Could the Detroit Lions add a Linebacker in Round 1?
30:06 Share

It's the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hey, it's a St. Patrick's Day version of Mock Draft Monday. You are Locked On Lions, your daily Detroit Lions podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

Hey-o, here we are, everybody. Matt Derry with you. It is another week of Locked On Lions, everybody, on the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Today is Monday, March 17th. Happy St. Patrick's Day, everybody. Into Tuesday, March 18th. Thanks for making us your first listen. Checking us out wherever you may get your podcasts. That includes our Locked On Lions YouTube channel. That includes the Odyssey app or Spotify, Apple Podcasts,

Whatever it is, we appreciate you being with us. Locked on Lions for this St. Patrick's Day brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can get $200 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. It is a mock draft Monday. Today, we dive into the Dave Burkett Free Press.

2.0 mock draft and see where the Lions go at number 28. And our good friend, Nick Shook, great writer at NFL.com, all over the draft, all over free agency. You see him sometimes on the NFL Network. He will join us.

As a guest here on this Monday edition of Lockdown Lions. Thank you to everybody that is an everydayer that watches the show or listens to the show daily. We appreciate all of you. Sometimes our everydayers like to chime in and be our call of the day. We'll have a new one tomorrow. Be our call of the day. Go to speakpipe.com slash D-E-R-Y podcast page. A Gannon Druin's dad.

G Money's dad, Chris Druin, was our call the day the other day on Friday. All right. Mock Draft Monday is here. Let's do the business. We didn't do one last week because we focused solely on free agency and everything else. And we'll talk about some of the Lions free agents and what Detroit did with Nick Shook from NFL.com coming up momentarily. But today, Dave Burkett weighs in. Mock Draft 2.0.

from Burkett at the Free Press. We love Dave. And one thing that he wrote today before we got into the mock or got into his mock is he says it's not need. He went with the player he thought was best on the board when the Lions pick at 28.

Dave's top five, number one, the Titans take Abdul Carter from Penn State. A lot of talk today that Cam Ward is going number one, whether it's to Tennessee or not. We'll have to see. Cam Ward two to the Browns in this mock draft. Travis Hunter, the cornerback, receiver, the all-everything player and Heisman Trophy winner from Colorado going three to the Giants.

At number four, New England taking Kelvin Banks Jr., the offensive tackle from Texas. And Jacksonville at five, Mason Graham, the D tackle from the University of Michigan. Burkett's mock draft has Shador Sanders sliding all the way to number nine to the Saints. With the 28th pick in this draft, Burkett takes for the Lions. This will be interesting for some people.

linebacker from Alabama, Jihad Campbell. Dave writes, quote, linebacker is about the least of the Lions needs, but Campbell is a top 20 or so prospect with good athletic traits and better production. He has rush ability. He can play in the middle of the defense. And even though the Lions returned Jack Campbell, Derek Barnes, and Alex Anzalone and spent a first round pick on a linebacker two years ago,

He fits Holmes' best player available philosophy. And he's got the right last name, right? I mean, we've got Dan Campbell. Dan! We've got Dan Campbell. We've got Jack Campbell. And with Dave Burkett's choice today, Jihad Campbell. Some of you are going to go, why on earth would the Lions take a linebacker at 28? Well, two things stand out for me about this selection. Number one, where did he go to college? Alabama.

The Lions have hit not singles, not doubles, not triples. They've hit two home runs with Alabama picks and another one that's like a double, right? I mean, Jamison Williams is a double, let's be honest. But Jameer Gibbs, home run. Brian Branch, home run. Three players, Brad Holmes saw from Alabama, liked him, took him, and they've all been massive contributors. And I think Jamison Williams this year,

especially with his contract coming up in a couple of years, could be a home run this year. But Alabama brings NFL talent to the dinner table every night. And that would be, you know, he just he's got the bloodlines. He's got the Bama ties, everything else. The other thing about Jihad Campbell is an athlete, man. This guy is just tremendous. You want to put him on the edge, he can rush the passer.

Go back and watch some of these Bama games and look at what Jihad Campbell brought to the team. We'll ask Nick Shook about it, but if he's there at 28, I'd be surprised because he's that good of a football player. And he's an interchangeable guy that, again, could play edge, could play outside, inside, and could do a lot of different things. So it's an interesting choice for sure.

Um, you know, people want Kenneth Grant here. People want James Pierce here. Both those guys, Mike Green, both of those guys went before the Lions selected at number 28. Um, so we'll have to wait and see. I'm looking to see if Shamar Stewart was gone beforehand on this mock draft, but I don't believe I saw him gone, um, in this mock draft.

But, oh no, he does have Shamar Stewart going number 13 to the Dolphins, the edge rusher out of Texas A&M. Look, this is a perfect, this is, Dave Burkett is playing right into the hands of what Brad Holmes says he does. And that is, we're going to take the best player available. And that is what kind of this is when you're talking about Campbell, because the Lions do have a great linebacker. We didn't even mention Malcolm Rodriguez, right?

You know, the kid they just signed the free agent from the Colts with the hair. Same thing. Another depth piece. But I truly believe that Campbell could be a guy that maybe takes Derek Barnes's spot as the Sam linebacker and Barnes moves out to more of an edge rushing role. Versatility, playability, ball hawk.

Guy that can run down the quarterback. Giad Campbell is a really, really good football player. Does it fit the edge persona and the need? Not necessarily, but as Dave pointed out, they're going to take the best guy on their board. All right, coming up next, Nick Shook with us. NFL.com as well as NFL Network. We love talking to Nick, and we're going to do that coming up next right here on a Monday, Locked on Lines.

And Lockdown Lions today proudly brought to you by our friends at Monarch Money. Ever check your bank account and wonder, where did all my money go? Between dining out, online shopping, and entertainment, it is easy to lose track. That's where Monarch Money comes in. Your personal CFO giving you full visibility and control over your finances. Monarch Money isn't just a budgeting app. It's a complete financial command center. You can track all your accounts, investments, and spending in one place online.

So you stop just managing your money and start building wealth, all right? Managing money with your partner is smoother too than ever. You can track shared and personal accounts.

All right, set goals and stay on the same page without the stress. Take control of your finances with our friends at Monarch Money. Use the code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. That's monarchmoney.com. Code LOCKEDONNFL for half off your first year. And Locked On Lions also brought to you by FanDuel. Oh, it's here. March Madness brackets are out, everybody. Michigan and Michigan State.

Michigan a five, MSU a two. Could they both make runs? All of that can be a

Enjoyed even more with FanDuel. They're giving you a chance to get in on the action like never before. Right now, new customers can get $200 in bonus bets. When your first $5 bet wins, that's 200 extra bucks to use on everything from buzzer beaters to Cinderella stories and even who's cutting down the nets. All right? Got to keep your eye on a few underdogs in this tournament. How about High Point? People love High Point against Purdue. Bad matchup for Purdue. Unfortunately, UC San Diego lost

athletic team that maybe Michigan's going to have trouble with. Check all of that out on FanDuel and get in on it. The FanDuel app, too, is simple to use. And when you win, you get paid instantly. No waiting around. So visit FanDuel.com. That's FanDuel.com. And get in on the College Hoops action all tournament long.

As promised today on a Monday locked on lions, Nick shook is with us. NFL.com NFL network, uh, guardians fan. So I love him. F one fan. We can, we can, we can go a lot of different ways, uh, today, Nick, good to see you. Yeah, actually just, uh, I was getting my nephew some toys for his fifth birthday over the weekend. And I was thinking, how could I update the backdrop? That's not behind me, but we'll soon be behind me. Why not get some small F one cars? Yeah. Yeah.

Are you like a Lewis Hamilton fan? Who are you? Who do you root for? When I started watching F1, Mercedes was king. So I, you know, I always want competition. So I was like, well, Red Bull's got the best shot to, you know, dethrone them. So I became a Red Bull fan. But frankly, you know, we do me and a couple of French Sean Berry and Katie Caldwell do a podcast called the Gridiron Podcast. It's football on F1. And through that, I just realized I just like the sport. I don't know if I'm necessarily a fan. I'm still a Red Bull fan, but more than anything, I just like the sport.

uh my brother todd who co-hosts the dairy brothers guardians cast he's a big f1 uh slappy he loves it and uh he's always talking about the podium and i kind of just have learned from him but uh it was an electric season opening race in montreal that's what i know it was in montreal it was in melbourne wasn't it like overnight or something like it was a late night or yeah because they were out in australia i think it started about midnight eastern and it was a heck of a race

Oh man, we could do this all day. All right. Detroit Lions. Obviously you and I have spoken on the show before. I know how much you love what Brad Holmes has done, but how did you view free agency for them? I know it's just starting, but the big wave last week, but not surprising, right? That Brad didn't try to swing for the fences and hit home runs, right?

No. This is a team that should have been in the NFC championship game if they could have gotten a couple of things to go their way in the divisional round. They had some unfortunate turnovers. Offense played uncharacteristically sloppy, and they exited early. But make no mistake, this was a favorite in the NFC for most of the season and for good reason. I was surprised that they haven't quite addressed edge rusher the way that most people thought they would and that they released Zedaria Smith. I understand the age component of it.

And I would not be shocked if you see some additions at the position in the next month and a half. I think the draft probably as well as this, these later waves of free agency, because we're far from finished with the business of football, by the way, it's just, we're, we just got through the big portion last week, the hectic,

portion the frenzy if you will but there are still you know many moves to be made so i would anticipate that but it's not like you needed to address a number of different areas you know this is a team that was very well built they retained some of the guys that they liked and um you know i expect them to to make some smaller but potentially crucial moves in the near future but no i mean when you have a team this good you don't have to do all that much

Fans are always intrigued, like, wait a minute, Kevin Zeitler was here. He did such a great job. Right guard, Pro Bowl-type player, got him for cheap last year. He goes to Tennessee on a one-year $9 million deal, and that's the right guard walking out the door on just a one-year deal. And fans are going, wait a minute, Tennessee stinks.

why couldn't we have ponied up? How do you kind of look at that in terms of Zeitler leaving? And like you said, the Lions aren't done yet, but that's a small disappointment, is it not? Yeah. On paper at this point in the off season, you're at March 17th today. Happy St. Patrick's Day to those of you who observe. And

And frankly, I could understand why, because if you're you're playing Madden, for example, you're like, hey, I want this guy who is dependable right guard. You know, he's a dependable interior offensive lineman who is going to, you know, be trustworthy and do a good job. And he was a good fit in this offensive line. But also as a general manager, you're looking ahead. And this draft class is very deep at interior offensive line.

So I am comfortable with that decision, with saving the $9 million, with dedicating those financial resources elsewhere, and potentially getting a little bit younger where you can in a group that's got a lot of depth, got a lot of talent. Probably, I would say the most...

talented interior offensive line group I've seen in quite a while being from the combine. And that's a bigger part of this draft in general. It's not at the sexy positions, but there's a lot of legitimate talent in a number of different positions. It's just not the ones that necessarily move headlines and interior offensive line is that. So I can't be, I wouldn't be too upset if I was a Lions fan, you know, right now you'll be a little worried, but they'll take care of it.

Let me ask you this, following up on what you're saying. Could you see a scenario then where edge at 28 and then you could still get a first round type player at 60 in the second round that would play right or left guard? Yeah, yeah, because I think that that's the way that this class is kind of leaning. It's, you know, everybody wants to talk quarterback and everything else. That's obviously not the Lions concern right now. But I think that those types of discussions will push some of the

Better players that, you know, when you go back and redraft in three to five years would have been higher picks into the second round. Now the downside to winning is that you end up picking at the back of the second round too, but that's how deep this group is. And again, guard is not a position that,

The average person will be like, oh, you got to take a first round guard. It just usually doesn't happen very often. So unless there are tackles in college that become guards in the NFL, which I think the kid from LSU might be that Will Campbell, but there's some debate on that. He'll be a first round pick, but that's not where you're looking at this position. And that's totally fine. The value is certainly there.

Speaking of the draft, before he came on, a kind of mock draft Monday that we do. I used the Dave Burkett free press mock today that came out. And he had Jihad Campbell going to the Lions at 28. And you figure, wait, another linebacker. They just re-upped Derek Barnes. They've got Anzalone. They've got Jack Campbell. They've got Malcolm Rodriguez.

but do you see a scenario where Brad Holmes says, look, I've done well with Alabama picks, uh, Jameer Gibbs, Brian branch. Um, and this kid, I'll put them on the field somewhere and we'll find a way to, uh, make it work. Yeah, I absolutely would trust the lions if they were to make that pick because he was at least at the combine, the best linebacker on the field. And it wasn't close. Uh,

the group itself, I thought lacked some separation. He was head and shoulders better than everybody else. And he's the type of athlete that I think you could deploy in a number of different scenarios. And that's kind of what you're looking for. You know, when coaches go into press conferences to start a season and usually their introductory press conferences in the off season, they're like,

Hey, you know, what's your approach going to be? And they always say the same thing. Oh, we're going to be multiple. And I think it's moved to defense. It used to be an offensive thing, but now it's also a defensive thing. And a player like that would allow you to be multiple. You know, a lot of people had issues with them taking Branch back when they did. And I was like, dude, they could use him in a number of different scenarios there. And look what's happened in the two years since. So if you follow that same train of thought, I think it would be a great fit. And at that pick in the back end of the first round, I would love that for them.

Do you think there's any way we're talking to Nick shook by the way, NFL network, NFL.com. Do you see a scenario where Campbell would fall to 28 being as how good he is? Yes, because it's a need thing. Like I, I liken him to who's the type of player that would be a three down linebacker who is athletic and versatile enough to,

be able to be a stopper against the scrambling quarterback. Let's think about the team that they just lost in the playoffs, Jayden Daniels. He is an eraser type. He is essentially, if you go over to the AFC North, he is what Jeremiah Uwusu-Koromoa is for the Browns when they play the Lamar Jackson types or when they play other scrambling quarterbacks or even the Joe Burrows who can get out and run. And I think that

you're looking for that type of player in today's NFL, a guy that can play on every down and can, can catch up with the more mobile quarterback. So I think it would be an excellent fit. And I also wonder, uh,

You know, where are some of these teams looking? Cause I think this is going to be the most unpredictable draft we've seen in a long time. Hopefully it doesn't turn out like the 2013 draft, which is one of the worst drafts we've seen in a long time. But I do think that it's going to be hard to project. So these mocks are going to be all over the place. If he were to fall to that point, cause it's all about succession order. And where does this team want this guy and where do they want this guy being at the back end of the first round, you have to sit and wait a while. And, but if that type of player is there, you jump on him. So I can certainly see a scenario in which that happens.

is he a player that can actually be the edge guy or is this a scenario where if they like him so much, they go, all right, we'll move Barnes over and make Derek an edge rusher and, or at least try it. Or is this just a matter of, Hey, look, Kelvin Shepard's going to be running the same type of defense that Aaron Glenn ran and we're going to throw guys out there and somehow make it happen. Yeah. That's kind of my idea with Campbell is that it's, you know, it,

When I saw him work out, when reviewed some of the tape, I was like, Oh, well, yeah, he can do both. And that's what makes him so versatile and so valuable. But when it comes to fit and players in your roster, I would put Barnes at the edge first, because it just seems more like a, an archetype fit for him than it would gamble, but cable can certainly do it. And again, if you're there to take that guy, you jump at that opportunity to again, be multiple. So again,

But I also think that like, I wouldn't necessarily marry myself to the idea of just him because there is a lot of talent. There are a lot of talented players in different positions that could be available at that. So like, you know, you don't want to go to the draft thinking we want this guy. We need him to fall all the way to 28. We want this guy. We want this guy. You're going to snag. I think about the kid from South Carolina, the safety, Iman Worry, like he blew up the combine and probably increased his draft stock a lot, but yeah,

If you look at a lot of these different mocks compare ranges of where these picks are going to happen are pretty wide. And I think that applies here too. Is there an edge rusher you love that you go, man, if he's a 28, whether it's green or Stewart or,

Heck, Jack Sawyer is somebody you go, man, that's a lion. That could be somebody they should grab at the end of the first round. Sawyer feels like the Dan Campbell type. Yeah. But I know that the measurables, and I don't put all my analysis in the measurables because I think that a lot of guys overcome that, but I know a lot of evaluators do. And the measurables don't lean well for him, so that's what makes me wonder, like,

I don't know. Like, I think a decent amount of those Ohio state guys are going to go in that range. And I don't know if I'm a GM, if I'm spending that top pick on him. So he's not one of my favorites. Honestly, I don't have a favorite from the group, but there's definitely some talent there. Could JT from his own college teammate go ahead of him? Sawyer, you think? Okay. So my issue with JT is,

He came on the scene very emphatically and made a big difference early and then never seemed to like grow from there and progress from there, which made me question, like, did he hit a ceiling? Did he,

This is who he is. And if that's the case, and if that's a lot of the scouts think, then no, that doesn't happen. Because I think Sawyer enters the draft process with more momentum. You then compare that against the fact that his measurables don't quite fit with some of the players and how you want to project them. And it makes for kind of a toss-up. So I think momentum-wise, Sawyer goes first. JT might have the higher ceiling overall. But again, he's a guy that I need to see it proven because I've watched him over the last two years at Ohio State, and I haven't really seen him take the next step that I was anticipating for him.

More with Nick Schuch coming up next from the NFL Network and NFL.com. Always love reading his stuff around the NFL. We'll do that next. Ask him a little bit about the newest line as well, DJ Reed.

The NCAA tournament is here, and so is the bracket breakdown. Locked On Podcast Network and Amazon Fire TV channels are teaming up to deliver NCAA tournament coverage like never before. Watch studio shows featuring former players and Locked On's local experts as they guide you through every upset, buzzer beater, and bracket matchup. Stream it all for free on Amazon Fire TV channels. Search bracket breakdown to see it all for free. It's your team every day.

Listen.

Listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility at Indeed.com slash LockedOnNFL. Just go to Indeed.com slash LockedOnNFL right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com slash LockedOnNFL. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need.

Our man, Nick shook with us from nfl.com. Also check them out on NFL network from time to time as well. Talking lions and what went on in free agency. Obviously Carlton Davis left lions, wasted no time and picked up DJ Reed from the jets and saved a little money. He said,

Is that an even swap? How did you see that sort of trade off there? This might be my own bias just from watching both these players over the last few years. Cause you know, Carlton Davis, you know, solid, very good player. I thought DJ Reed was one of the more underrated cornerbacks in the NFL. I thought that he spent a lot of his last couple of seasons in sauce, Gardner shadow and unfairly. So now this past season, I,

was a tough judge for any Jets player because of the dysfunction and everything that was going on there. But I've seen enough from DJ over the last few years to feel strongly that he is an excellent corner. And when he went to the Lions, I loved that move. I absolutely loved it. I thought it was a perfect fit.

Ideally, in a perfect world, you keep them both. You don't have the money for both, but you keep them both because you know how important depth is in the back end of that defense. They've unfortunately been one of those teams that has learned that the hard way over the last couple of years. But if I'm picking between the two,

Frankly, I lean Reed, and I'll probably be called crazy for that because of Carlton's reputation and everything else, but that's just how I feel. He's one of those corners that you can depend on. He's going to play blanket coverage. He's going to make a good play time to time, maybe even snag an interception or two. In that secondary, I think he's going to fit really well.

Isn't that a scenario to Nick where the Patriots just have to overspend, you know, and you figured at the start of free agency, I Carlton Davis could probably want 16, 17 mil lions probably won't go that high. They're looking at more at the 13, 14 range yet the way that everything shake shook out.

Davis got 20 and Reed got 16, but like you said that, and the cornerback market now is going to blow up because of the Stingley signing today. I mean, 30 million a year for a quarter. That's unbelievable. I know we just had JC Horn get 25 million a year. We were like, whoa. And then here comes Stingley with 30 million Stingley worth it. Like that, that contract is going to look good over time. Uh,

Horn, who knows? But yeah, I think that's exactly, it was a combination of two factors. One was the cap went up higher than most teams expected. So a lot of teams had extra cap to spend and the Patriots were certainly one of them. They also had to pay a premium to get players to go there, which is crazy to say because

just five, six years ago, you know, they were still super bowl contenders, right. Or at least seen as such with Tom Brady on the roster. That's how far they've fallen and how quickly they've fallen to that depth. And yet Mike Vrabel came in, you know, with this front office and essentially was like, look, I'm going to go get my types of guys. And he did that with a number of guys like Robert Spillane signed there and was like, Oh, that's a Vrabel guy. Like there's a number of different, uh, guys. They had to go pay a ton of money to Milton Williams. Like you just continue to run down that list. And, uh,

And it gets to the point where you look at the finances and you go, God, I think these are not great contracts. But to get them to go there, that's exactly what happened. So they still have a ton of money to spend. They have an absurd amount of overall cap. I think they still have close to $100 million worth of cap space. So if you look at it in the grand scheme,

They were going to pay that because they had the money to spend and they needed the upgrades that desperately and good for Carlton. You know, he said going into the off season, I'm not going to take the discount that I once took to stay in Tampa Bay. You know, when I panicked the last time I hit free agency this time, I'm going, you know, for a nice bag of money and he got it, you know, it's at the expense of the lions, but they did a great job of replacing him. So it's just a, it's a product of a, it was kind of a weird free agency process overall. And a lot of it had to do with the cap.

How about Levi owns a re-game and he thought last year, especially with a PFF grade that was high, that he'd get a multi-year deal. He probably may be too rich for the lion's blood yet. He ends up staying in Detroit for one year and five and a half million. I know the injury concerns are there, but pretty good bargain for the lions. You think? Yeah. I missed an entire season, I believe with the, with the back injury at one point. And, um,

Yeah. Great bargain. And you keep your own, you know, that's just like the Barnes deal. You keep your own and, um, and you, for them, they lucked out. They got them at a good rate because unfortunately they have this injury history, but I think you keep the guys that you know, that, that will produce for you. Um, and if you can get an affordable rate, you know, it's even better for this team. And that's kind of their entire off season so far as they kept a lot of the guys that were their own. Um, you know, there's a number of re-signs, Marcus Davenport on a one-year deal, um, on, on, I just completely stumbled over

that word over that word Levi we'll go with Levi since I can't enunciate today and uh and Tim Patrick we love the Tim Patrick signing too so you keep some of your uh your role players

But it is about chemistry and just a certain type of guy, right, that Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell want. And so when names pop up all the time, like, hey, this could be, you know, should the Browns trade for Miles Garrett, should the Browns trade for this guy, that guy? They've been very hesitant because it's got to be the right fit. But that's worked. I mean, how much, how underrated is that?

They got to this point by sticking to their identity. And I think that explains Brad Holmes in a nutshell. This is a guy who really seriously climbed the ladder of the NFL to get to where he is. You saw that emotional reaction he had when they won their first playoff game in the elevator. Like he earned it. And he was just overcome with emotion in that moment because he deserved it. And, and,

When you build your franchise that way, I think back to the hard knocks clip of Dan Campbell talking about, you know, I have, you guys got to trust me, just trust me. And then they actually produce because so many coaches talk like that and don't actually do it. He did. They've earned the right to go about it in their own way. And they've done a really good job of it. And I do think that,

There is that element to it. As a concern, Miles Garrett, everybody wanted Miles Garrett. And so, you know, he was getting sent. He was getting sent to Philly. He was getting sent to every other team on the planet outside of Cleveland. You know, ultimately, he doesn't get dealt at all and signs a massive contract. But that's, again, why I think that they are going to make that addition at edge rusher, but why they've been patient because they do have their type of guy.

Final thing, you look at the rest of the division. I know there's still some questions about whether Minnesota will pull the trigger and get Aaron Rodgers. Green Bay did some solid things. The Bears, very splashy. How do you view the NFC North right now? That's a good question. I think the Vikings had a productive offseason. They gave Aaron Jones more money than I thought he would get. But acquiring Jordan Mason is a nice little insurance policy slash tandem backfield as long as he can get past that shoulder injury that plagued him last year.

The Rogers thing, I, you know, I try to listen to my instinct on some of these things and just read the tea leaves. And it sure feels like a lot of this is being pushed by Rogers and cap wise. It doesn't make sense to essentially exhaust your remaining cap on a 41 year old who carries a ton of baggage and

place him behind a rookie and expect him to, I don't know, fall in line is quite the right way to describe it, conform to what you do as an operation and not, you know, rattle the cages in Minnesota. But I think overall they had a very productive off season. They had a lot of cap, you know, to spend and improve in different areas as well. The bears made some splashes. I, I think that they're an incomplete picture still. Yeah.

The Packers did not make as many moves as I think folks believed they would. I know that they, a lot of their fans were clamoring for like a Khalil Mack, for example, they wanted him to follow the Julius Peppers route and it didn't quite happen, you know, with Mack staying with the Chargers. And, you know, they only made a handful of additions over there. So if you, if you talk about a winner of free agency, it's the Vikings, they convince Harrison Smith to come back, or maybe, you know, they convinced each other to do it again for another year.

The Javon Hargrave signing, two years, $30 million is not as much money as he was getting from the 49ers. So it's not the worst. It's not a bank-breaking deal, but he also had injury issues that hampered him when he was with the 49ers. So I'm a little skeptical of that addition. But I think the Lions, they're in a position where they don't really have to look around

And worry about who's in that division because they are the Kings of the division and they have, like we said, their own way of doing business. And they largely stuck to that plan so far. I don't think they're done. But I think that until somebody knocks them off the throne, they shouldn't be looking down right now. So they're still my favorite in that division, but I do think the Vikings are going to give them another run for their money this year, provided JJ McCarthy or God forbid, Aaron Rogers is able to keep them at the offensive level they were at last year.

Nick, I always love visiting with you. Thanks so much for the time. Yeah, thanks for having me. Nick Schuch with us, NFL.com, NFL Network on a Monday. Locked on Lions. We are back again tomorrow.