The 2015 regular season is over, and that means it's time for legit 2016 NFL Draft analysis and predictions for the top 20 picks, which are now set. Picking No. 16 overall will be the Detroit Lions, and they're a team that certainly had its struggles last year. Read on to see why the Lions should not hesitate to take Alabama DT A'Shawn Robinson if he's available.
Heading into the 2015 season, the Lions were projected to be a pretty good team that would finish at least 8-8 and potentially push for a wild-card spot, just like they had done the year before. However, things didn't go quite as planned.
Not only did the offensive line -- and, thusly, the offense -- regress, but the defense was atrocious.
The latter should have been foreseen, though, as their strength was undoubtedly on the defensive line in 2014. Both Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley, obviously the anchors of that unit, left for free agency, and the entire defense suffered immensely. While both players had their warts -- whether that be over-aggression or weight issues -- they were clearly the most dominant forces and what made that side of the ball so fantastic for Detroit.
Without them, the Lions fell from first in the NFL at stopping the run in 2014, allowing under 70 yards per game on only 3.2 yards per carry, all the way down to 19th, allowing 113 yards per game on 4.2 yards per pop. That's a huge difference.
Couple that with the offensive line issues which made running the ball damn near impossible, and you can see how the Lions started the year 1-7 before rallying to 7-9. Even with the 6-2 finish they had, this team still has many problems -- but nothing too crazy that a good offseason can't fix.
That's where the draft comes in. Now we don't know who the new GM will be yet, but if he's smart, he'll look to replenish the interior defensive line. A'Shawn Robinson is exactly the man if he's still available; he was an absolute beast for Bama the past couple of years who fits their scheme perfectly in Detroit.
In a lot of ways, Robinson is comparable to Suh. He's not likely to ever be quite as dominant, but the body type is similar at 6-foot-4, 312 pounds, and he's got the mean streak. He plays angry and aggressive, and was simply a playmaker for Bama. Robinson had 133 tackles, 22 tackles for a loss and nine sacks in his three seasons.
Pair him with Haloti Gnata, assuming he's re-signed, and the Lions will have two pretty good defensive tackles on the outside. Add in Ziggy Ansah, who's come into his own, and suddenly this Lions defensive front is a dominant group once more.
