There are a number of directions the Detroit Lions can go with the No. 2 overall pick in next week’s NFL draft. And for the second time in a week, a prominent voice has suggested the Lions should look at the cornerback position with the premium pick.
Former NFL GM Mark Dominik, now a host and analyst on Sirius XM NFL Radio, joined ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. in advocating for the Lions to use the second pick on a cornerback. In his conference call with the media on Tuesday, Dominik mentioned both Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner from Cincinnati and LSU’s Derek Stingley Jr. as worthy candidates for Detroit.
“I like Gardner a lot. I like Stingley better,” Dominik told reporters. “So the best way to say this, Ahmad has probably got a better floor. Stingley has a better ceiling, so that’s the risk-reward that you have to decide what you want to take.”
The Lions already have a highly drafted CB on the roster in Jeff Okudah. The No. 3 overall pick in 2020 out of Ohio State, Okudah has struggled early in his career with both injuries and ineffective play. He played just one game in 2021, tearing his Achilles in Week 1 last season.
Adding another cornerback with such lofty draft capital is pretty unpopular amongst Lions fans, but Dominik believes the talent and potential in Stingley is worth the initial consternation picking him would create.
“There’s so much talent in that young man and it’s so good, and so when you watch the early tape you’re blown away, and to me he tested out still that same way,” Dominik said. “You’re holding your breath in terms of injury, his arc, but that’s where you have your orthopedic doctors really play a huge role for organizations.”
Stingley missed most of the 2021 season with a foot injury that required Lisfranc surgery. He impressed during his recent pro day and offers hope that he can recapture the glory of his true freshman season in 2019, when he thrived for the national champion Tigers and looked like a possible No. 1 overall pick. The recent surge in CB salaries–the Browns paid 2018 No. 4 overall pick Denzel Ward over $20 million per year this week–plays into Dominik’s evaluation.
“Since salaries at cornerback now are over the $20 million mark. Anybody that’s over $20 million a year now in terms of NFL talent, it’s not hard to take them that high and look, (Stingley and Gardner) are going to go in the top 10. I’ll be shocked if they don’t, and you’re not going to get another chance to get one. So if you like them, you’re going to have to go take them and in this day and age
