2021 NFL Mock Draft: Washington Football Team goes offense in Round 1

This is obviously a place that Trey Lance could go, but let’s just say for the sake of argument that Dan Campbell goes after a veteran quarterback to replace Matthew Stafford, who is reportedly parting ways with the Lions this offseason. Campbell coached in New Orleans, so he has ties to Jameis Winston (free agent) and Teddy Bridgewater (trade/cut candidate), so he could opt to pursue one of them as opposed to relying on an unproven rookie.

If they are going to do that, it will require a lot of effort to rebuild things on the defensive side of the ball. The offense is solid — though pending free agents Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones could leave a hole at receiver– but on defense, they don’t have a lot of talent.

The front seven is the major area that needs work for the Lions. There are several defensive linemen they could focus on here to get an upgrade, but Kwity Paye is among the best options at this point.

Paye is a raw player, but he is a great athlete. At 6-foot-4, 272 pounds, Paye has prototypical size on the edge and is fast, quick, and disruptive at the point of attack. He’s still working on his technique, but it has improved during his time at Michigan under Jim Harbaugh and Don Brown. He should only continue to improve with the Lions.

In his last 16 games for Michigan spanning his junior and shortened senior season, Paye has recorded 8.5 sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss. His production backs up what the tape showed. He’s hard to handle at the point of attack because of his quickness and he has the ability to play at the defensive tackle spot in pass-rush packages.

Miami pass rushers Gregory Rousseau and Jaelan Phillips could draw consideration here as could Penn State linebacker Micah Parson, North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance, and even a wide receiver like Alabama’s Jaylen Waddle. For now, though, I like Paye’s fit across from Trey Flowers to upgrade Detroit’s defense and give them a nice-looking rotation of the future.