Lions pick Northern Illinois WR Kenny Golladay to play inside, outside
The Detroit Lions finally addressed their offense with their third pick of the NFL draft, selecting 6-foot-4 wide receiver Kenny Golladay of Northern Illinois in the third round.
“He’s a versatile player that we think can play outside and inside,” general manager Bob Quinn said. “He’s going to come in and compete. He’s never played in this offense before, so that’s what the spring is about, that’s what training camp’s about, to kind of use his skillset, to kind of fit him into our offense.
“He’s a 6-4, 218-pound receiver, so I think primarily we’ll start him off on the outside, but he has some pretty unique route-running skillsets for a big guy that can kind of do some inside things. So we’ll work him in there and, you know, we’ll see how it plays out here in the next couple months.”
Golladay had excellent production in four seasons at NIU. He had 1,100-yard seasons his final two years, and was great at going deep, averaging 14 yards per catch. As an All-MAC player last year, he had 87 catches for 1,156 yards and eight touchdowns.
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Golladay is quick, posting a 4.5-second 40-yard dash at the combine. His route-running and lack of offensive awareness is a concern. He’s considered a bit unrefined and generally was projected as a fourth-round or later pick.
The Lions made the pick after general manager Bob Quinn pulled of his first draft trade with the Lions, when he traded back in the third round with his old team. Quinn sent the New England Patriots the 85th pick for their third-rounder (the 96th pick) and a fourth-rounder (the 124th pick).
The Lions already had the 127th pick. That means the Lions will have the 18th and 21st picks when the fourth round kicks off Saturday.
Contact Carlos Monarrez: cmonarrez@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez. Download our Lions Xtra app for free on Apple and Android!