Mike Payton talks about 3 prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft, that the Detroit Lions cannot afford to pass up, if they fall far enough.
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00:00If one of these three players falls to the Lions, they got to go get him because he'd be perfect.
00:06Let's go talk about it.
00:10I'm Mike Payne from A to Z Sports Detroit.
00:12Today we're going to talk about three players that could fall in this draft in the first round that the Lions absolutely need to go get.
00:20Because they fit perfectly for what Detroit needs.
00:24Let's start off with a position that everybody wants to talk about.
00:27It's the edge rusher position.
00:28We'll go with Georgia's Mikel Williams.
00:32He's a guy that I know a lot of Lions fans are certainly interested in.
00:36There's a lot to like there.
00:38Super long arms.
00:40Just a really great bend.
00:42Good explosiveness.
00:44Has a lot to bring to the table.
00:47But you still look at him and you can see that there are some switches that have yet to be flipped for him.
00:52Like he could still be better than what he is now.
00:55And, you know, they have the term like he's barely scratching the surface.
00:59Well, I don't think he's near the surface yet.
01:02Like I think he could get to the surface, scratch it, and then bust through it.
01:05You know what I'm saying?
01:06Like that guy has a lot of possibilities.
01:09Problem is he's probably going to be gone a little bit earlier.
01:12There is some questions or some, you know, concerns about some injury type stuff.
01:16And maybe that could push him down the board.
01:18And if that does, then the Lions could be waiting there at 28 to grab him.
01:23But in reality, he's probably, you know, top 15, top 20.
01:28If he does fall, it probably won't be that much.
01:31But if he does get to 28, Lions got to sprint to the podium on that one.
01:35The next guy is Arizona receiver Teter Owen McMillan.
01:38Now, look, I know Lions fans want an edge rusher.
01:41They want somebody on defense.
01:42But, man, this is the guy at receiver in this draft.
01:47And it's kind of weird.
01:49It seems like some teams are just kind of overthinking it with this one.
01:52Like he should just be a top 10 pick.
01:55He should be gone long before the Lions even have to think about drafting at 28.
02:00But there's a possibility that Luther Burden from Missouri could go before him.
02:06Matthew Golden from Texas, a guy actually the Lions brought in for a top 30.
02:10He could wind up going before McMillan.
02:12And if that happens, if all those things happen and McMillan gets to 28, again, Lions have to sprint to the podium on that.
02:19This is a gigantic X receiver, exactly what the Lions need.
02:24A guy who can go up, high point the ball, make contested catches, can still burn down the field,
02:29separate, just everything that the Lions want in a receiver, you know, it's him.
02:37That's the guy.
02:37That's the guy who could do so much for this team.
02:40And a group of Aminra St. Brown, McMillan, Jamison Williams.
02:45I mean, have fun, Jared Goff.
02:47Go off.
02:47Like, do whatever you want out there.
02:49It's unbelievable.
02:50You know, the thing is, with him, like, I think he's so good that even if he got to, you know, the upper to mid-20s,
02:59the Lions should move up to get him.
03:00Like, that's how good I think this player is.
03:03But we'll see what happens.
03:04The final guy is Alabama linebacker Jihad Campbell.
03:07Now, I know Lions fans think this team has too many linebackers.
03:10But I don't look at Campbell so much as a linebacker as I see a guy who could be an everyman.
03:15Like, I think he could very easily switch to the edge rusher position.
03:20Like, he got a lot of pressures, a lot of sacks last year, but he could also be good in coverage.
03:25There's so much you could do with him.
03:26He could be like a Sam, you know, Sam linebacker, that sort of thing.
03:29But, I mean, I see this guy as just a potential to do it all, do anything on the field.
03:36And when you've got a guy like that, that's what you want.
03:39That's what this defense needs is somebody who can do anything that they want him to do.
03:44And that's what they love about Brian Branch.
03:46That's why a guy like Branch is never going to go anywhere because he can play safety.
03:50He can play slot corner.
03:51He can play outside corner.
03:52He can play anywhere.
03:54And for, you know, the Lions, Campbell would be another version of that.
03:58So, it'd be interesting to see what they would do there.
04:03But, like I said, I think this guy could be an edge rusher.
04:05And this is probably the one guy of these three players that has a real chance to be there at 28.
04:10He's expected to go kind of, I mean, 20 to 25 range.
04:16Maybe he slips a little bit.
04:18If he gets to 28, that's another guy the Lions got to go get.
04:21We'll see what happens on draft night on Thursday.
04:25Until then, let me know what you guys think in the comments, and we'll see you next time.