Detroit Lions Breakdown Podcast

The draft is nigh. This week Erik and Joe take the final dip into the draft preview pool. Will Erik’s thoughts turn to genius starting Thursday night or will they crash and burn like what happens to all draft prognosticators on every draft night?… Punxsutawney Phil likely sees his shadow Thurdsay…

• No Lions player news so far this week
• The final mock draft Erik and Joe break down is from Tony Pauline of Draft Analyst
• Erik runs down each position grouping and projects when the Lions would likely target drafting a player at each position
• The final pre-draft mailbag
• Who in the draft is rising/falling?
• Harold Landry, Rashaan Evans, Marcus Davenport, Mo Hurst
• When to expect the Lions drafting IOL
• What possible trade scenarios might the Lions look into
• Erik’s final draft break down articles target the EDGE Rushers and Off-the-Ball LBs
• Thanks to A foxy Grandpa (Carter)… for the 5-star review! Also to the 2 Anonymous folks who also left 5-star reviews

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The draft is only 7 days away and Erik is extremely excited.  There are a lot of draft topics to discuss as Erik awaits his Christmas…

• Ziggy Ansah finally signed his franchise offer sheet making him the highest paid DE in the league
• Lions sign CB Raysean Pringle
• They released NB Adarius Barnes
• Erik and Joe look at Kent Platte’s Mock Draft Tracker: The Consensus 1000
• The QIB of all draftable players is investigated for all positions on defense
• A breakdown of the QIB system can be found here
• Mail come pouring in regarding the Lions defensive draft strategy
• Erik’s latest article breaks down the Drafts DTs
• Thanks to Kerryon Johnson to Detroit… for the 5-star review!

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The draft is only 15 days away and all is quiet on the Lions front. The team has hunkered down and is preparing for the draft…

• The Lion began offseason workouts this week (Ziggy is the only Lion not in attendance)
• Emmit Cleary has retired
• TJ Jones has signed his RFA tender
• Joe learns about The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald Trophy and has his mind blown
• Erik and Joe take a look at mock drafts by Mel Kiper and the combo of Josh Norris and Evan Silva and Erik hates both drafts
• The QIB of all draftable players is investigated for all positions on offense
• A breakdown of the QIB system can be found here
• The mailbag is sifted through for only offense related questions
• Thanks to Saint Stafford and StevieO for their 5-star reviews!

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Free agency did not take a break while Erik was sick, so Joe and Erik had some catching up to do. Luckily the Lions didn’t make a ton of moves…

• LB Jonathan Freeny signed a 1-year deal
• TE Levine Toilolo signed a 1-year deal
• C/G Wesley Johnson signed a 1-year deal
• QB Matt Cassel stuck with the theme and signed a 1-year deal
• QB Alek Torgersen was waived, C Travis Swanson signed with the Jets and LB Paul Worrilow signed with the Eagles
• Erk and Joe discuss Quinn’s comments from the owners meetings
• After a long absence “Visiting the Rod Wood-shed” is back!
• The next Mock Draft to be broken down is from Josh Norris of Rotoworld
• Unsurprisingly the mailbag is chock full of draft questions
• Finally, the discussion segment covers a myriad of topics from the draft to Left Guard to new rules to vets needing to prove themselves
• Thanks for the newest 5-star reviews!

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The NFL is deep into Phase 2 and the Lions have been fully involved. Erik and Joe have been keeping tabs on all the additions…

• RB LeGarrette Blount signed a 1-year $2.5 million deal
• How will Blount’s signing affect the Lions draft plans?
• NT Sylvester Williams left the Titans for a 1-year deal
• TE Luke Willson signed a Godfather-like 1-year $2.5 million deal
• How does the Willson signing affect Michael Roberts role?
• G/T Kenny Wiggins got 1-year and $1.875 million
• The team has lost TE Eric Ebron (Indianapolis), LB Tahir Whitehead (Oakland), LB Brandon Copeland (NYJets)
• One of Erik’s latest articles shows the current state of the roster
• Erik and Joe break down Dave Birkett’s latest mock draft
• The mailbag ends with a discussion of who Joe and Erik would draft if each of them were Bob Quinn
• Special thanks to Sweta Patel for the 5-star review!

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Free agency is in full swing and the Lions have been very active so far in free agency. From losing out on Richard Sherman and Malcolm Butler to gaining Devon Kennard and Christian Jones, Erik and Joe break down all the goings on in Allen Park…

• The big news from Wednesday is the Lions releasing Eric Ebron and shedding his $8.25 million commitment
• The team has added CB DeShawn Shead from Seattle
• LB Devon Kennard from the Giants
• LB Christian Jones from the Bears
• Erik delivers us a long-winded cap math lesson
• The team has retained LS Don Muhlbach, DL Kerry Hyder, S Tavon Wilson, CB Nevin Lawson, LB Nick Bellore, WR TJ Jones, QB Jake Rudock and DT Christian Ringo
• The team has lost DT Haloti Ngata (Philadelphia), TE Darren Fells (Cleveland), CB DJ Hayden (Jacksonville), DB Don Carey (Jacksonville)
• Erik and Joe answer some questions from the mailbag
• A discussion centering on Erik and Joe’s favorite signings and regrettable misses

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The free agency signing period kicks off on March 14th. So tampering may officially begin on Monday. In this episode, Joe and Erik will break down, position by position, who the Lions may be targeting in free agency and the draft…

• Former Patriot LB Roman Phifer has signed on as an area scout
• “Butt fumble” returner Steve Gregory was hired as a defensive assistant
• Dylan Thompson has been hired as a “character coach”
• The 2018 salary cap is set at $177.2 million, meaning the Lions have roughly $27.5 million in cap room
• Running Backs – will the Lions target a RB at pick #20
• Wide Receivers –  TJ Jones will not be extended an RFA offer
• Tight End – Will Ebron be traded? Is Graham an option?
• Offensive Line – Signing Norwell is unlikely, but the draft is loaded with interior options
• Defensive Line – Could Suh come back? Would the Lions prefer a DE or DT at pick #20?
• Linebacker – Whitehead not likely to return, the Lions are not likely to sign an impact name in free agency
• Defensive Backs –  The team will likely use later round picks on DBs, and might pick up a known player in free agency

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From February 27th through March 5th the NFL Combine will take place in Indianapolis. In this episode Erik and Joe will talk about what the Lions will be focused on when watching the defensive players compete, but first, they will talk about the teams first major move this offseason…

• Ziggy Ansah is the proud new recipient of the franchise tag
• Was the franchise tag the right move for the team?
• Erik talks about the Bob Quinn/Matt Patricia news conference on Wednesday
• Day 3 of the combine will feature the defensive tackles, edge players, and linebackers
• Day 4 will feature cornerbacks and safeties
• The latest installment of reviewing the mock drafts include Chad Reuters from NFL.com, Mel Kiper, Dane Brugler and CBS.com
• Erik and Joe finish it off with the mailbag

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The Lions attention has turned toward the combine which is only two Fridays away. This week Erik and Joe take a look at players the Lions might be focusing on…

• Hank Fraley and Brian Picucci have been added to the offensive  coaching staff
• Day 1 of the combine will feature the running backs and the offensive line
• Day 2 will feature the quarterbacks, wide receivers and tight ends
• The last 8 pre-combine Mel Kiper Mock Drafts are studied, as far as Lion picks in the first round go
• It is also worth noting that Ziggy Ansah is now eligible for a franchise tag
• The mailbag is very running back heavy this week
• As well as concern over left guard
• Erik and Joe finish the show with a discussion over what we would do with our free agent money and what the magic 8 ball sees for Quinn and Patricia’s future
• Thanks to Jon Aubry for the wonderful review
• Although we don’t talk about any of the articles in this episode (due to most of them concerning defense) it is notable that Erik continued his offseason outlook series on … IOL, IDL, EDGE, LB, CB

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The Lions finally announced Matt Patricia as their new head coach. Also, after signing him to a 5-year deal they extended GM Bob Quinn until 2022 as well. Speaking of duos with longevity Erik and Joe have officially kicked off their second season of podcasting…

• It is unknown how much Patricia will make, but Erik takes a stab at it
• Joe and Erik do a full rundown of the Lions coaching staff
• This week’s mock draft that is reviewed is from Nate Atkins at MLive
• The mailbag once again is filled with questions regarding the future schemes of the Offensive Line and Defensive Lines
• There was also a mention of Erik’s great work on his positional breakdown articles… QB, RB, WR, TE, OT
• The next batch of questions surrounds what Erik is looking forward to for the combine and the draft
• Finally, Erik and Joe discuss what Lion starters on offense and defense would start for the majority of teams in the league
• Thanks to Scott Bates and Encinitas Kevin for the great reviews and to the other 2 folks for the anonymous ones

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As always, thanks for listening. Tweet us (@erikschlitt, @JoeKania_DLB, @lionsbreakdown)