Steven Ridley’s 2018 NFL Mock Draft

With the twentieth overall selection of the 2018 Steven Ridley NFL Mock Draft, the Detroit Lions select:

Harold Landry; Defensive End from Boston College University.

Most people would have someone like Marcus Davenport or even Sam Hubbard with this selection. While I would actually entertain the latter, the former I do not seem to understand as Matt Patricia comes from the “Belichick School of Versatility”. That being said, of the two, Harold Landry makes far more sense. Namely though, his Three Cone, Short Shuttle and 10 Yard Split times are what Patricia needs in a running mate for Ziggy Ansah. Unlike the Los Angeles Chargers with their bookends, the Lions are set with their “books” in A’Shawn Robinson and Jeremiah Ledbetter but lack the other bookend. Given the fact that the Lions just saw their division rival in the Bears power up on the interior, the Lions will elect to do the same on the exterior; finally giving Ansah a running mate in Landry while both doing damage early on. However, much of this will depend on how well Landry develops counter moves. While his initial attack plan and first step will allow him to beat most tackles, the NFC North has arguably the games best in David Bakhtiari; Bobby Massie and former Lion in Riley Rieff being no pushovers either. Still, with Ansah obtaining most of the attention and the “books” in Robinson and Ledbetter handling their own separate load, expect Landry to become among the favorites for the Defensive Rookie of the Year award.