Lions 2024 NFL Draft watch: Five prospects to watch for Week 12

Each Saturday during the college football season, we'll highlight five prospects with locally televised matchups who could be a fit for the Detroit Lions in the 2024 NFL Draft, based on projected needs.

The list aims to highlight early-, mid- and late-round prospects. This will give you a chance to watch the players performing live, instead of playing catch-up in the weeks before the draft.

Jack Sawyer, EDGE, Ohio State (No. 33)

Minnesota at No. 2 Ohio State, 4 p.m., Big Ten Network

As evidenced by the Lions’ inability to bring down Justin Herbert in Los Angeles on Sunday, the team’s pass rush could use some help at just about every step of the way. The Lions have been building on the edge with recent draft picks like Aidan Hutchinson, Josh Paschal, James Houston, but as they sit on the edge of being a feared rush, week-in and week-out, they could continue adding as much high-end talent as possible. 

Sawyer (6-foot-4, 265 pounds), a projected Day Two pick, has previously served as both an outside linebacker who could cover but has taken on a pure edge role this season. While he’s a work-in-progress when it comes to rushing the passer — he has 22 pressures in 11 games this year — his run defense has been excellent. Sawyer has made 21 tackles and is known for all the intangibles you want an edge rusher to have: High motor, low center of gravity, and physical as all get-out. 

Leonard Taylor III, DT, Miami (Fla.) (No. 56)

No. 10 Louisville at Miami (Fla.), 12 p.m., ABC

It’s entirely possible the Lions spend their two of their top picks on the defensive line. They did it in that Hutchinson/Paschal draft in 2021, and with the team likely looking to bolster one of the most important position groups, don’t be surprised if Brad Holmes goes back to the well. 

Taylor (6-foot-3, 305 pounds) was All-ACC honorable mention a season ago after ranking 19th out of 860 interior defensive linemen, per PFF. His production as a run defender is down a bit this season and he’s struggled to make any impact in each of Miami’s last three games, recording just one pressure and missing five tackles. Ultimately, he’ll have to add a bit to his toolbox to be productive at the next level, and it’s possible he’s a bit of a project, but he possesses enough raw talent to be a consensus pick in the top two rounds. 

J. Michael Sturdivant, WR, UCLA (No. 1)

UCLA at USC, 3:30 p.m., ABC

Though it’s had a minimal impact on Detroit’s passing game — the Baltimore loss notwithstanding — Josh Reynolds and Kalif Raymond have had quieter roles in the passing game over recent weeks. Without the luxury of having seen what Donovan Peoples-Jones can do in a Lions uniform, it’s Week 11 and we still don’t have a ton of answers as to whether Detroit has long-term solutions at wide receiver. So we’re going to keep rolling out the options.

Sturdivant (6-foot-3, 205 pounds), who transferred to UCLA from Cal this past offseason, represents one of the mid-to-late-round options for Detroit. With blazing speed to match his imposing frame, Sturdivant made Bruce Feldman’s 2023 Freaks List and figures to be one of the guys lighting up the NFL Combine in March. His production this season — 28 catches for 428 yards and three touchdowns — doesn’t jump off the page, but one has to wonder how much he’s been handcuffed by an anemic UCLA offense that wound up getting Chip Kelly his walking papers.

Troy Fautanu, OL, Washington (No. 55)

No. 5 Washington at No. 11 Oregon State, 7:30 p.m., ABC

Remember that Jonah Jackson contract that people assumed the Lions were working on this summer? Yeah, it’s still not done yet. And as the former Pro-Bowler continues to battle through an ankle injury that kept him out of three games — while Halapoulivaati Vatai suffered a season-ending injury for the second straight year — it’s high time to wonder what, exactly, the team’s plans are for the position.

Fautanu (6-foot-4, 317 pounds) will enter the draft cycle with a pretty solid pedigree, having been named preseason First-Team All-Pac 12 and a Outland Trophy Watch List member after taking over the team’s starting left tackle role at the start of last season. Though tackle is one of the lowest-priority needs for Detroit, he has a whole season’s worth of experience at left guard. Even if the Lions don’t see him as an instant starter — he’s projected to go anywhere from the second round to the fifth — he’s intriguing as a plug-and-play guy a la Colby Sorsdal a year ago.

T.J. Tampa, CB, Iowa State (No. 2)

No. 7 Texas at Iowa State, 8 p.m., FOX

While there are a lot of positions on the field where the Lions could afford to get better, there’s one position group that stands among the rest as a spot where they need to get better, and that’s cornerback. That’s not a slight to Cam Sutton or Jerry Jacobs — the team just doesn’t have that No. 1 guy who can lock a star receiver down, and if either one of those guys were to go down with injury, things get real dicey, real quick.

Tampa (6-foot-2, 200 pounds), a projected Day Two pick, has the biggest test of his career in Iowa City Saturday night, as he’ll be tasked with slowing down a pair of future high-end draft picks in Texas receivers Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell. Tampa has been lock-down in coverage this season, allowing a 46.2% completion percentage in coverage on 39 targets for a total of 163 yards, one touchdown and a passer rating of 45.1. And did we mention that he absolutely loves hitting people?

nbianchi@detroitnews.com

@nolanbianchi