ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) – Gabe Wright wore No. 90 in college, and he’d be happy to keep it when he joins the Detroit Lions.
”I wouldn’t mind that at all,” he said.
No pressure, Gabe.
That number, of course, was vacated when Ndamukong Suh left the Lions via free agency, and they’ve spent this offseason trying to restock their defensive line following that big departure. Drafting White in the fourth round Saturday was another step.
”I like the fact he has a quick first step,” Detroit defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said. ”He is very strong and powerful. He has good hands and can disengage then get off and finish.”
Detroit later took Rutgers fullback Michael Burton in the fifth round and Texas cornerback Quandre Diggs.
The Lions lost defensive tackles Suh and Nick Fairley this offseason, but they traded for defensive lineman Haloti Ngata. After drafting an offensive lineman, a running back and a cornerback in the first three rounds, they traded a third-round pick from 2016 to Philadelphia for a fourth-rounder this year.
The 6-foot-3, 284-pound Wright was the choice – and this defensive tackle comes from Auburn, the same place Fairley played before reaching the NFL.
Wright was an honorable mention player on the AP’s All-Southeastern Conference team in 2013 and 2014, although he had only one sack as a senior.
”I feel like once in a while in a man’s life he needs a piece of humble pie,” Wright said. ”My senior year was definitely humbling to me.”
The Lions were initially scheduled to pick in the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds Saturday, but they made a trade to acquire a fourth-rounder as well.
”We really like Gabe. He is a really hard competitor,” Austin said. ”He played a lot of football from the SEC. He falls in the mold in what we like our defensive tackles to do and that is to penetrate, attack, get off blocks and make plays. He did a really good job of those things.”
Burton never had more than 10 carries in a season at Rutgers, but he did catch 47 passes in his college career, including three touchdown receptions.
”Fullbacks, some people call them a dying breed, but they’re tough guys and I know that we’ve had a good history of fullbacks here, so we like his toughness,” offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said. ”It’s a strong guy, smart player, tough, everything you want in a fullback.”
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