traits he wants in that first pick of a draft: He'd like a playmaker who is also dependable, which means checking certain boxes for character and medical evaluations. He wants a coachable individual who loves the game, because he feels those traits help a player reach his ceiling but also maintain a reasonable floor.

His first two first-rounders largely fit that bill. Decker and Davis both started multiple years at elite college programs in high-level conferences. They were obvious needs on Quinn's roster but also played positions of reasonable value in the process of building out a team.

Decker and Davis have come in and taken to coaching, showing progress from the start of their rookie year to the end. They've had their struggles at times, and neither has reached a star level yet, but so far they have faced no questions about their love of the game or fit in a locker room.

"If you're taking them in the first round, they should obviously be good players, right? Or I shouldn't be standing up here," Quinn said. "But I think dependability is really key."

The first pick is a critical one for any team but perhaps more so for a team with so much money locked into the passing game. With $27 million a year dedicated to Matthew Stafford and averages of at least $8 million a season for receiver Marvin Jones and pass protectors TJ Lang and Rick Wagner, the draft is largely when the Lions can get a playmaker on defense that they can afford.

"You really have to make conscious decisions of where you're going to make investments in terms of free agency and then really kind of fill in the gaps when it comes to the draft," Quinn said.

The Lions could go defense in the first round, but they could also look to fix the league's worst-ranked rushing attack or the holes that still exist in the pass protection around their high-dollar quarterback.

This year's first round could offer options at high-end options at interior offensive line in Georgia guard Isaiah Wynn, Iowa center James Daniels and UTEP guard Will Hernandez. It has running backs such as LSU's Derrius Guice or perhaps Georgia's Sony Michel who could be in consideration.

It also has a number of defenders who could be players that new coach Matt Patricia would like to mold amid a scheme change. That list could include Boston College edge rusher Harold Landry, UTSA edge rusher Marcus Davenport, Alabama defensive tackle Da'Ron Payne, Florida defensive end Taven Bryan and Louisville cornerback Jaire Alexander.

MLive's Nate Atkins and WJR Radio's Michael Stets broke down those options one by one in last week's episode of Inside the Lions podcast: