Peter Schrager projects Lions to pick prospect loaded with grit

Peter Schrager released his first mock draft of the offseason and he paired the Detroit Lions with a prospect who is grit personified.

Peter Schrager, of NFL Network and Fox Sports, is one of the most well-respected insiders in the business and his position in the media affords him the opportunity to regularly speak with NFL coaches and general managers. As such, he typically only releases one mock draft per season, and because it’s sourced with inside information, it’s very much worth paying attention to.

In Schrager’s mock draft, he projects the first four picks to all be quarterbacks, followed by a run on wide receivers and offensive tackles, with a few of the top defensive players mixed in. Within the division, the Bears land quarterback Caleb Williams, then after a trade back, the grab offensive tackle JC Latham. The Vikings stay put with their picks, and at No. 11 they select cornerback Terrion Arnold, then pick quarterback Bo Nix at No. 23. They’re followed by the Packers grabbing offensive tackle Amarius Mims at No. 25.

And with pick No. 29, the Detroit Lions select…

Zach Frazier, IOL, West Virginia

Here’s Schrager’s explanation for the projection:

“Frazier is a former state wrestling champion who’s nasty, versatile and hungry. This is a Brad Holmes/Dan Campbell prospect if there ever was one, with the West Virginia product oozing bulldog characteristics. If we learned anything from the Jahmyr Gibbs and Jack Campbell picks last year, it’s that the Lions draft guys they like, as opposed to dwelling on needs and perceived positional value.”

This isn’t the first time Frazier has been paired with the Lions this offseason, as NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah projected him to the Lions back in February. Jeremiah further explained the pick in a conference call following that mock draft:

“I was giving them Frazier for almost the exact same reason,” Jeremiah continued. “When you look at the center from West Virginia—the guy is a four-time state champ wrestler. He is super, super physical. He finishes guys. He plays kind of that nasty style […] There are certain guys when we were in Baltimore where we used to say, play like a Raven and we could put red stars on players that we felt were our type of guys.”

Both Schrager and Jeremiah point to Frazier being a culture fit in Detroit, and based on our research for this year’s Grit List (coming soon), they’re absolutely spot on. Frazier is all over our Grit List research due to his work ethic, toughness, aggressiveness, thirst for football knowledge, leadership in the locker room, ability to play all three interior spots, and overall toughness.

For example, in the Mountaineers’ regular-season finale, they were down four points and driving. Unfortunately, with a minute left in the game, Frazier broke his leg, and in an effort to prevent his team from incurring a 10-second run-off due to injury, he illustrated his toughness by finding a way to get off the field:

While the Lions don’t have an immediate opening at starter on the offensive line, they should very much be in the market to add an offensive lineman in this draft for multiple reasons.

First, offensive linemen suffer injuries all the time, and having a pro-ready player like Frazier—who is familiar with both gap and zone blocking schemes like the Lions run—waiting in the wings would allow the Lions to keep their offensive line rolling without skipping a beat. Second, Frazier’s positional versatility would allow him to back up all three interior offensive line spots, a valuable asset with Frank Ragnow’s injury history. And third, Frazier would more than likely win a starting role in 2025, if not sooner. And with both of the Lions guards over 30 years old, and Kevin Zeitler playing on a one-year contract, Frazier could gain valuable experience during his rookie season.

Frazier checks a lot of boxes for the Lions, and while most draft boards will have him ranked just outside the first round, his fit in Detroit is so perfect that it should put him in the mix for the Lions at pick No. 29 overall.