10 Detroit Lions takeaways from the 2018 NFL combine

INDIANAPOLIS — Here are 10 takeaways from my five days in Indy:

1. New Detroit Lions coach Matt Patricia didn’t provide a ton of insight into what his defense will look like this fall — it will be multiple, and the game plans will look mighty different from week to week, this we already knew. But one thing he told a small gaggle of reporters after he finished his podium interview Thursday did stand out.

“I think what you want to do, just from a philosophical standpoint what I’ll tell you is this, when you build out — and this is really both sides of the ball — you want to build from the ball out, so start in the middle and then work out,” Patricia said. “You always want to be strong in the middle of your defense, so anybody that plays that core, whether it’s linebackers or safeties, those guys are critically important to what you’re trying to do and I think that was one thing that we were able to do consistently over the years at New England.”

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The Lions are decent up the middle on defense right now. They used a first-round pick on Jarrad Davis last season, and he’s entrenched as the starting middle linebacker for the foreseeable future. Glover Quin is a fine safety, though at 32 years old it’s OK to start thinking about his eventual replacement (to that end, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Lions used a relatively high draft pick on a safety in a strong class this year). But they do need some help at defensive tackle.

As weak a year as this is for edge rushers, it’s a pretty decent crop of interior linemen. Vita Vea, Da’Ron Payne and, if his medicals check out, Maurice Hurst will be first-round picks. Taven Bryan could be, too. B.J. Hill, Harrison Phillips and Tim Settle should go early on Day 2, and one of those guys could sneak into Round 1.

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If I was doing my next mock draft, and one of those top three tackles was around at 20 (assuming Hurst is healthy), I’d make him the Lions’ pick.

2. With Patricia’s strong-up-the-middle approach in mind, it didn’t surprise me to hear the Lions will be in the market for a new center this year. My assumption had been that Graham Glasgow will move from left guard to center to replace Travis Swanson, as some people in the Lions’ front office always considered him a better center than guard. And while that still could happen, my impression is the team is fine keeping Glasgow at guard if there’s a center upgrade to be had in free agency or the draft.

Nothing I’ve heard leads me to believe the Lions will pursue Ryan Jensen, the Baltimore Ravens’ free agent who’ll set the market at center. But perhaps they target a center somewhere in the $4 million range, someone like Washington’s Spencer Long, or even a player like well thought of Iowa prospect James Daniels in the draft.

3. As for Swanson, there’s some debate about whether he actually sustained a concussion last season. The Lions placed Swanson on injured reserve in late December with what they termed a concussion, but Swanson’s reps are headed to free agency armed with a medical note that they say tells teams that Swanson did not actually suffer a concussion but instead had a bad reaction to medicine he was given to treat a concussion. Once Swanson got off the medicine, his symptoms apparently subsided.

If you recall, Swanson, who also missed extensive time at the end of the 2016 season with a brain injury, played all 68 snaps in a Week 14 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before he landed on the injury report the next week.

The Lions say they stand by their injury reports from late in season.

4. No matter what lineup the Lions go with up front next season, they expect to be better than they were in 2017. It’s no accident the only position coach Bob Quinn fired on the day he let Jim Caldwell go was offensive line coach Ron Prince. Prince has a very strong personality — some would say abrasive — that rubbed the veterans on the Lions offensive line the wrong way to the point they were put off by Prince’s methods. Certainly, players don’t always see eye to eye with their coaches, and I’ve had discussions with one player (not currently a Lion) who’s lukewarm about new Lions offensive line coach Jeff Davidson because of their previous interactions. Overall, though, the Lions believe the room is simply in a better place heading into 2018.

5. Sticking with the offense, the Lions are serious about upgrading the running back position, and the smart money says they’ll do so through both free agency and the draft. This is a deep draft for running backs, and everyone expects the Lions to come away with one rusher. My sense is it won’t be in the first round, though Ronald Jones or Derrius Guice would be enticing, but more likely on Day 2, where they could find a starter to take over for Ameer Abdullah either this year or when his contract expires after the season. In free agency, the consensus is the Lions will sign a lower-cost veteran for insurance. I mentioned Seattle Seahawks restricted free agent Mike Davis as a wildcard in my running back preview. Think someone along those lines, though the need is great enough they could aim higher.

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6. As for the Lions’ current backfield, it doesn’t make any sense for the team to cut ties with Abdullah right now. He makes a base salary of just $876,745 in 2018, so there’s no current financial incentive to move on. Beyond that, he still has untapped potential, and he and Theo Riddick can be complementary pieces in the backfield. Now, the rest of the backfield is in a bit of flux. Zach Zenner is a restricted free agent, but he’s the type of smart, well-rounded player who fits what Patricia wants in his running backs. The Lions won’t tender Zenner as a restricted free agent, but if the money works out they could bring him back on a one-year deal. The futures of Dwayne Washington and Tion Green are a little more up in the air. Washington has plenty of talent, but it hasn’t come together for him yet. And Green needs to mature after he had problems with his tardiness for meetings and preparedness for games last year.

7. Back to the defense for a minute, the Lions have indicated to Ziggy Ansah they plan to use him as a down defensive end this fall. That’s what he’s done best (and almost exclusively) to this point in his career, so it makes total sense. It’s also further indication that the Lions will operate primarily out of a four-man front. Ansah, by the way, had a clean-out procedure on his knee after the season.

8. I mentioned already that it’s down year for rookie edge rushers. Texas-San Antonio defensive end Marcus Davenport is regarded by many as the No. 2 defensive end behind likely top-five pick Bradley Chubb, and the Lions just happen to employ Davenport’s defensive line coach from UTSA last season, Bo Davis. So what does Davis think of Davenport?

According to one scout who visited UTSA and talked with Davis during the season, Davis indicated that Davenport isn’t the same caliber player as some of the top linemen he coached at Alabama and his other stops. What that means for Davenport and the Lions if he’s there at 20, I don’t know. But scouts I talk to think Davenport projects as a left end in a 4-3 scheme who’ll need a couple years as a rotational pass rusher and might never be a double-digit sack guy.

9. A couple draft notes to end this. This quarterback class is a crapshoot. All four of the top prospects come with significant questions, and different evaluators will rank them different ways. Talking to a scout I trust from a quarterback-needy team, and who was dead on about how good Carson Wentz would be, said UCLA’s Josh Rosen has the best tape of the bunch “and it’s not even close.” Rosen might not be a personality fit for every team and he missed time with a concussion, but he’s a talented player.

Quickly on the others: USC’s Sam Darnold is a good player whose funky throwing motion might need work; Wyoming’s Josh Allen is a lump of clay who could be molded into a fine work of art by the right coach (and would be best in a situation where he can sit for a year, like Pat Mahomes did with the Kansas City Chiefs much of last season), and Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield, if he was a couple inches taller, would rank with Rosen as the best quarterback available.

10. Finally, Central Florida linebacker Shaquem Griffin had an impressive combine, bench pressing 225 pounds an amazing 20 times while using a prosthetic on his left arm. Griffin, who had his left hand amputated when he was 4, also ran a blazing 40 time of 4.38 seconds, the fastest of any linebacker since 2003. Griffin’s speed was not an issue coming into the combine. This is a player who started his own track club years ago. Still, he solidified himself as a Day 3 pick with his performance.

I don’t know that he’ll be a fit for the Lions, who only have six draft picks and probably will sign a veteran outside linebacker to hold things down until Jalen Reeves-Maybin is ready for a bigger role. But Griffin should be an inspiration to all.

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

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