Jahlani Tavai is a bit of a mystery for most Lions fans. Playing at Hawaii doesn’t exactly give him much exposure in the Eastern time zone. Fittingly, his conference call following his selection by the Lions was more of a “getting to know you” event than any more specific questions. Tavai was selected by the team with the No. 43 overall pick on Friday night. He was on the phone with reporters a short time later. “Oh, I love it,” Tavai responded in his conference call when asked about what he knew about Detroit’s defense. “I love the defense because you never know what they’re running in. From the film that I’ve watched on the defense, the Lions stunt a lot. I love that they bring pressure on the quarterback a lot. That’s good.” Tavai lined up all over the Hawaii defense in linebacker roles, including some EDGE rusher looks. He’s familiar with playing multiple LB roles in the same game, a trait which likely endeared him to Lions coach Matt Patricia. He’s not sure yet where he’ll play in the ‘multiple’ front, but he’s ready. “I’m not sure, but from what I know, inside ’backer was my primary position. I believe that that’s going to be where Day One starts.”<doc-sep>Josh Mansour Special to Detroit Free Press NFL Network pundits react to the Detroit Lions selecting Hawaii linebacker Jahlani Tavai in the second round of the 2019 NFL draft. Daniel Jeremiah “It’s always interesting when you look at the family tree in personnel because (Jahlani Tavai) … inside/outside, he can set the edge versus the run. His instincts are a little bit inconsistent. But I was told that the Patriots love this player. So he ends up going to Detroit where they have that Patriot influence. They like the same type of guys. And it’s that versatility they love. He’ll come off the edge one play. He’ll be off the ball. He’ll be in the middle of the field. They use him as a blitzer. He does a nice job of setting the edge. You look at a guy like Kyle Van Noy, whose functioned in that type of system. This is a player you can do a lot of different things with.” More: Lions fans have no clue who Jahlani Tavai is Lions get a D-minus for drafting Jahlani Tavai in 2nd round Who is Jahlani Tavai? A look at the 2nd-round pick Joel Klatt “He was versatile, yes, but (Jeremiah), he did it with like six different coordinators, defensive coordinators at Hawaii, so he can pick things up fast. You know that’s going to be something Matt Patricia really loves.” Charles Davis “And used to being in space because of what he has to deal with with his offense all the time, that spread it out throw it around system. … And Detroit was talking about linebacker at (pick number) eight and they ended up taking T.J. Hockenson and Devin Bush was the guy they were talking about.”<doc-sep>I didn't know a thing about Jahlani Tavai before the Detroit Lions took him with the 43rd overall pick of the 2019 NFL draft Friday, and judging by the reaction on Twitter, not many fans did, either. So after the Lions made Tavai the surprise pick of the second round, I reached out to a couple of talent evaluators I trust to get their opinions on the Hawaii linebacker. As it turns out, maybe Tavai wasn't that big of a surprise after all. One scout with an AFC team said he had Tavai graded as a clear Day 3 pick, while another with an NFC team said the Lions took Tavai "a little early" for his taste. But the general feedback I got from the four scouts I surveyed was positive, with one saying he did not think Tavai would have made it to Day 3 — and might not have made it to the third round — had the Lions not grabbed him when they did. Tavai was a tackling machine at Hawaii, where he averaged more than 10 stops a game last season. He's big — he said in a conference call with Detroit reporters he weighs 250 pounds — and smart and aggressive, and there weren't many highly-rated big linebackers in this draft. The Lions had an obvious need at the position. They return all three starters from last year in Jarrad Davis, Christian Jones and Devon Kennard, but have little depth behind that. Backups Steve Longa and Jalen Reeves-Maybin are both coming off season-ending injuries, and neither has the size coach Matt Patricia likes at linebacker. Tavai does, and has the versatility Patricia values. At Hawaii, Tavai played outside linebacker as a freshman and middle linebacker the last three years. He had 5½ sacks as a junior, and was on his way to a third straight 100-tackle season last season before a shoulder injury sent him to the operating table. That procedure kept Tavai from doing testing drills at the NFL combine and his pro day, and perhaps that's why he was somewhat under the radar entering the draft. But while Tavai was not rated highly by media types — he wasn't even listed in Athlon's draft preview guide at the inside linebacker position — he was well known in the NFL community. One scout told me that had the Lions passed on Tavai, he probably would have ended up with the New England Patriots at some point Friday. So what does all that mean? Well, as with any prospect, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and Tavai had at least one team who thought he was pageant material — the Lions, who took him over several other notable prospects at positions of need, including LSU cornerback Greedy Williams and Michigan State cornerback Justin Layne. Tavai, a star rugby player in high school who traveled the world with the U.S. National under-18 rugby team, told Detroit reporters he was bracing for a wide range of outcomes in the draft. "What my agent was telling me was either Day 2 or Day 3, so really I was just — I wasn’t really sure so I was just waiting for a phone call within those rounds," he said. "Right now I’m just really happy and really thankful for the opportunity that Coach Patricia and the Lions staff gave me right now. So really excited." Tavai declined to shed any light on a nightclub incident from last June that reportedly got him arrested for assaulting a man — allegedly after the man pushed a woman to the ground. He did say his injured shoulder is "doing great," and he's "juiced up" to play in the Lions defense. How soon that is remains to be seen, and how he does when he gets there ultimately will determine whether the Lions were right in their evaluation of a prospect who few fans even knew the name of before Friday. More:Who is Jahlani Tavai? A look at the Lions' 2nd-round NFL draft pick Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett. Read more on the Detroit Lions and sign up for our Lions newsletter.<doc-sep>As anyone who follows me on Twitter knows, I come into the draft prepared. As in, I print out a giant binder of draft guides prepared. Added even more stuff to my draft binder (namely @erikschlitt’s QIB stuff from this morning and @BobMcGinn’s positional breakdowns). This thing is packed and ready to go. pic.twitter.com/ZpC0Oq01zt — Scott Warheit (@swarheit) April 25, 2019 And it’s a good thing I had that binder because when the Detroit Lions picked Hawaii linebacker Jahlani Tavai with the 43rd overall pick, I had not heard of him. Despite reading through quite a bit of the binder before the draft started, Tavai had slipped through the cracks. What I learned, quickly leafing through my binder, was that Tavai was actually well thought of by a lot of draft analysts whose voices I really respect. Almost everyone pointed out his near-ideal size – 6-3, 250-pounds and his non-stop motor. They also highlighted his ability to blitz and his incredible production — 17.5 sacks and a whopping 391 tackles during his career at Hawaii — despite missing most of half his senior year with a shoulder injury. Dane Brugler of the Athletic, one of the league’s foremost draft analysts, had Tavai as his fourth-ranked linebacker and wrote that Tavai “has the size, length and athleticism to be a modern-day NFL defender, moving well laterally, dropping in space or blitzing as an edge rusher.” Tavai was one of my favorite players in this draft. "Out of sight, out of mind" for many because he played at Hawaii and his shoulder kept him from the Senior Bowl and Combine. But Tavis is an ideal modern day LB. Inside-out versatility and can play any down. https://t.co/mAZWUKDuPy — Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) April 27, 2019 There are, of course, red flags. Tavai missed the last part of his senior season, the Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine due to shoulder surgery. There are serious questions about his athleticism and his ability to cover (sound familiar, Lions fans?). He was also arrested after an altercation at a nightclub last off-season after coming to the defense of his fiance’. There’s also a real question about how fast Tavai will be able to adjust to play at the NFL level. It’s a big jump from Hawaii to the NFL, and the Lions needed to come away from pick 43 with an immediate contributor. It is far from clear that Tavai checks that box. Finally, no grade would be complete without at least considering that the Lions drafted someone in the second round — high in the second round — that ESPN seemingly didn’t even have a highlight package prepared for and that many of us have never heard of. That inevitably leads to the question about whether this pick was a reach. After all, couldn’t the Lions have traded down and taken Tavai later? Or just used one of their Day 3 picks on him? Maybe not. Even though many of us who follow the team, and the draft, closely may not have known about Tavai, those in the know in the NFL certainly did. In fact, according to Lions Wire’s Bryce Rossler and Jeff Risdon, not only was Bill Belichick himself was very interested in Tavai, but the Philadelphia Eagles were sniffing around him on as well: I also had heard this, as well as serious interest in Tavai by the Eagles. That was just verified to me from someone I trust. https://t.co/4J7JwqXtBq — Jeff Risdon (@JeffRisdon) April 27, 2019 In that way, this pick seems awfully familiar to the Tracy Walker selection last year, where the Lions took a small school defender that few had focused on, sniping teams who had the under-scouted Walker high on their draft boards. Was Tavai overdrafted? Maybe. But how much longer would he have lasted on the board? Perhaps not that much longer. So where does this leave us? Tavai is still a virtual unknown, with a lot of question marks about how fast and how much he can contribute. But there’s little doubt that linebacker was a big need on this team, one that had not been addressed at all in free agency. And from everything I’ve been able to read, Tavai seems like a prototypical Patriots linebacker who likes to hit people. Which, for the Patriots-midwest, makes some sense. Draft Grade: B-<doc-sep>
The Detroit Lions are serious about upgrading their linebacking corps, and they went about doing so Friday in unexpected fashion. The Lions took linebacker Jahlani Tavai with the 11th pick of the NFL draft's second round, passing on several notable defensive backs in the process, including LSU’s Greedy Williams and Michigan State’s Justin Layne. Tavai made 82 tackles in eight games at Hawaii last season, but missed the end of the season with a shoulder injury that required surgery. [ Lions get a D-minus for drafting Jahlani Tavai in 2nd round ] Tavai did not take part in testing drills at the NFL combine in March or his pro day because of the injury, though he did do position drills at pro day. Former Michigan linebacker Devin Bush told the Free Press on Wednesday that the Lions told him during a visit to Allen Park that they projected him as a middle linebacker in their system, and that could provide a clue as to how they plan to use the 250-pound Tavai. Jarrad Davis, the Lions’ first-round pick in 2017, had six sacks and a team-high 100 tackles last season, but the team may want to use him more as an outside linebacker to take advantage of his skills as a pass rusher. More:Who is Jahlani Tavai? A look at the Lions' 2nd-round pick More:Lions fans have no clue who Jahlani Tavai is Tavai played outside linebacker as a freshman at Hawaii, and middle linebacker the last three seasons. He said he wasn't sure how the Lions plan to use him. The Lions return all three starting linebackers from last season in Davis, Christian Jones and outside linebacker Devon Kennard. Jones made 69 tackles in 16 starts and is entering the last year of his contract. "I’m not sure, but from what I know, inside backer was my primary position so I believe that that’s going to be where Day 1 starts," Tavai said. Tavai was reportedly arrested for a nightclub altercation last June after he and a teammate assaulted a man who pushed a woman to the ground. Asked about the incident Friday, Tavai said it's something he tries "not to think about" now. "The past is the past and right now I’ve learned from my mistake and I’m trying to move on right now and just show the Lions that I’m ready to go and I’m not allowing anything off the field to ever affect me again from missing time or anything like that," he said. The Lions have one more pick today, No. 88 overall in the third round, the choice acquired from the Philadelphia Eagles in last year's Golden Tate trade. [ T.J. Hockenson: I was meant to join Detroit Lions ] Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett. Read more on the Detroit Lions and sign up for our Lions newsletter.