A pick-by-pick look at Lions’ seven selections in the NFL Draft

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New Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes finally made a deal on Saturday’s final day of the NFL Draft and finished with seven selections overall.

Holmes dealt his fifth-round pick and a fourth-round pick next year to Cleveland to move up in the Saturday’s four round while adding a seventh-round pick.

“Couldn’t be happier with everyone we acquired,” Holmes said Saturday. “I think it’s a great start to year one of this regime to get some building blocks in place and I think it’ll only go up from here.”

Following is a look at Detroit’s seven selections in the three-day draft with background on each and a comment from Quinn.

Round 1 (7^th overall) – Penei Sewell, offensive tackle, University of Oregon, 6-foot-6, 331 pounds.

Skinny – Athletic and mobile with speed to get to the second level on runs and screens and also considered to have a high football IQ.

Quote – “Starting with Penei and just having a foundation and what we think is a building block in terms of year one of this regime,” Holmes said. “Getting a guy that has such a monstrous upside.”

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Round 2 (41^st overall) – Levi Onwuzurike, defensive tackle, University of Washington, 6-foot-3, 290 pounds.

Skinny – Penetrating tackle that is quick off the snap and has the flexibility to play inside or outside. Some question if he is big enough to play inside at the NFL level.

Quote –“He’s a scheme fit,” Holmes said. “He’s very explosive, very talented. We actually made some efforts to actually acquire him earlier than we actually did, but it ended up falling in our favour. He was one that we felt like his skillset was worthy of being selected in the first round.”

Round 3 (72^nd overall) – Alim McNeill, defensive tackle, North Carolina State University, 6-foot-2, 317 pounds.

Skinny – Powerful arms and strong legs with the ability to push through his block and collapse the pocket. McNeil was a three-time all-conference outfielder in high school where he also played running back.

Quote – “Alim, he’s still raw in terms of he hasn’t been playing the position very long,” Holmes said. “He was a running back, linebacker, baseball player, just a big, huge athlete in high school and then kind of beefed up to become a defensive lineman. So, you see that athletic ability and footwork and explosiveness that he has in him.”

Round 3 (101^st overall) – Ifeatu Melifonwu, cornerback, Syracuse University, 6-foot-2, 205 pounds.

Skinny – With a pick acquired as part of the return for Matthew Stafford, Melifonwu has good size with the ability to play press coverage and also flashes toughness, but had 10 missed tackles in his final year at Syracuse.

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Quote – “How Iffy grew on me in the process is his ability to actually play in off-coverage and actually be able to maneuver, show quickness in a short area, in zone and off-coverage, which usually guys that long and that big aren’t able to do,” Holmes said.

Round 4 (112^th overall) – Amon-Ra St. Brown, wide receiver, USC, 6-foot, 197 pounds.

Skinny – Projected as a slot receiver, excels in traffic and known as a physical receiver after the catch. Brother Equanimeous St. Brown plays for Green Bay and dad John Brown is a two-time Mr. Universe bodybuilder.

Quote – “A guy that’s got savvy, knows how to run routes, has hands and makes plays from inside and out,” Holmes said. “We’re really excited about him. He was a guy that actually we strongly considered (in Friday’s third round).”

Round 4 (113^th overall) – Derrick Barnes, linebacker, Purdue University, 6-foot, 238 pounds.

Skinny – Lions moved up to draft Barnes, who was an all-state running back in high school. He can play inside or outside, is solid tackler and stack blocker that will lock up his man and then shed him to make the tackle.

Quote – “We had a lot of buy-in and we were all hot on (Derrick) Barnes from Purdue,” Holmes said. “Barnes is, you talk about elite character and intangibles, and you guys have heard me say thousands of times, those are the players that we’re looking for.”

Round 7 (257^th overall) – Jermar Jefferson, running back, Oregon State University, 5-foot-10, 206 pounds.

Skinny – Acquired as part of the deal to move up and select Barnes, Jefferson is a powerful back with good balance that leads to plenty of yards after the catch. Does not have elite speed and is an average pass catcher that needs to improve his blocking.

Quote – “He runs hard,” Holmes said. “He just has a natural feel from a lot of inside zone stuff, but he can do all phases, gap power stuff, inside zone stuff. He’s just a very smooth, slippery, instinctive runner who we’re really excited about.”

jpparker@postmedia.com

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