Mike Payton talks about 6 underrated NFL Draft prospects that the Detroit Lions need to keep an eye on, and maybe take a swing at.
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00:00Everybody's talking about the guys in the first round, the second round for the Lions,
00:04but today I want to talk about some of those under-the-radar guys that the Lions can swoop in and steal late.
00:10Let's jump into it.
00:15Hi, Mike Payton from A to Z Sports Detroit.
00:17Today we're going to talk about six under-the-radar players that the Lions got to be in on in the 2025 NFL Draft.
00:24Let's jump right into it with the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year, Sean Dolak from Buffalo.
00:30This guy can play.
00:34168 tackles last year, six and a half sacks, five interceptions.
00:38This dude did it all.
00:41The Lions have already reportedly rumored to have some interest in him.
00:47They were at his pro day.
00:48We'll see where things go with that.
00:50He's probably going to be somebody in the seventh round or lower.
00:54Kind of an undersized guy, but just plays really hard.
00:57Smaller school, you know, that sort of thing just kind of pushes guys down the board.
01:03But this guy, I'm telling you, there was something there with him.
01:06Maybe you get him as an undrafted free agent, a priority undrafted free agent.
01:10You see what you can do with him.
01:11I know the Lions have a lot of linebackers already.
01:14That didn't stop them last summer when they had a lot of linebackers.
01:17They just love these guys.
01:19They love signing them.
01:20They love bringing them in, seeing what they could do.
01:21So I think DOLAC is somebody that you have got to take a shot at.
01:26The next guy is LSU's Savion Jones.
01:29This is an edge rusher.
01:30Had a big senior bowl, was really impressive in that game.
01:35He's, you know, a decent edge rusher.
01:37To me, he's a lot like James Houston, but in a good way.
01:41In the sense that he has a really good bowl rush, can kind of win with his hands, has some good bend.
01:47But, like, you're waiting for him to develop more in his tool chest.
01:51I think he has a little bit better developmental than James does.
01:55And, you know, the Lions are probably not going to try to ask him to also be a Sam linebacker.
02:00And all the, you know, there's something there with him.
02:02He's got a better size, better frame than Houston.
02:06But I see a lot of parallels there.
02:09Still, this is a guy that could be just a pass rush monster as a depth guy.
02:13I wouldn't start him necessarily, but this is somebody coming into the rotation, can bull rush his way to the quarterback, can be just a powerful guy.
02:22Somebody I really like.
02:24The next guy is Oregon cornerback Jabbar Muhammad.
02:27Now, if this guy wasn't 5'10 and 185 pounds, if he was 6'1 and 200 pounds, I think he'd be, you know, day two, maybe even a day one cornerback.
02:40This guy's really good.
02:41But very scrappy, kind of like DJ Reed or Amik Robertson, a smaller guy.
02:46You would think he would have a lot of trouble with some of the bigger receivers, but just kind of sticks to these guys like glue.
02:53Last year, he showed some, I know this is crazy, but he showed some lockdown ability at Oregon.
03:00Just kind of, there were a lot of situations in which quarterbacks just didn't even throw his way.
03:04And when they did, he was able to stop it, had a lot of pass breakups, had a reception percentage allowed of less than 60%.
03:13This is a pretty good guy, good cornerback.
03:16Somebody you get in the sixth or seventh round and then be the team that was happy they drafted the guy low while he flourishes.
03:24Next guy is Sacramento State offensive lineman Jackson Slater.
03:28Really like this guy.
03:29He's FCS school, but Sacramento State is actually getting a lot better.
03:32They're really good at recruiting.
03:34They're going to be an FBS school before you know it.
03:36I think maybe even this year.
03:38Slater was really good for them last year and the year before.
03:41In the past two years combined, he's only allowed 13 pressures, no sacks.
03:46That's somebody that you could probably grab in the fourth or fifth round.
03:50There's your future guard alongside Christian Mahogany.
03:53And you didn't have to give up any high draft assets to get him.
03:57I like this pick a lot.
03:58Next guy is UC Davis running back, Lan Larison.
04:03The Lions had this guy in for a top 30 visit.
04:06This is an FCS running back who had almost 2,500 total yards last year in rushing and receiving.
04:13At 6'1", I wonder if maybe the Lions see him as a receiver rather than they do a running back.
04:20But this guy, I mean, he wowed everybody.
04:23It's a shock that he is not, you know, somewhat.
04:27It's a shock he's not in the draft.
04:29He's going to be an undrafted free agent, maybe a seventh-round guy at most.
04:34But this guy is unbelievable.
04:36When you watch the film, you see all the things he's able to do as a running back.
04:40He's hurtling guys.
04:41He's juking everybody.
04:43But also as a receiver, he's out there making one-handed catches, contested catches.
04:47This is a really interesting prospect.
04:49I think if he was in a D1 school, he would probably be a day-two guy.
04:55So we'll see if the Lions wind up going that route.
04:58We know there's interest.
04:59We'll see what happens.
05:00Last guy is Syracuse edge, Fidel Diggs.
05:03The Lions had a virtual meeting with him recently.
05:05He had 42 pressures and 8 sacks last year.
05:08There's some possibility there.
05:10He's played in the SEC.
05:11He was with Texas A&M for a little while.
05:13He wound up transferring to Syracuse where he really had the best year of his career.
05:18He's somebody who's expected to go in the fifth or sixth round.
05:22A solid edge rusher if you're going to pair up.
05:24The Lions should probably take somebody higher.
05:27But if you have a chance to take another one later, like a Savion Jones who we mentioned earlier,
05:31or Fidel Diggs, those guys would be perfect for that type of situation.
05:36That's the top six guys that we are looking at under the radar.
05:40Let me know what you guys think of these prospects and we'll see you next time.