2. Washington Football Team – Original Pick: Chase Young
The Washington Football team had a lot of needs entering the 2020 NFL draft, with the most glaring need being at QB. Instead of drafting for need, the Football Team went with the best player on the board, Chase Young. Young was dominant at Ohio State and was clearly the best defensive player in the draft.
In his rookie season, Chase Young was simply spectacular, winning Defensive Rookie of the Year. He finished the season with 7.5 sacks and 4 forced fumbles, all while anchoring Washington’s defense into the playoffs. Young is a generational talent and has clear potential to become the best defensive player in the NFL.
New Pick: Chase Young
I really wanted to have the Football Team going with Justin Herbert here as they still have an obvious need at QB but Young is just too special to pass on. For a team like Washington, they knew they had too many holes to fill to draft for need. Going with the best player on the board worked out pretty well for them, as they ended up winning the putrid NFC East and getting their guys some playoff experience.
3. Detroit Lions – Original Pick: Jeff Okudah
Entering the draft, Okudah was viewed as a generational talent at Cornerback, similar to how people viewed Chase Young at DE. Okudah was excellent throughout his Ohio State career, shutting down NFL-caliber receivers weekend in and weekend out, making him the clear option for the Lions struggling secondary.
Unfortunately for Detroit, things didn’t go so well for Okudah in his first season as a Lion. Okudah missed much of the season due to injury, playing in just 9 games. In those 9 games, Okudah allowed the player he was covering to catch the ball 77.4% of the time on 53 targets. To be fair, Cornerback is the hardest position to adjust to when jumping from College to the NFL but that being said, it was certainly an underwhelming year for Okudah. There is still hope for the talented defensive back and the Lions hope he’ll turn it around in 2021.
New Pick: Justin Herbert
Justin Herbert is a no-brainer here for the Lions in a re-draft. After being selected by the Los Angeles Chargers at #6, Herbert had a standout season, winning Offensive Rookie of the Year and emerging as a hell of a quarterback. Herbert still has tons of room to grow but he showed extreme promise and potential in his first season.
As we know, the Lions recently parted ways with Matt Stafford, bringing in Jared Goff as the new signal-caller. With the Lions re-building, it’s no-secret that Herbert would be a better option for them right now. This also would’ve allowed them to trade Stafford for other assets to build around Herbert.