The Detroit Lions have had an extremely disappointing season and the defense has been underwhelming in Matt Patricia's second season as head coach. In light of that, the Lions would be wise to target Alabama's Trevon Diggs in the 2020 NFL Draft.
In spite of Patricia being a defensive-oriented coach, Detroit's defense has been utterly dreadful. Through the first 11 weeks of the season, the Lions boast the 29th ranked defense in terms of yards, allowing 396.2 yards per game.
Furthermore, the team's pass defense has given up 275.5 yards per game (30th in the NFL). Darius Slay is still one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL, but he can't cover all of the wide receivers by himself.
Earlier in the season, to the dismay of Slay, Detroit traded Quandre Diggs to the Seattle Seahawks. Before being traded, Quandre was a defensive captain and was the team's most reliable safety.
Since that trade, the Lions' defense has continually gotten worse against the pass. Therefore, the Lions' front office should begin doing their research on the cornerbacks in the 2020 draft.
After Sunday's narrow defeat to the Washington Redskins, the Lions are projected to have the seventh-overall pick in the draft. With a top-10 pick, Detroit should consider Alabama's No. 1 cornerback.
Trevon Diggs is a senior cornerback that actually began his collegiate career as a wide receiver. Then, as a Sophomore, he made the decision to convert to being a cornerback.
Article Continues BelowSince becoming a cornerback, Diggs has totaled 62 tackles, four interceptions, two forced fumbles, 16 deflections, and a touchdown. The senior defensive back is having his best season this year with three interceptions, two fumble recoveries, and a touchdown.
The Lions could definitely use a cornerback to pair with Slay in the secondary. At 6-foot-2, nearly 210 pounds, Diggs is a perfect size to be a physical man-coverage corner. Patricia has tried to deploy a man-coverage defense with no results yet.
Over the years, cornerbacks from Alabama have typically been able to adjust to the NFL. Considering that, it is worth using a first-round selection on Diggs in next year's draft.
In this previous offseason, the Lions focused on bolstering their defensive line. The Lions signed Trey Flowers and Mike Daniels to pair with Damon Harrison and A'Shawn Robinson.
Heading into next season, there will be an extensive amount of pressure for Patricia to fix the defense. The former defensive coordinator could see some improvement by adding Diggs to his defense in 2020.