Detroit Lions trade up to get a steal in LSU Defensive lineman Mehki Wingo
The Detroit Lions have traded up with the Houston Texans and selected LSU defensive lineman Mehki Wingo. The Lions added DJ Reader in the free agency, but they still needed to add more depth on the interior of the defensive line. They did just that with Wingo. What a steal to get him in the […]
The Detroit Lions have traded up with the Houston Texans and selected LSU defensive lineman Mehki Wingo.
The Lions added DJ Reader in the free agency, but they still needed to add more depth on the interior of the defensive line. They did just that with Wingo. What a steal to get him in the sixth round. Especially since some experts, like The Athletic's Dane Brugler, had him ranked higher than guys that were going much earlier. Wingo was Brugler's 9th ranked defensive tackle. New Titans lineman T'Vondre Sweat was his 10th. Sweat went in the second-round.
Wingo brings some real pass rush juice from the inside. Wingo racked up five sacks and 19 pressures in 2023. That went along with the 11 total sacks and 58 pressures in three years at LSU. He's been a solid run stopper as well. Wingo graded out at 84.2 in 2022 and then 75 in 2023. He also had an interception in 2021. So maybe he's a giant ball hawk?
The reason Wingo is down here is because he suffered a lower body injury in Week 8 and that required surgery. He would go on to miss the rest of the season. He did wind up returning during the playoffs for the Tigers in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
That injury must have worried teams enough to let him slide. Wingo was expected to go in the fourth-round and instead slipped to the Lions in the sixth after they traded up.
In terms of character, Wingo has it and then some. The Tigers made him a team captain and awarded him with the No. 18 jersey. That number is given to players that best exemplify the team culture and character.
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