Noel Thomas

Lions Sign LB Jarrad Davis

By Zachary Links | at May 12, 2017 1:24 pm

The Lions announced that they have signed eight of their nine draft picks, plus 14 undrafted free agents. The complete list:

Draft Signings:

• 1-21: Jarrad Davis, LB (Florida) 
• 2-53: Teez Tabor, CB (Florida)
• 4-124: Jalen Reeves-Maybin, LB, Tennessee
• 4-127: Michael Roberts, TE (Toledo)
• 5-165: Jamal Agnew, DB (San Diego)
• 6-205: Jeremiah Ledbetter, DT (Arkansas)
• 6-215: Brad Kaaya, QB (Miami)
• 7-250: Pat O’Connor, DE (Eastern Michigan)

UDFAs:

• Brandon Barnes, TE (Alabama State)
• Alex Barrett, DE (San Diego State)
• Dontez Ford, WR (Pittsburgh)
• Tion Green, RB (Cincinnati)
• Nick James, DT (Mississippi State)
• Leo Koloamatangi, OL (Hawaii)
• Desmond Lawrence, CB (North Carolina)
• Storm Norton, OT (Toledo)
• Michael Rector, WR (Stanford)
• Maurice Swain, DT (Auburn)
• Noel Thomas, WR (UConn)
• Josh Thornton, CB (Southern Utah)
• Robert Tonyan, TE (Indiana State)
• Jeremiah Valoaga, DE (UNLV)

As far as draft picks go, Northern Illinois wide receiver Kenny Golladay is the only player that has yet to put pen to paper. The reason for the delay is not known, but third round picks often take longer to sign than other picks as things are less rigid in those slots.

Davis was said to be a target of the Dolphins at No. 22, so it’s a good thing that the Lions were up at No. 21. Davis impressed scouts at his Pro Day when he posted a 4.56 40-yard dash and 38.5 inch vertical jump. As shown on Roster Resource, Davis may be in for a starting role in 2017.

Tabor fell to the Lions at No. 53 but some draft analysts, like NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah, felt that he should have gone much higher. The Florida product suffered a hamstring injury during his workout with Detroit and was unable to audition for other teams, so that might explain why he was still available. Then again, we’ve seen “pretend injuries” before, so it’s possible there was a wink-wink deal between Tabor’s team and the Lions.

Kaaya was said to have one of the highest football IQs of any quarterback in this year’s class. It remains to be seen whether he has the arm to make it as an NFL quarterback, but the Lions believe that he can be a solid backup QB, at minimum.

According to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (on Twitter), Valoaga got $22K guaranteed ($12K bonus, $10K base) to sign with Detroit. Typically, UDFAs get around $5K, so that’s a sign that Valoaga had at least a few teams interested in adding him to the 90-man roster.