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2017 NFL Mock Draft: Detroit Lions Select LB Zach Cunningham at No. 21

NFL Combine - Day 5 Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images

With the 21st pick in the 2017 DBN Community NFL Mock Draft, the Detroit Lions select...

Zach Cunningham, LB, Vanderbilt

The selection and write-up were made by Mean Ol' Pete:

When you look at the Detroit Lions 2016 season you'll see a good team with a few major holes, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

The secondary has two excellent players in Darius Slay and Glover Quinn, but quality and depth were an issue at CB and S all year. They had to start Badamosi four times last year, we've all seen how that movie ends.

The D line has solid but unremarkable players, Ngata is no longer a force in the middle.

The real problem is in the LB core, particularly in the middle. DeAndre Levy has been the Mike for the past few years in Detroit, and played very well when he was on the field. He missed a lot of games to injury last year and his absence was painfully evident. He has now departed in FA and Tank Carder would be an upgrade over anyone on the roster. (Ewwwwww)

This isn't a position of need in Detroit, it's a position of desperation. If you really liked a RB, WR, OLB, S, or CB at this spot, I would understand that, those positions could use upgrades as well.

Pokorny: The Lions are an unusual case of a team that built itself into a much more stable team in 2017, but still has quite a few key holes to fill. This might be a spot where I’d prefer the Lions take a running back, but any time you whip out Tank Carder’s name as a baseline comparison certainly indicates that linebacker is a position of need.

The Detroit Lions are up next, led by Mean Ol' Pete.

2017 DBN Community Mock Draft Results

Pick Team Username Selection
Pick Team Username Selection
1 Cleveland Browns Menocu DE Myles Garrett
2 San Francisco 49ers unoservix S Malik Hooker
3 Chicago Bears CTBuckeye DE Solomon Thomas
4 Jacksonville Jaguars UberTater RB Leonard Fournette
5 Tennessee Titans npchristman CB Marshon Lattimore
6 New York Jets jdreyfuss S Jamal Adams
7 Los Angeles Chargers unoservix S Jabrill Peppers
8 Carolina Panthers MConley17 TE O.J. Howard
9 Cincinnati Bengals Mudville DE Derek Barnett
10 Buffalo Bills The Bottom! WR Mike Williams
11 New Orleans Saints makeaplay59 DT Jonathan Allen
12 Cleveland Browns mrwhitman QB Mitch Trubisky
13 Arizona Cardinals Crawford_T WR Corey Davis
14 Philadelphia Eagles Gin_and_Tonic CB Gareon Conley
15 Indianapolis Colts fjblessi ILB Reuben Foster
16 Baltimore Ravens Suppa Bob DE Taco Charlton
17 Washington Redskins OhioCityBrownsBeliever LB Haason Reddick
18 Tennessee Titans Legoman0721 WR John Ross
19 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Ezweav S Obi Melifonwu
20 Denver Broncos poultman OT Ryan Ramczyk
21 Detroit Lions Mean Ol' Pete LB Zach Cunningham
22 Miami Dolphins anthszabo DE Charles Harris
23 New York Giants impulseCTRLissues OT Cam Robinson
24 Oakland Raiders Ghenry518 ILB Raekwon McMillan
25 Houston Texans Darth_Batman QB Deshaun Watson
26 Seattle Seahawks michael.hamper OT Garett Bolles
27 Kansas City Chiefs The Beast Mode QB Pat Mahomes
28 Dallas Cowboys Matt Wood CB Tre'Davious White
29 Green Bay Packers Robo Dawg RB Christian McCaffrey
30 Pittsburgh Steelers fj holden CB Kevin King
31 Atlanta Falcons BrianB77 OL Forrest Lamp
32 New Orleans Saints troy145 RB Dalvin Cook
33 Cleveland Browns Ike5 S Budda Baker