One of the more interesting parts of the post-NFL Draft process is hearing what anonymous NFL insiders are saying about each pick. The media landscape has caught onto the fact that fans absolutely love hearing praise about their team from employees inside the league. So ESPN\u2019s Jeremy Fowler tapped into his resources and penned an entire article about how scouts, coaches, and NFL executives are reacting to each team\u2019s pick. The results tend to skew positive, but there was an interesting note or two about the Detroit Lions.<\/p>\n
For example, there was one NFC executive who clearly thought the Lions nailed their first-round pick in Clemson offensive tackle Blake Miller. Detroit had a few options at tackle\u2014their biggest need\u2014but opted to take Miller over Georgia\u2019s Monroe Freeling, Arizona State\u2019s Max Iheanachor, or Utah\u2019s Caleb Lomu. There were plenty of rumors Detroit was very interested in Alabama\u2019s Kadyn Proctor, but he was off the board by Detroit\u2019s 17th overall pick.<\/p>\n
Regardless, this NFC executive believes the Lions got the best tackle in the class. From Fowler:<\/p>\n
But Miller\u2019s name was magma-hot late in the process. \u201cHe\u2019s the best tackle in the draft,\u201d said one NFC exec.<\/p>\n
As for Detroit\u2019s other options, here\u2019s what some anonymous sources had to say:<\/p>\n
And No. 12 pick Kadyn Proctor<\/a>, the massive Alabama left tackle, is widely considered a top five talent in the draft, though questions persist about whether he\u2019ll maximize it.<\/p>\n But eventual pick Monroe Freeling<\/a> (Georgia) was highly regarded, and Utah\u2019s Caleb Lomu<\/a> was on the Panthers\u2019 short list, too.<\/p>\n But the Steelers saw his power and agility in person and were very impressed. Then, at the Senior Bowl, the Steelers noticed Iheanachor and Iowa tackle Gennings Dunker<\/a> looked imposing on the same line while executing pulling plays. That set the stage for picks Nos. 21 (Iheanachor) and 96 (Dunker) last week.<\/p>\n