Why Kyle Hamilton would be a great pick for the Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions need to improve on the defensive side of the ball in 2022, and they have a chance at selecting arguably the best player in this year’s draft.

The Detroit Lions have failed to make the post-season since the 2016 season, and have not won a playoff round since 1991, and some serious help on defence is needed if head coach Dan Campbell hopes to start turning the team around.

The 2021 season saw the Lions slump to an awful 3-13-1 record, with the team’s solitary draw depriving them of the first overall pick in the 2022 Draft – with that ‘honor’ going to the Jacksonville Jaguars for the second year in a row.

Detroit Lions could change defensive outlook with Kyle Hamilton

The Detroit Lions do hold the second overall pick, however, and have an opportunity to effectively select any player from the entire class to help bolster their roster – with some day one starters available after the Jaguars make their pick.

General manager Brad Holmes will also have a chance to improve the team at the end of the first round, holding the 32nd overall pick courtesy of the trade with the Los Angeles Rams that saw both teams swap quarterbacks Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford.

While the Lions have a myriad of issues to address, on both sides of the ball, the team has worked to address the offence with the addition of wide receiver DJ Chark – giving Goff another legitimate weapon in the passing game after the impressive rookie season of fellow receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.

St. Brown hauled in 912 yards and five touchdowns through the air last season, accounting for more than a quarter of Goff’s total passing touchdowns in the entire season – with the 27-year-old throwing just 19.

With Chark added to the line-up, determined to overcome a season where he missed the majority through injury and work his way back to being the player seen in 2019 and 2020, defence becomes the biggest area that could do with having an immediate starter-calibre player added through the draft.

The team’s secondary needs some reinforcement, with the team yet to get a full season’s worth of games out of 2020 first-round cornerback Jeff Okudah, and Will Harris not quite establishing himself as the perfect partner alongside Tracy Walker.

The opportunity to immediately upgrade the secondary when their name is called with the second pick presents itself in the form of Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton, a player considered by many to be the best overall prospect in the entire draft class.

Hamilton enters the draft as a consensus All-American, helping guide the Fighting Irish to an 11-0 record in the regular season before foregoing the 2022 Fiesta Bowl in order to declare for the NFL Draft, with his team suffering defeat to the Big 12’s Oklahoma State Cowboys and ending the year with an 11-1 record overall.

Hamilton has combined for 138 total tackles (97 solo) in 31 games played at the college level over the past three years, with eight interceptions and 16 pass defences – with the Greek-born safety ready to become an immediate impact player in the NFL.

Standing at 6-foot-4, 219lbs, Hamilton would immediately become the largest player for the Lions’ defensive backfield and could compliment Walker, who is best suited at free safety, providing the team with multiple defensive options.

A healthy secondary including Amani Oruwariye, Okudah, Walker and Hamilton would improve the Lions’ defence overnight, while also allowing them to utilise Harris as the fifth man in specific packages to give them flexibility in defending the pass.

With injuries also a concern for any team, especially with Okudah’s history and Oruwariye ending the 2021 season on injured reserve, stocking up talented secondary players would be a smart direction for the team to go.

A number of mock drafts have the Detroit Lions selecting Hamilton with the second overall pick, and landing potentially the best player of the entire class is something the team can’t afford to pass up if they hope to develop a competitive team in the NFC North.