The Case for a Detroit Do-Not-Draft List
Jeff Risdon sets a different agenda on the Detroit Lions Podcast. Not the usual mock. Not a wish list. A do-not-draft list. The focus is fit, risk, and timing for the Detroit Lions in the NFL Draft. He wants to plant flags now on prospects who match Detroit’s general profile yet still should be avoided at certain prices.
His lens is simple. What have we learned from recent cycles about traits, health, and roster priorities. Where does a strong prospect still become a poor bet for Detroit’s current build.
Drawing Lines From Past Drafts
Risdon rewinds to the tight end class that produced LaPorta. He recalls being on the field with Russell Brown and Chris at the Senior Bowl and watching Luke Musgrave struggle. Couldn’t beat a jam. Didn’t win contested balls. Red zone reps went nowhere. He was fine as a prospect. He just was not the right Lions pick. Detroit chose differently, and he was glad they did.
Last spring brought another caution. Landon Jackson, the defensive end from Arkansas, looked the part but lacked twitch. The concern was real enough that he hoped Detroit would pass. Again, a solid player. Just not the best choice for what the Lions needed then.
Why Jermott McCoy Gives Detroit Pause
The headline name is cornerback Jermott McCoy from Tennessee. He sits at No. 20 on the Detroit Lions Podcast consensus big board that Chris updates daily. The tape from 2024 at Tennessee is outstanding. First round caliber traits show up. Speed. Instincts. Power. Route adjustment. That is not the problem.
The issues are availability and experience. McCoy missed the 2025 season after a January 2025 injury. He was allegedly cleared but chose not to return. He did not work out at the combine because he still was not right. A pro day looms on March 31, but there is worry he might not go there either. He has 17 college starts across two programs. That combination of recent injury and limited mileage is a pass for Detroit at premium cost.
Roster context matters. Detroit likely has its top five cornerbacks on the roster already. The room feels competitive and deep enough that a first round corner is not a need. If they add, it should be someone they trust to play right away without medical questions. Risdon admits he is more cautious on injuries than many. That tension sits against a front office that has embraced risk before.
Wide Receiver Risk: Jordan Tyson
Jordan Tyson from Arizona State is a different kind of red flag. On skill, he might be the best wide receiver in this class. The problem is a lengthy injury history and a style that refuses self-preservation. He is still not working out post-injury. Detroit is loaded at wide receiver. That likely keeps the position off the board until the middle of Day 3, if not later. Talent is real. The fit and timing are not.
#detroitlions #lions #detroitlionspodcast #nfldraft #jermodmccoy #akheemmesidor #kylelouis #calebbanks #ltoverton
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Transcript
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Hey everyone, Jeffers, in here with your daily DLP, it is Sunday.
We made it this Sunday.
March Madness enters its fourth day.
March 22nd.
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It's the staying out, getting late, getting light later in the day and staying light
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We got some things to talk about with the Detroit Lions.
Today I wanted to focus on, I want to do a little draft show, but I want to do it a little
bit different because everybody always talks and wants to know what I would do or what
I think the Lions would do.
There comes a point in time where we have to establish out there what we also don't want
them to do.
There are players who fit with the general theme of the Lions that I just am not as interested
in them taking as I am with other options or as other people might be.
I'll give a couple of examples of this.
Let's go back to the Sambo Port of Draft where it was pretty obvious that the Lions were
going to be taking a tight end that year.
There were a lot of good ones.
One of the guys that I was really against the Lions taking that year was Luke Musgrave.
He had one of the worst senior bulls I've ever seen.
He could not get off a jam and all couldn't make a contested catch.
Really struggled to get himself space in the red zone drill.
I remember Chris and I were in Rust Brothers there too and we were all looking at you like,
why is this guy touted so high?
I'm very glad that the Lions opt for Sambo Porta and Musgrave went to the Packers and thus
far has not done a whole lot and he was a good, perfectly viable prospect.
We'll go back to last year and those of you who have been watching the DLP for a little
bit even though the daily didn't start then, you'll know that I was mortified about this
time last year that the Lions were going to take landed Jackson, the defensive end from
Arkansas, who definitely fits the crush the can style, looks the part but dude just had
no twitch, makes Celtic Falk look super twitchy and I was scared that the Lions were going
to take him and again solid football player, like I think he's going to be okay in the NFL
but I just wanted other options, I wanted the Lions to avoid him.
So I want to put these guys out there on record now and again it's nothing personal with
these dudes, it really isn't and there's a variety of reasons for each one, we'll get
to do them all but there are guys that I would just prefer that the Lions overlook even
though they probably fit what the Lions would look like, I could say I don't want them
to take the first round running make, obviously I'll put Cher on my lows ridiculously good,
number two overall player, but I will start with, and I'll start with the layup, corner
packs your mod McCoy from Tennessee, he is currently the number 20 overall player on
the Detroit Lions podcast, consensus board, big board that updates daily, great tool
that Chris has put out there, please look it up and use it because it's sweet.
McCoy, cornerback from Tennessee, missed the 2025 season with an injury that he suffered
in January of 2025, had opt in not to play even though he was allegedly cleared to come
back, decided they wanted to sit up for his draft stock, okay I'm not going to fault
the guy for that, didn't work out at the combine because he still wasn't right, he's
got a pro day coming up at the end of next week, it leaves the 31st of March, and there
is a little bit of consternation that he might not work out there either, that he still
might not be right.
This is a guy who started 17 games in college across two programs, his 2024 tape at Tennessee
was filthy good.
Legitimately, first round caliber stuff, speed, instincts, power, ability to adjust to
routes, man that injury and that inexperience, I'm going to have to fix on that, and some
of it is the fact that the Lions don't really need a first round corner either, we talked
about this the other day, with Terry Arnold, DJ Reed, now Ruckia sins back, you add Roger
McCurrie and in the slot, Christian Isian can play either spot, slot or outside I thought
I think he's going to be more safety.
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I still like Nick White's side, they potentially already have their top five cornerbacks on
the team already and I'm good with what they've got, like I wouldn't bother me all if
they added somebody, but I would rather it be somebody who I trust can play.
This is a case where he's a good prospect and I think he's going to be a good NFL player,
but I want another team to fight that out or not.
Again, nothing against McCoy, but look, I am always, and people who follow me in the drafts
since I started doing this professionally in 2004 will know this, I'm always more
gun shy than most of my draft media peers on injuries, especially guys that don't come
back from injuries and show that they can do it.
So that's McCoy.
I will also throw a guy that I don't think that Lions have any interest in simply because
they are loaded at White Receiver now, and that's Jordan Tyson from Arizona State who
is, wow, skill wise, he's the best White Receiver in this draft.
But a lot of injury history with him, he's another guy that still isn't working out after
he suffered his injury and the way he plays, he is hell bent, man, he is not going to protect
himself.
That's just not who he is.
So I would, I'm not worried about that one so much with Detroit because I don't think
that they're in the market for a White Receiver, at least before the middle of day three.
We'll see if that holds true.
We'll get the one that's not injury related because again, I am, it's very difficult for
me personally to reconcile the fact that Brad Holmes loves to take risks on injured players
and it's like my biggest repulsion, like I've come to terms with it because in general
Brad has done a very good job in the draft for the most part and his rick straws, Josh
Paschal, Levi Anzarek, like I've had to learn to accept that that's what's going to happen.
This would mean I have to love it.
We've now signed a guy who makes Marcus David Port look healthy to replace Marcus David
Port and I have to reconcile that one too, but this pain in terms of very low risk proposition,
but right now he's edge three, that'll change in the draft, he can be edge six by the end
of the draft for all we know, which would be nice.
Well, he's on a minimum contract, we're good.
I will get to another guy who could very well be in the Lions plans to be their edge number
two, and I like this player quite a bit.
He is the number 20 overall player, right?
Oh, McCoy's 15 overall, a key mezzador, number 20 overall on the current bigboard, and
there's a whole lot to like about a key mezzador and it's all related to how well he plays
when the ball is snapped.
He's got power, he's got eyes, he gets off blocks, he attacks the run, tenacious finishes
pretty darn well.
Couple of things though that make me hesitant and make me hope that another team drafts
him and not the Lions.
Again, nothing like what I'd be upset if they drafted him at 17, not really, no, because
he's a good football player and he would make the Lions better, but I think there are
better options there.
First off, he's going to be 25 as a rookie and if you watch the Miami tape, specifically
the last two years, he's gotten by a fair amount by just being more physically mature and
mentally football wise more mature than the guy is trying to block him, and I don't think
that's going to fly as well in the NFL.
No, he's also been around a long time, six years in college was productive in about two
and a half of them, thick a lot of what he did this past season was related to blocking
attention focused on Rubin Bain on the other side, now in Detroit, he would also have that
benefit because they're going to focus on Ed Hutchinson more, so I get that one, that's
kind of a weak critique, but again, it's just just my gut on that one, like I'm not going
to fault anybody, I know Bishoff loves him, not going to say he's wrong, I think Akima
is going to be a football player, but I would rather find it out with another team.
That's just me, open to being wrong on that one though.
Next up, Caleb Banks, we're going to go back to the injury bank, no pun intended.
Defensive tackle from Florida, who is currently nursing a broken foot, it's the second time
he's broken it in a year.
Fun football player, very impressive athlete for being his size, he's 325 pounds, he is
by the way, is the number 28 overall player on the consensus board.
A bit of a snap jumper, doesn't exactly play the run all that effectively, so I'm not
too concerned that the Lions are going to be interested in him in the first round, the
second round though, if he's still there at 50, and based on the injuries and his scatter
shots approach to run defense, he might be.
First off, I think that last part is going to repel the Lions from him, but I just want
to say that because he does beat the Elin McNeil mold, and if they're looking for a direct
backup to Elin McNeil, like Banks makes sense, there's almost with another team, that's
one that, you know, I'm pretty certain on that one, he is much lower on my board than
he is in the consensus board, I will probably bring that down, and then again, injuries
are part of it, and again, I'm sketched my injuries like straight up, can't help it.
LT Overton, talked about him when I made him the prospect of the day, I'm not really
sure exactly what he does well.
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Well enough at the NFL level to be more than like a fifth or a sixth round draft pick.
He's not super twitchy, he's not exactly quick, not the best athlete.
He's a former five star that it looks like he peaked early athletically, and has sort
of gotten by on that, and for the race that he's projecting, again, what is he, 87 overall,
that's the third round.
I don't see a third round player there, so I hope that that's one that, you know, the
ship goes sailing by.
Last one I'll bring up, and this one is gonna be one that I probably will anger a few
people based on the amount of times that he has selected in mock drafts, in the mock
draft channel on the Detroit Lights podcast Patreon, because he's a popular one, that's Kyle
Lewis.
Does he linebacker, is he a safety, is he both, is he neither?
Player from Pittsburgh.
I worry that he's more of the night there.
Great athlete plays safety, and I think he's much more of a safety than an oversized safety
than an undersized linebacker.
He's what, he came in at six foot, 220 pounds, pretty darn good athlete, but not a great
tackler.
The first thing you notice about him, he's a diver at feet, he bounces off of tackles
at times, doesn't anticipate blocks well.
When you're coming down, if you're a box safety, one of the things you have to do is you
have to be able to strafe around blocks, you have to be able to see around blocks.
He doesn't do that very well.
They played him as a linebacker, they played him as a hang defender.
Okay, that's nice, if you can cover.
You'd allow a 75% or greater completion percentage at all three of his years.
So while we do need somebody to replace Alex Anzlone as a coverage linebacker, and Lewis
looks like he's the part in practice, in college, in the ACC, that's not who he was.
You're projecting him to be in the NFL, something that he wasn't in college.
I will let another team do that.
And if he proves to be successful at it, then you side him to a second contract in four
years.
I think he's a day two player, probably third round, and that's one, again, chance to be
a good football player, no doubt about it.
And he definitely fits the grit, too, based on what I understood from people who've talked
with him, but that's one that I just rather other people go in.
That's the guys on my list that I hope that the Lions avoid, again, israeli related or
lack of positional fit, scheme fit, whatever.
I get these guys every year, and I thought I'd put it out there a little bit earlier
as the pro-day circuit keeps going on.
Wanted to bring up one guy that I am very interested in as I've watched him more and
was tipped off to him recently, and by the way, check it out at footballrealgm.com.
I posted, I had the chance to meet with a couple of different people, an NFC West area scout,
who's, I bet with after one of the recent pro-days, and also a former player-turned assistant
and the last timeframe is fairly recent, not immediate, but recent, and I met with him
as well, and he was very high on this guy, and I will bring him up.