NBC Sports Philadelphia

As of now, the Lions project to have just their second No. 1 pick in the last 40 years, following Matt Stafford in 2009. You don’t get a lot of defensive players going No. 1 overall – just four in the last 25 years, all edge rushers – Penn State’s Courtney Brown to the Browns in 2000, North Carolina State’s Mario Williams to the Texans in 2006, South Carolina’s Jadeveon Clowney to the Texans in 2014 and Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett to the Browns in 2017. But it’s going to be tough for anybody to pass up Thibodeaux, who has 16 sacks and 31 tackles for loss in just 24 career games for the Ducks. The Lions need help everywhere, but Thibodeaux is the type of generational talent who should be able to provide instant playmaking to a defense that’s been one of the worst in the NFL for years.