DE Pat O'Connor, Eastern Michigan.
Pick: 7th round, 32nd, 250 overall.
Ht./Wt.: 6-4.5/277.
Pro Day workout: O'Connor ran the 40 twice with times of 4.81 and 4.87 seconds; 31-inch vertical jump; 9-6 standing broad jump; 17 reps of 225 pounds in the bench press.
View photos of the Detroit Lions' seventh-round pick (250th overall), Eastern Michigan University DE Pat O'Connor.
Bio: From Chicago and St. Rita High School, the same school that Lions' third-round pick Kenny Golladay attended. Both wound up at MAC schools. Golladay played at Northern Illinois his last two years.
A five-year player who missed all of the 2015 season with an injury, O'Connor was an immediate contributor to the Eagles' defense as a freshman in 2012. He played all 12 games and was elevated to a starting role in 2013, with 11 starts in 12 games.
O'Connor led the MAC with 7.5 sacks in 2014 and was poised for a big season as a true senior when an injury struck and wiped out his 2015 season. He returned in 2016 to post 14.5 tackles for loss, including a career-high 8.5 sacks, with three passes defensed and five forced fumbles.
He was a defensive team captain in 2014 and elected team captain in 2016.
Mike Mayock's take on NFL Network: Mayock attended the University of Michigan's Pro Day, and O'Connor ran his 40-yard dash there. He made an impression with his times.
"He went from being undrafted to a bunch of teams that were interested in him," Mayock said when the Lions took O'Connor Saturday evening.
Lions' D-line depth chart:
Returning starters – DE Ziggy Ansah, DTs Haloti Ngata and A'Shawn Robinson. Returning backups – DE Kerry Hyder, DE Anthony Zettel, DE Armonty Bryant, DE Brandon Copeland, DT Khyri Thornton. Additions: DE Cornelius Washington, DT Jordan Hill, DT Akeem Spence.
2017 draft picks: DL Jeremiah Ledbetter of Arkansas, sixth round; O'Connor, seventh round.
Tim Twentyman's take: He has the right kind of measurables the Lions like on the edge, and was very productive in the MAC. His five forced fumbles last year were the fourth-most in the FBS. Late in the draft it's more about getting the right type of athlete you think can fit your scheme. O'Connor looks to fit from both a measurables and production standpoint.
Mike O'Hara's take: Bob Quinn started the draft by taking defensive players with the first two picks, and he ended it by taking defensive players in the sixth and seven rounds. It was linebacker Jarrad Davis and cornerback Teez Tabor of Florida in the first two rounds. At the end, it was two linemen – Ledbetter as one of two sixth-rounders, and O'Connor with the Lions' last pick in the seventh. From start to finish, there's a message there. You win with defense.
