Detroit Lions REBIRTH? MCDC Speaks, Decker & Frank Saga & Lions Mock Draft - S2E47 - 4/2/26

Detroit Lions REBIRTH? Dan Campbell Speaks + Taylor Decker Situation & Lions Mock Draft (Episode 47)

Welcome back to Passing Time: Detroit Lions Talk 🦁

In Episode 47, we break down everything happening around the Detroit Lions as the offseason heats up.

Dan Campbell made headlines at the NFL Owners Meetings, calling this offseason a “rebirth” for the Lions. What does that mean for the roster? We discuss Detroit intentionally getting younger, leadership shifts in the locker room, and why the team believes its core foundation is still strong.

We also dive into the Taylor Decker situation, the Lions’ roster decisions, and some key veteran additions like Chuck Clark.

Then we look ahead to the 2026 NFL Draft, breaking down a full Lions Round 1 board around pick #17. Could Brad Holmes target an EDGE rusher like David Bailey or Rueben Bain, or pivot to the offensive line with Francis Mauigoa or Kadyn Proctor?

We also cover:

• Lions offseason news
 • Dan Campbell’s biggest quotes from the Owners Meetings
 • Lions mock draft targets
 • Tiered draft board for pick #17
 • Bill’s Bullet Points around Michigan sports
 • Tigers, Pistons, Red Wings, and Michigan State basketball

If you're a Detroit Lions fan, this episode is packed with everything you need to know heading into the next phase of the offseason.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

You're listening to Passing Time, a Detroit Lions podcast. We're one pride and all grit with a passion for Detroit Lions football. Whether you're between meetings, between classes, sitting in traffic, or just relaxing at home, if you have time to pass, pass it with passing time. Detroit Lions Talk.

SPEAKER_01 0:24

Welcome back. Episode number 10, season two, Brian.

SPEAKER_00 0:33

47 overall.

SPEAKER_01 0:35

Let's get after it. This is a joint Lions podcast. I'm Rob. I'm Brian. Never gets old. Never gets old, baby. Hey, we got a fun one today. Um, we are mainly gonna dive into the draft.

SPEAKER_00 0:54

Yep, and we're gonna do a little mock. We're gonna see what you guys think and uh give us our takes as well.

SPEAKER_01 1:00

We're gonna we're gonna mock most of the first round down past the lions pick, and then we're gonna go through a consensus mock drafts of guys who are hanging around just before the lions pick and just after the lions pick and really debate who Brian thinks and who I think the Lions would you know be justified to pick. And there's some controversial guys that we've been banging it back and forth on a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 1:21

Like it.

SPEAKER_01 1:22

Yeah, I like it a lot. Uh, we're gonna we're gonna dig into some of the dirt on the Decker of the Frank saga.

SPEAKER_00 1:28

What are the Lions doing, and uh is it their fault, or are we or we should we cast some blame somewhere else?

SPEAKER_01 1:34

I don't know if we agree or disagree on all that stuff, but you know, lions got uh you know uh an insurance blanket safety. Uh we'll talk about that a little bit. Um but man, we this is this is draft, and this is heavy draft focus from from here on out until uh Thursday the 23rd on the draft.

SPEAKER_00 1:51

Let's roll.

SPEAKER_01 1:52

So let's get after it. Let's start with the the Decker saga real quick. Let's get let's get some of the housekeeping items out of the way.

SPEAKER_00 2:00

What's your take? Rob okay, so so Taylor Decker, kind of the scenario is he he after the uh some of the the Brad Holmes interviews and the Dan Campbell uh interviews comes out and they're saying that they they're going to need a guy regardless if Decker comes back or not. This is before he posts on Instagram that he's ready to to run it back with the Detroit Lions, he does so, and then the saga begins. What what's your take right there?

SPEAKER_01 2:31

You know, my take is the generations today aren't the same as the generations before, right? Like, and I'm not saying Decker's really, really young, but he's he's definitely not as old as you. And it's just like, you know what, you you sign a contract, and then the the problem with people signing contracts is they sign contracts and if they overperform their contracts, they want more money. If they underperform their contracts, they want all the money, right? And it's just like, hey, like what's the right answer, and can you have it both ways? Um, so I'm gonna err on the side of you know what, Decker, uh you were you were playing your poker hand, not knowing if you're gonna come back, played that hand a little bit last year, you know, was leaning towards coming back last year. This year, played that poker hand, said, Hey guys, I'm I'm I'm coming back. And the lions are like, Okay, well, here's what we value you at, and we we love you, we'll probably take you back, but this is the number you're worth, and the way we set your original contract up is this is how we can manipulate it, take it or leave it.

SPEAKER_00 3:37

And it sounds like he's like, Nope. Uh I'm gonna leave it. Uh give me my release, and uh, I'm gonna go test that market. Um, and he is still testing that market currently. So um I I do believe it's an interesting take. I I feel like he I that uh Taylor kind of pushed that that uh that narrative as the the the messages came out from Brad Holmes and from from Dan Campbell saying, Hey, hey, we love Taylor, but we're also gonna need somebody, right? And so he's like, Oh, well crap, if I if I sit in this too long, I'm not gonna have my spot. And then as uh as he releases that to Instagram, that's when the conversations had to start from the Lions. Um, so then they're saying, Hey, man, like you said, we we don't value at 21 million, we value more like eight or nine million.

SPEAKER_01 4:29

It's the whole problem. He releases it to Instagram. It's like dear diary, right? You know, here's what I think about myself diary. Like, what happened to like having man-to-man conversations, you know, and we'll talk about Rod and not having man-to-man conversations in a in the very next bullet point here, but like uh why not go to the Lions and say, hey, like, I I do want to come back. What's your thoughts? What what's your plan before we deer diary this up and go to the Instagram?

SPEAKER_00 4:58

Well, it sounds like he he's a little hurt now after that whole scenario that he released that, that the Lions then didn't have the same type of conversations he was expecting. Um, and uh he was a little like caught off guard. Like, I I told him in my exit meeting, I I'm going to evaluate this, I'm not gonna take a pay cut, you know, things like that. And the Lions, even though they may have listened to that, I don't know if they necessarily agreed with that. So, to the Lions' credit, this is a business, and they gotta do what's best for that team. And to Taylor's Decker, he's gotta get his money where he can get it as best as he can.

SPEAKER_01 5:35

So, yeah, so you you can't blame Taylor Decker, right? And only one side of the story has come out, right? The Lions haven't aired the dirty laundry. That Taylor Decker could have said, I'm not gonna take a pay cut, and the Lions could have been like, hey, behind the scenes, we don't value that, but that has not come out, right? Like, and and Taylor wouldn't release that, and the Lions aren't trying to do I mean maybe Rod Wood might, but like the Lions haven't released that information, and and to me, this is this is Taylor Decker being a little bit of a drama king, and it could have played out quite a bit differently. Um, if if if the two parties really went man to man behind the scenes and kind of hashed this out.

SPEAKER_00 6:15

You also wonder how much the the agent has something to do with this and the lack of communication between Taylor and Brad Holmes or Taylor and the Lions, um, and it in that that agent that gets in the middle of it, giving Taylor some, you know, ultimately bad advice.

SPEAKER_01 6:30

So if if you're looking at this and you're like, man, the Lions are doing Taylor dirty, right? And you're and you're kind of sitting here um up front and and and and you're of that thought, and I don't blame you, like it sounds a little bit like that. Um let me fast forward, let me let's go into the future. We're 12 months in the future, and Taylor Decker sucked all year, and the Lions did him right and honored his contract. Are we looking at the Lions like a like the same old Lions organization? They they brought this guy back that was just strapped together by duct tape and bolts last year, and he sucked all year, and we had to put Manu over there because we had no cap. We couldn't get a center this year because we didn't have the cap to go out and get a center. Um, man, we really screwed the pooch because we weren't a winning organization and made winning choices at the beginning of the year, right?

SPEAKER_00 7:24

I mean, and some of the uh some of the controversy comes in with the Detroit falling in love with their own, and and you want to make sure that you can't, in a business like this, fall in love with your own. You gotta make hard decisions for what's best for your team, whether that you love these guys or not. And once they move past their prime and they're they're on their down decline, it's it's time to move on and get younger, and we'll go we'll talk about that here shortly. Get younger and more hungry, and you know, try to create this rebirth or resurgence, like Dan Cable says.

SPEAKER_01 7:56

So let me give you an example of two baseball organizations that don't fall in love with their own. Okay. All right, the Milwaukee Brewers. They get a guy, they see his contract expiring, they see whatever, they trade him, they get several pieces, a couple pieces, and they are always just living in the wild card or the the central the NL Central chase with a with a minimal budget because they play that game. Let's go to the AL, the best league in baseball. Let's talk about the Tampa Bay Rays. Every that they'll trade away a David Price whenever they get an opportunity, they'll stack the farm system, they don't fall in love with these guys, they know they're not gonna pay them, and and they find a way to compete in a salary cap in a non-salary cap league, yeah, and and they do their best. Like the Lions, like I think long term, this is the best decision for the Lions. Does it look bad in the PR right now? Is your is your deer dying on Instagram?

SPEAKER_00 8:50

Yeah, and you know, it's the offseason, so the writers are looking for things to write, and ultimately this is this is the dirty laundry that the Lions have to offer. So if you're looking to get clicks, you know, this is what they're they're putting pushing out there. And I get it. I get it. I love Taylor Decker too. He was one of our own, he was a homegrown guy, he was one of the guys that got us to this point. He went through the the trials and tribulations of of Matt Patricia and the garbage that that that produced um and and made it to the other side, and I get it. We would all love to see him, you know, ride into the sunset and uh you know hold that trophy over his head in that process, but you know, this is reality, so yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:32

I don't know like what kind of analogy you can throw at this, but let's just let's try one out real quick before we move on. I'm sure you will. And and I you know, I'm like, I I but whatever. So let's just say we have a guy like Brian, you got a guy mowing your grass, and he's been mowing your grass for for 10 years, right?

SPEAKER_00 9:49

His name's Noah.

SPEAKER_01 9:52

And you love this guy, but this guy is getting old and and he used to edge, he used to he used to do everything, and then all of a sudden, like last few years, he's too old to edge, he's too old to do this. You're you're paying him top dollar, and this new guy comes in, it's just like dude, I I'll do all this, I'll edge, and it's gonna be a cheaper value for you. Like, are you gonna honor the old guy that you're paying a lot of money, or are you gonna like be like, all right, maybe it's time for a new long guy?

SPEAKER_00 10:19

You know the answer to that. It's a no-brainer, right? It's time to move on.

SPEAKER_01 10:22

So let's talk about Frank.

SPEAKER_00 10:25

Let's talk about Frank.

SPEAKER_01 10:26

Frank Ragnout, similar situation, but but a little bit different here. It's it's Aaron is dirty laundry through his agent online through the media. Um, lions are trying to recoup some of the money that Frank walked away from. And let you put me on the spot last time. How do you feel about laying out the scenario of the Lions are asking for$1.2 million back from their signing bonus because he retired early?

SPEAKER_00 10:53

Um how do you feel about this? I come on, Lions. Like, one, it's it's keep your mouth shut. Like Rodwood, this is not laundry we want to air. If you would just just keep it behind closed doors, we wouldn't have to deal with this situation, right? And if that's your business model and you want to pinch those pennies, you know, you have every right to. It's not like you don't have the rights to that money, but at the same time, it's we're talking about like 1.2 million, which is a a fraction of a percent of that salary cap. So, really, is that gonna be the big difference maker? No, but they've already set a precedence with with Barry and Kelvin and all the guys, right? Whether it's it's the big names or it's the small names, they're going to try to recoup you know that signing bonus.

SPEAKER_01 11:38

So I mean we're living in a capitalist society, right? Like, did you earn that money or did you not earn that money? And technically he didn't earn the money. Is there some goodwill? Is there something that should have been associated with it? Could they come to some kind of mutual agreement behind the scenes? They should have, right? They they didn't. They're gonna say, like, you didn't earn the money, and like what's your argument? Like, you you did walk away.

SPEAKER_00 12:04

But the the the weird thing about this is is we're not hearing this from Frank Bragg now. He's not the one going on social media and complaining about this. You're hearing this through interviews, and Rod Wood is sharing this this type of stuff, right? So this is this is self-inflicted garbage for for the Lions. This is this is stuff that he's feeding the media and they're running with because again, what are they else are they gonna run with? So this is not a it doesn't sound like a a bad blood between Frank Ragnow and the Lions. This is this is just produced because it's a another cheap move by the Detroit Lions that they've seen in the years past. So Rod, just quiet down. Just quiet down.

SPEAKER_01 12:45

Like you're still trying to be relevant in the news cycle on on your way out. Uh whatever. So Lions signed a safety, Chuck Clark. Love it. Uh 30 years old, be 31 soon. Um, out of Virginia Tech, played for some prominent organizations, started for prominent organizations, Ravens, Jets, uh, most recently the Steelers. Um, a nice little insurance policy for what we got going on at safety.

SPEAKER_00 13:09

Yeah, I I like this move. I think that our you know, one of our worries going into this offseason was whether Kirby or Brian Branch would be um able to to to hit the ground running come the 2026 season. And and we all know that Brian Branch coming off that Achilles is gonna be slow, maybe um, maybe October, maybe November, um, before he comes back, and the the question marks with Kirby is still there. This kind of eases those those tensions.

SPEAKER_01 13:36

So yeah. So um that being said, we promise you mock drafts, we promise you lions draft analysis. So what we're gonna do, we don't have the teams on here, at least the teams didn't come through here. So what we're gonna do is um we're gonna we're gonna run through the most recent NFL mock draft database on consensus mock drafts, and then after that, we are going to talk about the guys that are potentially could fall into the Lions area, or the Lions could, you know, per last few years surprise us and take guys that really are behind those mock draft boards, but they fell in love with a guy just to give you a sense of like what's there, and Brian and I will kind of debate and talk about you know some some really best case, worst case scenarios, and and we're aligned a little bit, but we come at it uh we're also quite different on some levels. So I think it's kind of fun. So um we'll quickly bust through this, but Raiders taking Mendoza, Arvel Reese, number two to the Jets. Um we got Francis Mawigoa to the Cardinals, Jeremiah Love is going to the Titans, Sonny Styles is gonna go to the Giants, Carnell Tate to the Browns, Caleb Downs, we'll talk about him later to the Commanders, David Bailey to the Saints, Ruben Bain to the Chiefs. Um, who we got next here? Mansuar Delane is going to the Bengals, uh Makai Lemon, um, controversial guy for you, going to the Miami Dolphins, Jramad McCoy to the Cowboys, Jordan Tyson to the Rams, also controversial kind of kind of pick. Uh I mean I I know kind of how you feel about that. Um I want you to say his name. Uh the interior offensive lineman Loney is from from Penn State, uh, who is a guy that we both like, is a classic Ravens pick. Uh, Phil, my boy, Ravens fan, friend of the pod. Listen to this. Um, I would say that's a great pick. Um, Keem Mesador, uh guy that we're kind of talking about in this range, 15th to the Tampa Bay. Omar Cooper, uh a steady riser to the Jets. Um, you know, a lot of people talking Ty Simpson to the Jets there. So that would be good for the Lions or a team jumping into the draft before the Jets to take a guy like that. Monroe Freeling, 17. Big pick. Your Detroit Lions there. Uh Thieneman out of Oregon. The safety is going to the to the Vikings. Everything I see has that. Kenyon Sadiq, 19th. Um, to the Cowboys, or excuse me, 19th to the to the Panthers. Um, this is a guy I've seen mocked in the top 10. He's all this is gonna be an exciting draft because these guys are all over the port board. Um Avion Terrell to uh the Cowboys, Caden Proctor, another guy the Lions are talking a lot about to the Chargers, Blake Miller, guy we're talking about a lot as well, to the Eagles, Denzel Boston, wide receiver, going to the Browns.

SPEAKER_00 16:43

We missed the the Peter Woods. Sorry, Peter Woods to the Chargers. Peter Woods to the Chargers. Okay. I'm looking across the table here.

SPEAKER_01 16:50

Um Emmanuel McNeil Warren is going to the um to the Bears. TJ Parker to the Bills, Lamu to the San Francisco 49ers. Um, Caden McDonald going to the Texans, Colton Hood to the uh Chiefs. Uh Kevin Concepcion is going to the Miami Dolphins. They really need a KC for all you folks at home. Going to the Dolphins who need a wide receiver after um just getting rid of their whole team. I guess so. Uh Cassius Howell uh is gonna go to the uh Patriots Patriots. Uh Jadarian Price to the Seahawks.

SPEAKER_02 17:32

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 17:33

So uh which would be a really interesting pick because uh backup running back uh at Notre Dame going in the first round. That um running backs don't go in the first round. Backup running backs definitely don't go in the first round.

SPEAKER_00 17:47

So and that leaves us up. There's a few guys that you know probably within that top 32 that didn't get um picked in in this particular one was uh Spencer Fanu from Utah, um Kendrick Falk from Auburn, and then Ty Simpson, the quarterback from Alabama, you know, some guys that we could be that brink um you know, first round picks, do they fall into that second round? Do they fit somewhere even higher? You know, offensive tackles, you know, those edges and that quarterback, which are premier positions in that in that first round.

SPEAKER_01 18:19

So when I'm spending quality time with my family, uh as uh some coaches in the South, let's say my my family or some former fired coaches in the South, um, I'm putting up mock drafts, I'm just watching them. And the crazy thing is, is how different they all are. So we're we're we're talking a consensus one here, but man, there there's no consensus yet.

SPEAKER_00 18:42

And maybe it'll get tighter as we get closer to the draft, but like right now, I mean, I I feel like your number one overall pick might be pretty pretty locked in, but from then forward, it's like you know, where is Sonny Styles gonna go as a linebacker? Where is uh your first offensive tackle gonna go? Is it is it gonna be edge? Is Bain gonna be one of your first edges off the off the board? Or you know, are we gonna see we're gonna see guys like Caleb Downs, you know, be in that top five?

SPEAKER_01 19:10

So we've seen some guys fall, right? And um historically, you know, we talked, you just mentioned Caleb Downs. Um, remember a guy named Kyle Hamilton um being a just a highly regarded draft pick and falling and falling and falling. And of course, Phil, of course, the Ravens are just sitting there waiting, not trading up, just saying, like, oh yeah, we'll take a perennial all pro, you know, the back end of the first round that y'all didn't want. Um, Brian's got thoughts on you know taking safeties above, you know, premier players, so we'll we'll talk about that. Um but let's talk about guys pipe dreams that like we'll call it like you're you gotta run in the card, right?

SPEAKER_00 19:48

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 19:49

Um guys that could fall based on some scenarios in different mock drafts, and and kind of thoughts on you know, run the card in guys, you know, we're we're we're you know, and I don't think the Lions are patient enough to to do a lot of that. When they got a guy close, they don't run the card in, they go trade up a pick or two just to make sure they get the guy, which I appreciate that for sure because you don't want to get sniped.

SPEAKER_00 20:10

Yep, and I and I would I would say that there's a a couple guys, a few guys that on my board um are hitting that run the card in. It's moving up a couple spots in order to get, and they're at two positions of major need, and that's tackle or edge. And uh is that it? Is that you're only running the card for those are my two major positions, those are my two run the card in. Those are my two, if they're there, if we're sniffing them, we're going to get them.

SPEAKER_01 20:37

Okay, all right. So talk about a couple run the card in guys.

SPEAKER_00 20:41

All right, David Bailey is uh that edge out of Texas Tech. I like him a lot. I like Ruben Bain. Oh man, his bend just impresses me. I think that he is a pretty perfect complement um to a guy like in Hutchinson, who who I think those two together really combines that power, it combines that bend, it combines that ability to stop the run. You know, those are those are three-down guys, um, if not more, that that could that could alleviate your your woes at corner, it could alleviate your woes at at linebacker, it could alleviate your woes at the depth at that edge position. So no doubt.

SPEAKER_01 21:24

So David Bailey, uh, you know, out of Texas Tech, but like in the era of the transfer portal, like he's really he's out of Stanford.

SPEAKER_02 21:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:31

Uh highly intelligent guy. Um Stanford, you know, had him, he he played well at Stanford, but um they were able to double and triple team him at Stanford. Texas Tech realized that they're spending an NIL is uh you know second to none, basically, in college football to try to you know be competitive, which they're very successful, and he looks great. You know, the comp we got is Brian Burns, um, which it would be absolutely Incredible. Incredible. And right and you know, run the card in two points. Run the card in. Ruben Bain. Um, maybe a little bit less of the athlete, um, but more of a get it done consistently guy against the highest competition.

SPEAKER_00 22:14

And again, that a little bit more of a complement to a guy like Aiden Hutchinson. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:20

So yeah, Bailey is a guy that's gonna set the edge less, but get to the the quarterback more. Uh Ruben Bain's gonna be a guy that sets the edge more and potentially gets to the quarterback just as much. And it's got maybe that that frame, um, that Dan Campbell, you know, dreamsicle that you might see out there. So um what about that tackle? Is there any run up the card guys that fall?

SPEAKER_00 22:43

Uh Francis Mayuga is one of those guys my yoga, sorry, is one of those guys that you look at that comes in, starts day one, you can put them on the opposite side of uh Panay Sul, and you don't have any worries.

SPEAKER_01 23:01

Yeah, forget about it. Yeah, the guy falls, and there's a few offensive tackles. Um, and I was watching uh um Yates and Kuyper talk, and you know, whatever you think about Kuyper, whatever you think about Yates. But I I thought the one interesting thing that they broke down is like teams that could take offensive tackle, and it's very limited. There's a lot of teams up there that have heavy investment in offensive tackle already. So they they just talked about there's three teams before the Lions that actually have a large need of offensive tackle without being invested in both sides. They're like, these are the three teams that really could take off offensive tackle. They also have other needs, right? Right? Um, so there are three tackles, right? So some of these guys are gonna fall into the line's lap.

SPEAKER_00 23:54

And there's there's a good class of that tackle, and having a Panay Seul gives us a flexibility of whether that's left or right, um, and we can come in and and swoop up one of those guys, whether that's first round, or you know, there's some debate right now, you know, whether that should be first round or second round, but that's it's gotta be one of those first two.

SPEAKER_01 24:13

All right. So let me give you a name. Okay, that is a I think, you know, a run-the-card in name. Um, and the name is uh Caleb Downs from Ohio State, who's been all over the board, Brian. This guy is a lot like Kyle Hamilton. We're um, you know, friend of the pod, T-Robb, um, great second part of the name.

SPEAKER_00 24:34

Hey T Rob, is he gonna be available at 17?

unknown 24:37

No.

SPEAKER_00 24:38

T Rob says no.

SPEAKER_01 24:40

Um if he is available, just like Kyle Hamilton. You know, we we're sitting down in this stinking basement and betting dollar bills that Kyle, I mean, there's I bet T-Robb lost a lot of dollar bills, you know, putting on Kyle Hamilton going to the draft. So let's just say Caleb Downs falls, because Brian, you had a great counter-argument to just take the names out of it, talk safety, tackle, edge, just peer argument on missing.

SPEAKER_00 25:08

And and you're gonna hear Brad Holmes not care about positional value, but the reality is when I can when I can swoop a edge or a offensive tackle, specifically left tackle, in in that first round for five years and have him under a rookie contract. To me, that is way more valuable than a safety at that same position at that same five-year value.

SPEAKER_01 25:30

Yeah, it it goes basically that rookie contract value goes quarterback, edge, tackle. Yeah, and then you know, you don't talk about gaps. There's a there's a significant gap.

SPEAKER_00 25:41

Significant gap. You go wide receiver, you can argue d D tackle, and then you can get into the other positions, linebacker or safety, or corner. Um, and uh safety's not on the top.

SPEAKER_01 25:56

So yeah, you're right, but that also, you know, you can swing in the first round and and miss on offensive linemen as well, you know, and then and the lines had like like Lakeland, Lakin Tomlinson wasn't a big hit, you know, obviously an interior guy, but you know, if if you're taking, let's just say they're in the same draft, if you got a Caleb Downs sitting there and you're taking Lakin um and you're missing on it, and you passed on Caleb Downs, who's gonna be a perennial all pro to try to take positional value to hit on contracts in the draft, you're you're kind of like you're you're jumping the shark a little bit, right? Like you're you're you're trying to outthink yourself. And people have accused Brad of getting too cute.

SPEAKER_00 26:35

Sure. You can you can and and you can see that Brad Holmes is gonna take his guy. If he has a if he has a higher evaluation on Caleb Downs and he's sitting there at 17, he's gonna run the card in, right? I mean that that's just what Brad Holmes does. He doesn't care who he has in the position already, he doesn't care about positions of need, he's gonna go for the football players that fit his his team and his his mold and guys that love football and have the grit index and all of the you know all of the lions you know you know check marks. So if Caleb Downs had you know checks those marks, he's gonna run that card in.

SPEAKER_01 27:10

When I was growing up, Brian, there was only two swear words in my house, and they both started with an S. And one of them wasn't shit. Okay. My dad said you could say all the words, use it in context, don't use it in front of your teachers or at church, but you do not use shut up, and you do not use sure. It's the most passive aggressive BS word ever. And when you're sure me over there, wow, and and you use that perfectly. My dad would have he would have taken his old leather belt off and pulled your pants down and you know and done what he did. Um, and it wasn't the it was hitting you with the belt. All right. So uh Caleb Downs sitting there with offensive tackles on the board.

SPEAKER_00 27:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:53

Are you running the card in?

SPEAKER_00 27:55

I I'm I I'm gonna ask you which of those offensive tackles are still on the board because the reality is that right now at 17, in my opinion, if there's a run on offensive tackles, if your top three or four offensive offensive tackles come off the board, um, then I'm going to tell you one of your edges is still gonna be there. And I'm going to also say that if one of your edges is there, there's a positional value at one of those edges that I'm going to say is probably overshadows Caleb Downs. Um now, if there's a run on offensive tackles and a run on edges, and Caleb Downs is sitting there, then yeah, you swoop him up. I'm I'm going to say there's going to be a gap between talent of Caleb Downs and your second-tier tackle and your second-tier edge. So absolutely you grab that guy.

SPEAKER_01 28:45

So, I mean, as Lions fans, and I think next week will be a really good like rooting interest, what we want. But we really want somebody to to draft Ty Simpson before that 17th pick. Uh, we really want um for sure three wide receivers to go before that 17th pick. There's three guys that are highly talked about. You know, one running back that's highly talked about. You throw in two quarterbacks, that's six picks. There's potentially a couple more wide receivers and a tight end that could go before that 17th pick, and you're pushing a tremendous amount of talent down that board, putting the Lions in a very interesting situation where they, you know, I you know, you could even do reverse lions and say, you know what, there's three or four guys in the board, and and maybe somebody wants to move up and help us procure some of those picks that we traded away in the past.

SPEAKER_00 29:40

So, I mean, and the the tricky thing is you haven't seen Brad Holmes do a ton of moving back in the draft. You've seen a ton of aggression, you see a lot of move forward and get his guys, whatever the cost might be. Um, so I wouldn't be surprised if you see more of that moving up in that even that first round in order to secure the guy that he loves, the guy that he's fallen in love with, whether that's through the pro days or through the combine or you know what he saw on tape.

SPEAKER_01 30:09

So yeah, Brad's not a guy that says sure, right? Like he goes and he goes and gets his. Alright, so let's talk about kind of the tier two. So that was tier one, run the card in. Probably guys that are not available, right? We're not we're not like trying to be unrealistic about this draft. Like that that first part was like, all right, these guys are probably gonna be gone, they'd be pipe dreams to follow the lions. This area is more of a sweet spot. These are guys that probably are gonna be around or potentially be around. Um, and do you want to talk about a few of your sweet spot picks? And you have some some some edges and some tackles right here in the sweet spot.

SPEAKER_00 30:52

Right there at that sweet spot. The the Kendrick Falk, which I love. I like Kendrick Falk a lot.

SPEAKER_01 30:57

Keldrick, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:58

Keldrick Falk. I like Keldrick Falk a lot. I I I do think that he is a fit for the Detroit Lions. I think that uh again, maybe not the upside of a Ruben Bain, um, but at the same time, he he does fit the need, a run stopper, strong edge setter, um, maybe not as high of an upside in that pass rush. Um, but um again, again, a guy that's gonna be able to play those those first two rundowns at a high level. You got a good comp on him? Like a uh Rashawn Gary seems like a good comp. I I I think that he is a good uh again, a compliment. Um maybe not necessarily your premier guy. He's not gonna be your, you know, he's not gonna be your Trey Hendrickson, he's not gonna be your Hutch, he's not gonna be your Michael Parsons, but he's gonna be a good compliment to one of those guys.

SPEAKER_01 31:47

Gary got a big second contract, right, and is still coveted.

SPEAKER_00 31:50

So um I I love Munro Freeling, um, offensive tackle um coming out of Georgia. I I do think that he is one of those guys that could come in, has a high upside that could come in, learn the position in training camp, probably have some ups and downs as it goes early in the season, but by the end of the season, could be a pretty perennial guy that to fit that role. Um, Ken Proctor scares me a little bit. He's a big dude, really athletic. I think he has a really high upside, but I think right now he's got some development to do. Um, and how quickly can we develop him into a need? Um, and I know we got Larry Borum in order to fill that gap, um, but I just question how quickly um a Kaden Proctor can can jump into that role and be be effective. Um, I like TJ Parker. Um, I again I think that he is you know not as exciting to me, but again, you know, pretty solid pick.

SPEAKER_01 32:48

So yeah. Um guy that can get off the quarterback, a little bit less of an edge setter, a little bit more of a you got you got two guys just feasting on quarterbacks, which is just showing to create problems. It makes your secondary look a lot better, right? Spencer Fanu, also in that area where potentially it's just like you know what's a sweet spot. Um kind of a sneaky Brad Holmes-esque pick.

SPEAKER_00 33:10

Yeah, for sure. I think Spencer Fanu is another one of those guys that if he's sitting there at 17, can you trade back and still kind of to pick him up and and also get some uh capital along those lines? That would be one of those guys I would love at like a 23. You know, that that kind of that range.

SPEAKER_01 33:28

So all right. Um, so here's some Lions-esque picks that are getting mocked slightly behind the lions that have what we think is a is a lot of upside, and guys that we should probably just mention because they're not they're getting mocked behind the lions, but they are relatively positioned and need and guys that like could jump up the board, you know, as we get a little bit close to those drafts. So, what are some like lions type back half value guys that we should kind of know about and have our our you know, we should tell our friends to be smart about?

SPEAKER_00 34:04

Uh Blake Miller coming out of Clemson is one of those guys that I really believe Brad Holmes might fall in love with and just looks like a solid, gritty, like starter, loves football, he probably interviews well and could come in and just play the game, right? Um, he is one of those guys that might surprise us that they take him as early as 17, but Brad Holmes might take him as early as 17.

SPEAKER_01 34:29

So I mean Brad Holmes might take him at 15, you know, to go get his guy.

SPEAKER_00 34:34

He might trade three third rounds in order to oh, he doesn't have those. Okay, never mind.

SPEAKER_01 34:39

We we love we love you, Isaac Tesla.

SPEAKER_00 34:42

Anyone else there in that? Zion Young, the edge out of Missouri. Um, again, another one of those guys that I feel like might fall more into that second round, and if you pull him early, um, that might be a stretch. It might be uh, you know, we might be you know jumping the gun a little bit, but another one of those guys that you question if Brad Holmes might fall in love with.

SPEAKER_01 35:03

So uh Supreme Athlete, uh Super Raw, you know, Ezekiel Anza, like just a guy that like could have you know unlimited ceiling, also could you know James Pierce. I don't know, like a guy that like you fall in love with and doesn't make a great impact. Um, there's also guys on the board that like Mansuer Delane, the cornerback out of Virginia Tech, LSU, uh game wrecker out there, like those guys are gonna be in that range, maybe slightly before, slightly after. But if they're there, uh Gerard Gerard McCoy, Gerard McCoy out of Tennessee, um just a big strong athlete out there on the edge. Everything that we thought you know Enos Rickstraw could dream to be could be sitting there and would really solve some issues.

SPEAKER_00 35:55

It it would definitely solve some issues, and I see the value there, but that would also mean that Brad Holmes would have to swallow his pride and and then say, you know, I I failed in that 2023 draft, and Terrian Arnold isn't as good as we thought he was, and Ennis Raystraw is not the guy. Yeah, you know, he's he's just so that's I don't I think it might be too early right now for for Brad Holmes and crew to swallow that pill.

SPEAKER_01 36:22

So um tell us what you think the lines, you know, based on your your analyst, um, what you what you think, what mock drafts you like that you would love the lions to take. Right now, I think you know, going into this draft, I I just think this is gonna be one of the more fun drafts to to watch because it's all over the board. I I would I would expect some chaos here. I think there's gonna be some trading. 100%.

SPEAKER_00 36:45

I I honestly think that you know after that first pick, you you don't know what's gonna necessarily happen, and ultimately you don't really know what the lions are gonna do.

SPEAKER_01 36:56

So you know what the lions are gonna do. Um, and we are discounting the fact that like people like franchises live and breathe on the quarterback position, and we got one quarterback really mocked as a for sure first rounder. There, you know, we're sitting in previous drafts and and and quarterbacks get reached for all the time. So, like, is it impossible to see like somebody trading up to get Ty Simpson at like top 10? Like, or like they need to get in front of the Jets or second pick for the there's a lot of possibilities. It's gonna be a lot of fun to watch.

SPEAKER_00 37:33

A lot of possibilities, yep.

SPEAKER_01 37:34

So and and is there a quarterback out there that like isn't even being mocked in the first round that like people are gonna start falling in love with, you know, like uh Cade Klubnick. I mean, there's a lot of guys out there that pre-season were were mock drafters favorites, right?

SPEAKER_00 37:49

And now they're falling on the boards, and now this is the season, the next few weeks, so you're going to start to see um you know those types of stories come out, and uh you know, everybody's gonna want to try to improve their their value, right? So the pro days are gonna come out, they're gonna be televised, you're gonna see tons of stuff on Instagram, on on TikTok, on TikTok on Twitter or X. Um you're gonna see these guys start to rise um and try to improve their stock.

SPEAKER_01 38:16

So, yeah, no doubt about that. Um, so maybe last segment, um, let's talk about the owners' meetings. Really, Dan Campbell got in the front of the microphone, Brian. Yep, and anytime Dan Campbell gets in front of the microphone, it's pretty entertaining, it's must-listen. Um, I mean, he is just you gravitate towards Dan.

SPEAKER_00 38:36

There's not a lot of people that are like Dan out there, and and and he's he's genuine and he tells it the way it is, and he doesn't hide a ton. Um, and uh love to listen to the guy. So tell what are some of the bullet points? What are some of the the pieces that you can pull away from from Dan Campbell's interview?

SPEAKER_01 38:54

Well, you know, Dan's got Moxie, and I I think the like broadly, I would say like he's pissed off from last year, and he feels like like he got a little bit bamboozled, and he expected something to happen, and it got a whole different result. And he's like, We're burning the boats. He's like, I'm doesn't matter, I'm re-invigorated, and I'm ready to say, you know what, I'm I'm ready to own the the the failures from last year, and I think that's kind of Dan's words. Um, and I apologize to you guys, uh you as fans, and this year we're doing things differently, and we're I'm re-energized, I'm reinvigorated, and um, I I don't care about buddy buddy old contracts. We're gonna get younger, we're gonna get hungry guys, we're gonna get guys in here, and we're gonna reinvigorate the organization.

SPEAKER_00 39:53

And and that's kind of good to hear, too, right? I mean, as much as I would have loved to have Alex Anzaloni back, because I think he's a really good player, you saw some of the controversy that came into last season with his you know, holdout or injury or wanted more money or his value of himself. You even saw a little bit of this with with David Montgomery throughout the year, and you know, we didn't feed him the ball. We didn't give him nearly the touches that I think he deserved. Um, but I at the same time, in some of those interviews, whether it was on the the Satan Brown podcast or what have you, you saw that he was a little bit about me, right? And about my touches and and my scores and things like that. So, you know, he's finding guys that are younger, hungrier, love football. Um, I don't know about the talent level necessarily in comparison yet. And we'll this will be this will all you know we'll figure this out once season starts and training camp starts, but but this is a good shift. I I I do believe that.

SPEAKER_01 40:51

You know, I mean, when when Dan came in, he had that that fire, right? And then, you know, I think in his eyes, like he had that fire there building, and he didn't have to, he thought he was building the flame intra-organization, and he thought maybe he didn't have to be the fire, and now he's like, you know what? I'm I'm going back to being the fire here, right? And I'm gonna make sure that people around me understand the urgency to win, right? And in the in the alliance, they need to have that urgency. That that window is here, and it's here now. And um, he doesn't want it to be on him, right? He wants to say, I'm gonna, I've done every I've had as many Starbucks, triple, mocha, latte with four extra shots to to fire y'all up. Like, this isn't on me. If you guys don't want it, this is on you. And also, I'm gonna weed a few of you out that that I know you're not burning the boats with me, and you're here to to get paid, and you want maximum money, and you want maximum selfish opportunities, you're out of here because we're gonna roll this boat together, and um, I'm gonna I'm gonna be the lead cockswain.

SPEAKER_00 41:59

And I love that about Dan. I I think he tells the way it is, and and that that's absolutely absolutely right. He wants a rebirth, he wants um a reset of of what he was was going into with 2023, and he's going to kind of wipe this lake clean and and start pushing towards you know that ultimate goal. And I'm interested. I'm I'm I'm intrigued. I still again I'm concerned roster-wise, um, with some of the holes. I think that that's gonna play itself out. Um, but I have I have no doubt in Dan. I think that he is a amazing coach, an amazing leader of men, and uh he's going to to get back to biting kneecaps.

SPEAKER_01 42:39

So and and Dan also like says, you know, I think Rod Wood should talk to Dan about like how you talk in public because all he says is like, you know, he he almost says things about like the Taylor Decker situation without saying it. He's like, you know, I'm not I'm I'm gonna call him and I'm gonna call him on my time. I'm gonna talk to Taylor on my time. And it hasn't happened, and it's not gonna happen tomorrow, but but it's gonna happen, and which tells you, like, hey, there's a little bit of controversy in here. Um, but like I appreciate Taylor for everything he did for Detroit. He was an awesome player for this city. Um he he did a lot for a lot of years, and yeah, like I that's it. No nothing bad.

SPEAKER_00 43:27

Right, right, and he does it so well while still caring about the guy, but understanding this is a business. Yeah, right? And you can you can still do both.

SPEAKER_01 43:38

Yeah, and you know, the the one thing I think that he's also talking about is just kind of like he's switching over the leadership to some of these guys that have born and bred from him and Brad's draft picks, and he's like, you know, they had to go out and get an Alex Anzaloni, right? Yeah who had winning culture, winning passions. Understood what you know Dan wanted, what other winning organizations Sean Payton wanted, brought him in here to kind of teach these guys. Now I think he feels like he's got those guys, and they've been homegrown, home harvested here, and it's passing the torch to those guys, right?

SPEAKER_00 44:21

It's the Amon Raz, it's the J Mo's, it's the Jared Goffs, it's the James Campbell, Jack Campbell's, it's the really um, you know, the their Aiden Hutchinsons, the the Eline McNeils, the guys that have been there now that are going to grow into this and push everybody else and saying, hey, you either get behind me and you're you're close and following, or we're gonna leave you behind.

SPEAKER_01 44:44

Also, it's my pet peeve to be like, it's the Aiden Hutchinsons and plural. Um, but I did it too. So um I don't know if if you don't care, but uh I always like hear that and I'm like, oh, I don't like that situation. Um the the only thing that I remember taking away from it is like how we've heard for the last few years that joint practices are were great and they loved it and they got so much out of it, and now it's like nah counterproductive. Last year sucked, yeah, and I felt like I gave more than we received. We're taking these things back, we're gonna do it ourselves. We need more developmental time.

SPEAKER_00 45:24

Um we might see these guys starters in the preseason now.

SPEAKER_01 45:28

So yeah, so let's see. Could be some different things going on, but um, I I think you know, this was a broad week of a little bit of news, a little bit of Dan news, assigning some some tea in the um, you know, drama out in the in the news segment. Um but uh next week I really want to start really focusing on like some some prospects, Brian. I want to talk about some traits, really like give everybody some idea of like not necessarily our scouting ports, but like a conglomerate scouting report on a lot of these guys, get a little bit of your take and really start honing in on a few guys that we should really be rooting for or against the lions to pick in the draft.

SPEAKER_00 46:13

I love that. And and let's look at beyond that first round. Let's let's look at the number 50 of where are we gonna sit with that, some of the guys that are available there, and uh, you know, then beyond. You know, maybe we can look at even in that fourth round what what we're gonna see the lions kind of you know, some of the needs, some of the some of the guys that we know have that grit index, and some of the guys that might be coming off the page a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 46:35

Yeah, second round. I mean, we should evaluate the third round. The Lions will go get a third round pick if they need to, you know, like um they're not they're not against that, and and heck, they could trade back. And I may maybe Brad's kind of like, hey, you guys think you know me. You know, maybe he's a he's an OG and he wants to do something different, you know. But a lot of things going on, and um, we just want to be prepared for it. We want you to be informed headed in the draft, and uh, we want to have some fun with it.

SPEAKER_00 47:03

Love it.

SPEAKER_01 47:04

Um, Bill, uh, Bill's on vacation. Um, Bill, when you get done drinking out of your coconut uh chime in next week, we're disappointed this week. Um, Lalone on the pod. We need you next week. Um, here's your insight. Um, guys said that he didn't have enough time to prepare. B Mics, we're gonna crush it next week. I think this is gonna be a really fun getting into draft mode. Um, and uh on a lookout here, we are gonna go live and we're gonna do a little hangout session in the draft. Let's do it. And uh we're gonna have a lot of fun with that. Do we know how to go live? We're gonna figure that out. Okay, we're we're gonna figure that out.

SPEAKER_00 47:42

Technology is our friend. Yeah, you're our tech guy.

SPEAKER_01 47:45

Yeah, we have we have a 44-year-old tech guy that still plays VTRs at his house. So, like bear with us a little bit, friends.

SPEAKER_00 47:54

Um, anything else you want to say? Hey, just make sure you check us out on all the the socials and uh like and subscribe.

SPEAKER_01 48:01

Let's go. Stay gritty, go lines, see you next week.