Indianapolis — If you’re a draft-eligible tight end, there’s a good chance the Detroit Lions want to talk to you. Needing improved depth at the position, the team is all but taking big-bodied fans out of the stands for meetings at the league’s scouting combine.
Sure, the Lions are meeting with the mid-round options, guys like Clemson’s Jordan Leggett and Louisville’s Cole Hikutini, but the team is also doing its homework on a pair of first-round options, Alabama's O.J. Howard and Miami's David Njoku.
Drafting a tight end that early likely wouldn’t go over well with fans — many who are still sore about the organization selecting Eric Ebron over Pro Bowlers Aaron Donald, Zach Martin and Odell Beckham three years ago — but you don’t have to go back too far to see how the New England Patriots built one of the NFL’s most prolific passing attacks around a pair of tight ends.