NFL Mock Draft 7.0: Giants, Patriots trade up; Redskins land defensive help

By trading down with the Giants, the Lions pick up an extra pick in the second round. And, they take a player they may have considered with the No. 8 pick.

The Lions need help at the linebacker position. There’s no question about it. They have former first-round pick Jarrad Davis in the middle of their defense, but they don’t have any other true, three-down players at the position. Devin Bush would give them just that.

Bush is a highly athletic linebacker who has slowly and steadily risen over the course of the past few months. He put together a great outing at the combine, running a 4.43 in the 40-yard dash while logging an impressive 6.93 time in the 3-cone drill. This athletic ability translates over to the field, as he’s a sideline-to-sideline player with great coverage ability and instincts.

The one minor concern with Bush is that he is slightly short for a linebacker. He measured in at 5-11, but he had a thick 234-pound frame. That’s plenty strong enough for a linebacker, and his height was never really a problem on tape. As such, it shouldn’t be much of an issue at the NFL level unless he somehow gets matched up with a bigger pass-catcher in coverage.

In a class lacking linebacker talent, Bush would be a terrific pickup for the Lions. Playing him next to Davis would give the team two solid linebackers and would allow them to use their other pieces on a rotational basis. And with their extra second-round pick, they can target whichever one of the top corners in this draft ends up falling.