Despite months of trade speculation, Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn didn’t find a trade partner offering a deal good enough to move away from the third pick.
With the third pick in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, the Lions select Ohio State cornerback Jeff Okudah.
Okudah brings a plethora of rare talents to the Lions. He has a terrific combination of size (6-1, 205 pounds, 32.63″ arm length), speed (4.48 40-yard-dash), and explosion (burst score of 137.20 is top of the class at CB). His recovery speed is unmatched in this draft class and it allows him to cover all areas of the field with confidence.
What truly separates Okudah from the rest of this class is his mental makeup. He is highly intelligent, anticipates breaks in routes, knows when he can get physical and when to back off, and doesn’t shy away from targets.
At OSU, Okudah was in man coverage a whopping 61-percent per PFF’s Austin Gayle (the most among the top CB prospects in this class) spending 76-percent of those snaps in Cover-1 or Cover-3 concepts — the two coverages the Lions spend the majority of their time in.
A few more notes from PFF on Okudah’s time in college include:
- He was the only CB in the 2020 class to not allow a reception over 15 yards while in press coverage last season.
- Okudah allowed just 3.1 yards per target in press coverage this season — 3.5 yards better than FBS average.
- He only allowed a QB passer rating of 45.5 when targeted
With a solid enough floor to start Day 1 in the Lions scheme, and a high enough ceiling to reach All-Pro levels, Okudah is expected to immediately assume a starting outside cornerback role alongside newly signed Desmond Trufant and Justin Coleman.
Technically the Lions are done for the night — though they could trade back into the first round — but they still have the following picks over the next two days:
| Round 2 | pick 3 | 35 overall |
| Round 3 | pick 3 | 67 overall |
| Round 3 | pick 21 | 85 overall |
| Round 4 | pick 3 | 109 overall |
| Round 5 | pick 3 | 149 overall |
| Round 5 | pick 20 | 166 overall |
| Round 6 | pick 3 | 182 overall |
| Round 7 | pick 21 | 235 overall |
