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The Lions need a tight end to complement their recent singing of Jesse James White Travis Fulgham Jersey , and getting a punishing blocker may be their target."There’s no secret that the Detroit Lions were not satisfied with how their tight end group performed in 2018. They were content to move on from Levine Toilolo and Luke Willson and made the signing of former Pittsburgh Steeler Jesse James a priority in free agency. With a stacked tight end class, the team has been setting their sights on several of the top ranked players at the position, and with their recent focus on the run game it should come as no surprise they are checking out one of the best blockers in the draft class in Washington’s Drew Sample.Per a source, the Lions have scheduled an official visit with Sample on Tuesday. This marks the third official visit the Lions have scheduled with a tight end, having previously scheduled visits with Texas A&M’s Jace Sternberger and Mississippi’s Dawson Knox. A majority of NFL teams were present for Sample’s workout at the Huskies pro day where he put up 25 reps on the bench to round out an elite athletic profile. Athletic AbilitySample put up a curious athletic profile in that he had an elite overall grade despite not putting up any elite numbers—that is, until he nabbed one at the bench during his pro day workout. Sample has an excellent blend of size, speed, agility, and explosiveness Danny Amendola Jersey , though it never translated into elite production at Washington. Some of that had to do with his usage, where he was primarily asked to work with his strengths as a blocker. Receiving AbilitySample finished 2018 with only 25 receptions for 252 yards and three touchdowns and wasn’t asked to run a wide variety of routes. Despite the athletic tools to do so, he was generally tasked with simplistic routes where he would be allowed to chip or block and release rather than taking off at the snap to stretch the field. Blocking AbilityThis is where Sample really made a name for himself. As the highest rated run blockers in college football last season, Sample wasn’t expected to measure as well as he did and certainly wasn’t expected to land among the elite in the class. With the Lions recent focus on the run game, it shouldn’t really be a shocker that they’re going straight for the hog mollies, and a player like Drew Sample could go a long way to aiding a punishing ground game. Draft ProjectionSample has been projected as high as the second round and as low as the fourth. In a class like this one, it will be interesting to see where the teams value individuals in a strong class, but my guess is that if the Lions want to land Sample they’re going to have to do so on Day 2. Stafford is considered a second-tier QB across the league." Detroit Lions NotesLions notes: Matthew Stafford ranked 11th-best QB by NFL coaches, executivesNew Trey Flowers Jersey ,67commentsStafford is considered a second-tier QB across the league.EDTShare this storyShare this on FacebookShare this on TwitterShareAll sharing optionsShareAll sharing options for:Lions notes: Matthew Stafford ranked 11th-best QB by NFL coaches, executivesTwitterFacebookRedditPocketFlipboardEmailPhoto by Gregory Shamus/Getty ImagesAfter a down year in 2018, NFL analysts are in disagreement as to where Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford stands amongst the rest of the league’s passers. Now ten years into his career, many would have expected more from the former first overall pick. Others blame his circumstances, noting that he’s never truly had a good running game, and his defenses are usually pretty bad.This week, Mike Sando of The Athletic released his 2019 NFL quarterback tiers. Sando reached out to 55 coaches and NFL executives and asked them to place every starting NFL quarterback into a tier. Then he averaged every answer and ranked them accordingly.Stafford came in 11th on Sando’s list, with 41 of 55 coaches and executives giving Stafford the second tier grade. 13 voters ranked Stafford in the third tier, while only one still believes the Lions quarterback is a first-tier quarterback. Here’s a sampling of what they said about Stafford.“He has 1 talent Damon Harrison Jersey , but 2 production,” an anonymous GM said. “He hasn’t won as much as they had hoped, but I think they haven’t helped him a lot, either. Last year, they traded his best receiver. I just think he’s talented, I think he’s a competitor. He scares us.”“He can do everything you want, but you are always waiting for everyone around him to get better, and usually what happens with the top guys, they make those guys better Ricky Jean Francois Jersey , and you just do not see that happening with him,” a defensive coordinator said.At this point, 11th seems fair for the veteran quarterback. For the majority of his career, he’s hung right around the top 10 and this year doesn’t feel any different.On Tuesday, the Lions added one more name to the Physically Unable to Perform list: wide receiver Tommylee Lewis.Lewis joins defensive end Trey Flowers and linebacker Steve Longa.This offseason, there were a lot of very misinformed takes regarding the Detroit Lions. Erik Schlitt of Lions Wire addressed each one and took them down. Ever wondered what an NFL contract looked like in 1940? Tommy Hackenbruck, grandson of Lions tackle John Hackenbruck, shared this photo on Twitter: Justin Rogers of the Detroit News has your pre-training camp 53-man roster prediction. You can catch up with the Lions’ new offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni on the latest episode of the Detroit Lions’ One Pridecast: