SPORTS

Detroit Lions select OSU's Taylor Decker with 16th pick in NFL draft

The Lions address the offensive line position with their first draft pick of the Bob Quinn era

Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press
Ohio State’s Taylor Decker poses for photos after being selected by the Detroit Lions as the 16th pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL football draft, Thursday, April 28, 2016, in Chicago.

CHICAGO -- The Detroit Lions said upgrading their offensive line was a priority entering the off-season, and with his first draft pick as general manager, Bob Quinn did just that.

The Lions selected Ohio State offensive tackle Taylor Decker with the 16th pick in tonight’s first round of the NFL draft.

It’s the second straight year and sixth time in seven seasons the Lions have used a first-round pick on a lineman.

“I’m an old school football player, that’s what I am,” Decker said in an on-stage interview with the NFL Network’s Michael Irvin shortly after the pick.

The Lions sent a contingent of coaches and scouts to Ohio State to work Decker out earlier this spring, including Quinn, head coach Jim Caldwell, director of player personnel Kyle O’Brien and offensive line coach Ron Prince.

“They came to my school and I saw stuff all over Twitter about that," Decker told the Free Press on Wednesday. "There was a good amount of the staff there. They put me through a workout and took me, did film for quite a bit. I think they just want to make sure they have that, a tough guy. I think that’s kind of they want. A guy that’s disciplined, work hard. I think they obviously want a lineman. At some point in the draft, they want a lineman, so if I’m fortunate to go there I’d be excited for the opportunity."

Decker also spent part of the lead up to the draft training in Arizona at LeCharles Bentley’s offensive line facility. There, he worked out with Lions right guard Larry Warford, and he said the two talked about playing together on the same side of the line in Detroit.

The Lions return all five of their starters from an offensive line that allowed 44 sacks last year.

Day 1 NFL draft coverage

Decker, the fourth offensive tackle off the board, started primarily on the left side for the Buckeyes but can play either tackle spot.

“I absolutely think I’m a left tackle,” Decker told the Free Press. “Nobody’s going to be able to tell me otherwise, but at the end of the day, I’ll play any position on the line. I’d play center if they asked me to play center. I think offensive line’s a collective position. You’re not just a left tackle or just a right guard, it’s a whole position. You’ve got to be able to do it all and be versatile.”

The Lions entered the draft with 10 picks and needs on both lines and in the secondary, and they moved quickly to address one of their biggest concerns.

“We’ve got to protect the quarterback better and that starts up front and that starts with our quarterback,” offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said in an interview with WJR-AM (760) before the draft. “That starts with our system, that starts with everybody on offense. So, we’ve got to do that better and we’ve got to run the ball better. We’re going to.”

Tonight’s first round began as expected, with quarterbacks Jared Goff of Cal and Carson Wentz of North Dakota State going first and second to the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles.

The Rams and Eagles traded up for the right to select the quarterbacks earlier this month.

The real intrigue began at No. 3, where the San Diego Chargers stunned many in the draft community by selecting Decker’s Ohio State teammate, defensive end Joey Bosa.

Another Buckeye, running back Ezekiel Elliott, went No. 4, and Florida State cornerback Jalen Ramsey, considered by some the best player in the draft, went No. 5 to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Bosa is the highest drafted Ohio State player since Orlando Pace went No. 1 overall in 1997, and Elliott is the first running back to go in the top five since the Cleveland Browns traded up to take Trent Richardson four years ago.

After three pre-draft trades – two involving the Eagles – there was more movement in the bottom half of the top 10 on Thursday.

The Baltimore Ravens took Notre Dame’s Ronnie Stanley at No. 6, making him the first offensive lineman off the board ahead of Laremy Tunsil, and the San Francisco 49ers followed with Oregon defensive end DeForest Buckner at No. 7.

At No. 8, the Tennessee Titans traded up with the Cleveland Browns, bypassing Tunsil again to take Michigan State offensive tackle Jack Conklin. Conklin worked out for and visited the Titans, and said before the draft playing in Tennessee would be an ideal scenario.

One pick later, the Chicago Bears leapfrogged the New York Giants in a trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to draft outside linebacker Leonard Floyd of Georgia.

The Giants took Ohio State cornerback Eli Apple at No. 10, followed by Vernon Hargreaves at No. 11 to Tampa, Sheldon Rankins at No. 12 to the New Orleans Saints, Tunsil at 13 to the Miami Dolphins, Karl Joseph at 14 to the Oakland Raiders and Corey Coleman at No. 15 to the Browns.

Tunsil was considered the most talented offensive tackle in the draft, but a video that showed a man smoking marijuana out of a gas mask was posted to Tunsil’s verified Twitter account shortly before the draft, then quickly deleted.

Tunsil’s agent, Jimmy Sexton, told ESPN that Tunsil’s Twitter account was hacked.

The Lions currently have two picks on Friday, No. 46 in the second round and No. 94 in the third round.

Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett. Download our Lions Xtra app for free on Apple and Android!