PHILADELPHIA _ The Detroit Lions were on the clock with the 21st pick in Thursday's NFL draft, staring at a decision that could change the makeup of their defense in the face: Take Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster, Florida linebacker Jarrad Davis or trade down.
In the end, the Lions passed on the talented but troubled Foster, decided against acquiring more picks and crowned Davis the new leader of their linebacking corps.
Davis, a popular mock draft pick to the Lions in recent weeks, was one of the most productive players in the SEC the last two years.
He missed part of last season with a high ankle sprain and wasn't able to work out at last month's NFL combine, but checked off every box the Lions want in their top draft picks.
Davis, who measured 6 feet 1 and 238 pounds, was one of the best athletes at the position, running his 40-yard dash in the 4.6-second range and jumping 38.5 inches at his pro day (which would have been tops among linebackers at the combine).
And more than that, Davis had some of the best intangibles in the draft, a natural leader who his high school coach, Jeff Herron, said early Thursday lifted up everyone around him.
"He's always been a great young man," Herron told the Free Press. "If you walked in our weight room, he was always the hardest working guy in there. If you went to his classroom, he was always the hardest working guy in there. Just great teammate, he's going to do everything right, he's going to do what you asked him to do, he's going to do it full speed. Just a really, really good young man."
Davis should start as a rookie at linebacker, one of the Lions' thinnest positions.
He can play either middle or weakside linebacker, and joins a unit that also has Tahir Whitehead, Paul Worrilow and Antwione Williams.
After spending much of the last two off-seasons building their offense, Davis should be a building block for years to come on defense.
Last year, the Lions spent two of their first three picks on the offensive line, and this year they signed Rick Wagner and T.J. Lang in free agency.
The draft started off as expected Thursday when the Cleveland Browns took Texas A&M pass rusher Myles Garrett with the No. 1 overall pick, then quickly took an offensive turn as seven of the next nine picks played on the offensive side of the ball.
The Chicago Bears traded third- and fourth-round picks this year and a third-rounder next year to move up one spot and select North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky second overall.
Trubisky, a one-year starter at North Carolina, is the first quarterback the Bears have taken in Round 1 since Rex Grossman in 2003. He said he had limited contact with the Bears throughout the predraft process.
The San Francisco 49ers took Stanford defensive end Solomon Thomas at No. 3, the Jacksonville Jaguars followed with LSU running back Leonard Fournette at No. 4 and the Tennessee Titans took Western Michigan wide receiver Corey Davis No. 5.
Davis is highest-drafted wide receiver ever from the Mid-American Conference, passing Randy Moss, the 21st pick in 1998.
At No. 6, the New York Jets took the draft's best safety, LSU's Jamal Adams, before four more offensive players closed out the top 10.
The San Diego Chargers took Clemson wide receiver Mike Williams at No. 7, the Carolina Panthers took Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey at No. 8, the Cincinnati Bengals took Washington receiver John Ross at No. 9, and the Kansas City Chiefs traded a third-round pick and next year's No. 1 to the Buffalo Bills to move up and grab Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes at No. 10.
The Lions have seven picks left in the final six rounds of the draft, including two in the sixth round.
