The Detroit Lions are changing quarterbacks for 2021, going from Matthew Stafford to Jared Goff, but that won’t stop them from taking a signal call early in this year’s NFL draft.
General manager Brad Holmes, who still doesn’t have permission to discuss Stafford-Goff’s trade until it can be made official when the league’s new year begins on March 17, said Tuesday that he likes what he sees in this class of draft of the quarterbacks.
“The quarterback position overall, what’s interesting this year, is that they have all the tastes,” Holmes said. “You have a guy who can do everything, do it from his pocket, do it with his legs. You have another who probably does it a little more with his legs, a little more of being creative. There’s another probably a guy does it more out of pocket.
“So all the different flavors make it very, very intriguing when it comes to looking at the whole class field of these quarterbacks.”
Holmes mentioned several times during his Tuesday press conference that he liked this quarterbacks class project, led by Trevor Lawrence of Clemson, Justin Fields of Ohio State and Zach Wilson of BYU.
And when you choose from the top 10, he said, you can’t overlook any position. This includes a site that is undergoing major changes in Detroit. Goff will have a salary cap of $ 28.15 million in 2021 and $ 26.15 million in 2022, according to OverTheCap.com. Of course, the Lions can create more space if they restructure Goff’s contract, which has just over $ 25 million in base salary, once he officially moves into the franchise. But it is unknown if they will.
In addition, Stafford will have $ 19 million in dead money at this year’s limit in Detroit.
What does this have to do with writing a quarterback at number 7? It could depend on how the team sees Goff in the long run (which he has not yet been allowed to address publicly) and what he thinks of the quarterbacks in that class.
“When you pick in the top ten, I don’t think you can ignore them and I think it’s a smart copywriting business anyway, when you pick in the top ten, you make sure you know that quarterback class very well. . ”Holmes said.
Holmes added that when choosing from the top ten, you need to know the best prospects in all positions due to the potential level of talent. He said he knows the team needs headlines and depth in various positions, some of which could be addressed at No. 7.
“There are some pieces we definitely need to add,” Holmes said. “We can start on the defensive side of the ball. We definitely need a little more depth. We need starters in certain places, so these are the things we’re going through.”
On offense, Holmes said he likes what the Lions have on the offensive line. but they need depth. The reception room needs to be checked, whether they use a franchise label on Kenny Golladay or not. All of this relates to a quarterback, leading to a multitude of decisions for Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell as they evaluate what they should do in free agency and draft, starting with election number 7.