Sometimes the answer is obvious.
After a day filled with trade rumors, the Detroit Lions did exactly what most expected them to do in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft Thursday night, selecting Ohio State cornerback Jeff Okudah with the No. 3 pick.
It marks the third time in four years a Buckeye was the first cornerback taken in the draft, joining Denzel Ward in 2018 and Marshon Lattimore in 2017. Along with Eli Apple in 2016, all four were selected in the first 12 picks.
It's rare for cornerbacks to be selected in the top-five in recent decades, but despite not having experience drafting that high in the past, Lions general manager Bob Quinn had suggested last week he didn't understand why.
"I'm not sure why teams have shied away," Quinn said. "Honestly, I don't. I think it's obviously critical and has high value in the ;eague. Really, when you look at corners, basically you have three corners that are starters in professional football now. We go back to free agency a year ago, we signed Justin Coleman to play nickel and we paid him like a starter because we feel like you need three starting level corners to have a productive defense."
In Detroit, Okudah softens the departure of Darius Slay, who was traded to Philadelphia for a pair of picks last month. An irreparable rift with coach Matt Patricia and Slay's desire to become the highest-paid cornerback in football at the age of 29 were the major factors in the divorce.
Okudah, a unanimous All-American in 2019, figures to immediately step into a starting role with the Lions, playing opposite free-agent addition Desmond Trufant.
Known for being sticky in man-to-man coverage, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Okudah allowed just 27 passes to be completed against him on 58 targets (46.6 percent) for 282 yards and one touchdown last season, according to Pro Football Focus.
Additionally, he quelled concerns about his ability to make plays on the ball, intercepting three passes, while breaking up another nine.
"My first two years at Ohio State, I played through the hands," Okudah said at the combine. "It was leading to pass interferences, when balls were underthrown, they'd come back through you. It was just a lot of awkward things. That last year, I really worked on looking for the football. Every day, we just drilled it religiously. Looking back for the ball, it caused, like I said, I had zero pass interferences and I didn't give up any deep balls."
A student of the game, Okudah said he studies different things about many of the game's top corners, including Slay, Richard Sherman, Patrick Peterson, Jalen Ramsey and Stephon Gilmore.
Okudah has drawn comparisons to Gilmore who has thrived in New England, working in a similar defensive scheme as the one run in Detroit under Patricia, the former Patriots defensive coordinator.
Okudah is the first cornerback the Lions have drafted in the first round since Terry Fair in 1998.
