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Lions could target edge early in draft

DETROIT, MI - OCTOBER 23: Ezekiel Ansah #94 of the Detroit Lions prepares to play the Washington Redskinsat Ford Field on October 23, 2016 in Detroit, Michigan Detroit won the game 20-17. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

The Lions have hosted five edge prospects as part of their 30 pre-draft visits, three from the top 75 on the PFF big board.

  • Taco Charlton, Michigan: 86.2 overall grade in 2016, ranked third in pass-rush productivity (16.6).
  • Takkarist McKinley, UCLA: 88.8 overall grade in 2016. His 16 combined sacks and hits were the most is Pac-12 play this past season.
  • Deatrich Wise Jr. Arkansas: 83.4 overall grade in 2016. Both his PRP and run-stop percentage finished within the top 15 among draft-eligible edge defenders.
  • Tanoh Kpassagnon, Villanova: Produced 4 total pressures at the senior bowl (1 sack, 2 hits, 1 hurry).
  • Jeremiah Valoaga, UNLV: Produced 6 total pressures at the NFLPA game.

2016 edge performance:

  • Detroit’s 30 percent pressure rate ranked 28th and their sack rate of 4.8 percent ranked 27th. They finished bottom five in PRP from almost every edge technique including the lowest PRP from 9-tech (6.2).
  • Ezekiel Ansah regressed from 2015 and earned his lowest grade (75.5) since his rookie season. His PRP dropped from fifth-best at 13.6 in 2015 to 8.8 in 2016.
  • Kerry Hyder came from nowhere to lead the Lions in PRP at 10.5.

EDGE Prospects PRP[1847]

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