Morning Lions Links for Saturday 2-8-20

Articles:

TWENTYMAN: 10 Lions who could step up in 2020:  https://www.detroitlions.com/news/twentyman-10-lions-who-could-step-it-up-in-2020-johnson-hockenson-tavai

Former Detroit Lions players to watch in opening weekend of XFL season:  https://www.mlive.com/lions/2020/02/former-detroit-lions-players-to-watch-in-opening-weekend-of-xfl-season.html

Matthew Stafford turns 32: Here's how he ranks historically at that age:  https://lionswire.usatoday.com/2020/02/07/matthew-stafford-turns-32-heres-how-he-ranks-historically-at-that-age/

6 free agent WRs the Lions should explore signing:  https://lionswire.usatoday.com/2020/02/07/6-free-agent-wrs-the-lions-should-explore-signing/

Ranking every NFL team’s quarterback situation by need (HIGH — THEIR CURRENT STARTER IS ON THE DECLINE OR HAS YET TO PROVE THEMSELF, NO TIME FOR CAUTION:  DETROIT LIONS - In 2019, Matthew Stafford was having the best year of his 11-year career — built through airing out the ball — before going down with a season-ending injury after Week 9. He had an 82.4 overall grade, which at the time was the ninth best at his position, and also had the highest big-time throw rate by a significant margin. His replacements, Jeff Driskel and David Blough, weren’t even in the same ballpark as Stafford, ranking 29th and 33rd of 35 qualifying quarterbacks in PFF grade from Week 10 and on. Stafford’s injury is a bit of a concern, and both Blough and Driskel verified that they aren’t winning too many games for the Lions if Stafford goes down again.):  https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-ranking-every-nfl-teams-quarterback-situation-by-need

The All-PFF Era NFL Prospect Team (CENTER Frank Ragnow, Arkansas:  We’ve seen our grades along the line of scrimmage translate as well as any position and that’s a big reason why we banged the table for Ragnow in 2018. He earned overall grades over 90.0 in both his junior and senior seasons at Arkansas. Ragnow’s cross training at guard throughout his career was just icing on the cake.):  https://www.pff.com/news/draft-all-pff-era-prospect-team-2020

The Dolphins have called Detroit about trading the 3rd pick:   https://mobile.twitter.com/AllbrightNFL/status/1225983047868141569

2020 NFL Draft:

Opinion: Why Ohio State's Jeff Okudah lands with Lions in Mock Draft 1.0:  https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2020/02/07/nfl-mock-draft-detroit-lions-ohio-state-jeff-okudah/4678245002/

Does Tua Tagovailoa really want to play for the Lions? Let's break it down:  https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2020/02/07/tua-tagovailoa-detroit-lions/4685142002/

Buyer beware on these 2020 NFL Draft prospects:  https://www.pff.com/news/draft-buyer-beware-10-2020-nfl-draft-prospects

2020 NFL Draft Stock - Post-Senior Bowl:  http://walterfootball.com/draft2020stock_21.php

2020 NFL Mock Draft: PFF’s landing spots for the top-10 QBs (JOSH LOVE: ROUND 5 PICK 131, DETROIT LIONS - Why they should: Matthew Stafford, Detroit's starting signal-caller since 2009, was amid a career year in 2019 before injury cut his year short after Week 9. His style of play changed for the better this past year, as he opted to air the ball out more, and that saw him take the NFL lead in big-time throw percentage while earning a top-10 PFF grade. However, his replacements, David Blough and Jeff Driskel, both produced poor grades in the 50s, and they were among the six worst quarterbacks from a grading standpoint over the last half of the season. The back injuries to Stafford constitute a significant concern for his playing future, and Blough and Driskel made it clear they weren't the answer.  What they are getting: Love's pocket presence is better than most on this list, and he converted pressure to sacks and an incredibly low rate en route to earning the fourth-highest PFF grade in college football. Obviously, the strength of competition was pretty poor, and he isn't going to wow you with his arm strength — he was among the 25 worst in accurate-pass rate on throws 20-plus yards downfield — but his sixth-best WAA is worth taking a flyer on in the later rounds.):  https://www.pff.com/news/draft-landing-spots-for-the-2020-nfl-drafts-top-quarterbacks

Meet Darrynton Evans, the best-kept secret of the 2020 RB class:  https://draftwire.usatoday.com/2020/02/07/2020-nfl-draft-prospects-darrynton-evans-appalachian-state-interview/

2020 NFL Draft: Tua Tagovailoa scouting report:  https://draftwire.usatoday.com/2020/02/07/2020-nfl-draft-tua-tagovailoa-scouting-report-alabama/

2020 Combine:

2020 NFL Draft prospects with the most to prove at the combine:  https://www.pff.com/news/draft-2020-nfl-draft-prospects-with-the-most-to-prove-at-the-combine