Joy to the Lions; a Draftmas Carol
Joy to the Lions; the pick has come
Let us drink the Kool-Aid
Let every fan prepare to swoon
Repeat the sounding Joy
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, Repeat, the sounding joy
Four Mock Drafts
Rob Rang of CBS sports has the Lions taking Kevin Dodd out of Clemson
Daniel Jeremiah of nfl.com asserts that Ryan Kelly is the man to solidify the Lions offensive line
Walter of walterfootball thinks the Lions are going to take Jarran Reed
Chris Collandsworth believes the Lions taking Robert Nkemdiche
Three Draft Day Foods
“What do you mean booze ain’t food?” William Murderface, Dethklok
Here are a couple drinks you may not have tried, because I can’t imagine their ingredients were combined on purpose. But that’s how we roll in Canada. Just because something weird ended up in your drink doesn’t mean it’s garbage. Because my last final was yesterday and I missed the deadline for this article by a significant period of time due to some imbibing of spirits, it was suggested that I bring to light a few cocktail choices to make your Draftmas party interesting. Drink responsibly.
The Vodka Paralyzer
Combine ingredients in a glass over ice
1/2 oz Vodka
1/2 oz Khalua
Coca Cola
Milk
The Bloody Caesar
Rim a class with celery salt, combine ingredients over ice
2 oz vodka
Tobasco sauce to taste
Worcestershire sauce to taste
1 dash of kosher salt
Clamato Juice
Some people add horseradish, black pepper or even buffalo sauce, it’s more of an art than a science. I garnish with two spears of pickled asparagus.
Tequila Moonrise
Save this one for after the pick, when the Lions have taken that one guy you really didn’t want them to draft, and he’s going to be a part of your Sundays for a decade. This one’s got some kick to it. Fill a cocktail shaker half way with ice. Combine the ingredients that are not ale over that (sugar first so it dissolves fully) give it a few vigorous shakes to take out your frustrations, then strain it into a glass full of ice, top it with the ale, and drink.
3 oz tequila
1 oz light rum
1 oz dark rum
1/2 oz lime juice
1/2 oz lemon juice
1 tsp sugar
2 oz ale
After this one you might want to slow down and just stick to the rest of that ale. This always struck me as a drink conceived with the “What do we have left” mentality that usually means you should call it a night and catch a cab home.
Two Late Round Gems
Devon Cajuste is an easy player to like while doing your Draftmas research. Chances are you’ve never heard of him, so go watch this highlight video and come back. Now before you get too excited remember that this is three years worth of highlights. There is one of the issues, he did not put up a lot of production. The second issue is that he’s not the greatest athlete. His straight line speed is “good enough” as he ran a 4.61 at the combine, and his short area quickness is solid, he had one of the better three cone drills at the combine for a receiver, But when you watch him play, he really screams “skinny tight end” more than “big wide receiver” and would likely need to put on a few pounds and transition to the TE position, which may be doable, his scouting profiles all talk about what a willing blocker he is. He’s athletic enough, wins jump balls, and has amazing hands? Sign me up.
D.J. Reader is not a big name Glamorous player, but he will play in the NFL for a decade barring injury. Would the Lions like a big run stuffer who actually fights through double teams? He’s not a guy that makes a lot of tackles, but he sure does set the rest of the Clemson defense up to make a lot of tackles. At 327 lbs, were the Lions looking to bring in a big space hog in the middle, D.J. Reader is an excellent choice for one of those fifth or sixth round picks.
One Draft Day Trade
Cleveland again, trading up again, but not in the first. Cleveland have the first pick of the second round, and are likely going to be fielding offers to move back after the first round is over with their analytics heavy front office telling them more picks > high picks. I won’t speculate too much on the player the Lions might move up to pick 32 to get (I mean; Jason Spriggs, Andrew Billings, Derrick Henry, Jonathan Bullard, Keanu Neal, Kevin Dodd, or William Jackson III might be there) but they would have the means to do so, were the Browns not in love with a specific player. The Lions would have to give up pick 45, their third next year, and likely also one of the sixth round picks to jump to the top of the second round and grab that perfect piece this Draftmas.
@a5hcrack on twitter, and I’ll see you on /r/detroitlions Merry Draftmas everybody.