POD COMMUNITY MOCK DRAFT: WITH THE 61ST PICK, THE LIONS SELECT...

Our 2024 Pride of Detroit Community Mock is nearly concluded, but before we put a bow on the series, we still have one last profile to explore.

This offseason, our POD mock drafters did a great job of picking a lot of great prospects the Lions might be interested in, leaving me with some tough choices. We asked readers to vote on who they would like me to select—a reminder that I took Chop Robinson at pick No. 29—and as is tradition, I made my selection before the voting began.

With pick No. 61 in the POD Community Mock Draft, the Detroit Lions select...

Max Melton, CB, Maryland

5-foot-11, 187 pounds, 9.09 RAS

4.39 second 40-yard-dash, 40 1⁄2-in vertical jump, 11-foot-4 broad jump

Melton, the younger brother of Packers wide receiver Bo, is a quick, fast, and explosive press man corner who would push for a starting job in training camp. If he doesn’t win a starting role as a rookie, his ability to play both outside and inside gives him a clear path to the field and an opportunity to develop.

Melton has a nose for the football and uses his athleticism to close on the play in both the pass and run game.

Against the pass, Melton has the long speed to stick with receivers in press man and the acceleration/explosion to close on the football in the air. Over his last three seasons, he had generated eight interceptions and 30 pass breakups. His technique is sound and he plays through the football. He will commit to routes too early at times but an extra beat of patience—which will come with experience—can help shore that flaw up.

Against the run, Melton closes downhill in a hurry and is an asset from the secondary. He is physically tough and plays bigger than his listed size. He’ll need to add a bit more strength, time in an NFL weight room will aid that, and his frame is firm enough to support the extra weight.

On special teams, he has four blocked punts to his credit and has the potential to be an every-phase contributor while he is working toward earning a starting role on defense.

RSDI

Rams Standard Deviation Index (RSDI) is a set of athletic measurable benchmarks developed by Lions general manager Brad Holmes while with the Rams, and Los Angeles still uses them today. The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue wrote in more detail about the RSDI in 2021 and it’s something I have been using in my evaluations since Holmes was hired.

With Holmes noting that he is very particular in the type of cornerback he likes, it’s fair to assume he has installed a similar set of parameters in Detroit. Here are the basic parameter minimums:

  • Height/Weight = 5-foot-100, 180 pounds

  • Speed = 4.4 seconds or under 40-yard-dash

    (along with other speed measurables not available to the public)

  • Vertical jump = 40 inches
  • Broad jump - 10 feet

Despite each measurable being reachable on its own, it’s rare to have a cornerback pass them all, and in this class, there is just one prospect who did: Melton.

Melton’s ability to stylistically fit into the Lions defensive scheme, along with what I believe to be the preferred set of athletic measurables, makes him an ideal candidate for Detroit to grab in Round 2.

Time to grade the pick.

The final three picks in the 2024 POD Community Mock were as follows:

62. Ravens (MaizeAndBlueWahoo): OT Kiran Amedgajie, Yale

63. 49ers (StevenGreen8): DT Kris Jenkins, Michigan

64. Chiefs (1951LION): OT Javon Foster, Missouri

Thanks to everyone who participated in this year’s mock! You can see all 64 picks here at our 2024 POD Community Mock Draft tracker.

2024-04-24T14:09:28Z dg43tfdfdgfd