Who remembers the Covid era NFL Draft? Good times right? Usually during the NFL Draft, we get the combine, Pro days, top 40 visits, and all that. In the leadup to the 2021 NFL Draft, we didn't get basically any of that. So it was hard to tell who the Detroit Lions were interested in during that time unless the interest was big enough to make the news.
For the Lions and then Florida State cornerback Asante Samuel Jr, that was one of the ones that got out. Samuel met with the Lions ahead of the draft. Ultimately, the Lions' strategy in their first draft became all about building through the trenches with their first three picks being offensive and defensive linemen.
Now we hit free agency all these years later and the Lions are in a good spot to add someone like Samuel. The Lions have a choice to make in the secondary. They can either pay Carlton Davis the projected three-year deal worth $43 million or they could let him walk in favor of keeping the secondary a little cheaper and focusing assets on the trenches again.
If it's the latter, Samuel would be a top alternative to Davis who comes a little cheaper and also three years younger. The projected deal for Samuel is a three-year deal worth $40 million.
The reason you get a bit of a discount on a good corner here is that Samuel is coming off a season where he played just four games. He was added to the injured reserve list with a shoulder injury in October. His previous two seasons with the Chargers were very good though. Samuel had 11 picks combined in those two seasons and was top five in pass breakups in both seasons.
If the Lions went this way, it would allow them to start both Samuel and Terion Arnold on the outside, put Amik Robertson in the slot and then make Branch a safety again. This is one player to definitely keep an eye on going into free agency.
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