Lions Host Florida Left Tackle D.J. Humphries On Pre-Draft Visit

By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak

CBS DETROIT - The Detroit Lions hosted former Florida left tackle D.J. Humphries on a pre-draft visit Thursday, the team announced.

Humphries, who left Florida after his junior season, started 10 games for the Gators in 2014. As a sophomore, he played in seven games, starting six of them, before a knee injury sidelined him for the rest of the season. As a freshman, he played in all 12 games and started three.

In a recent mock draft, ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. has Humphries going early in the second round, 34th overall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Detroit offensive line struggled last season, and tackle appears to be a position the Lions are open to upgrading. Last season injuries limited starting right tackle LaAdrian Waddle to 10 games. Corey Hilliard, who made seven starts at that spot in 2013, suffered a season-ending injury in the first game of the 2014 season, depleting the team's depth at the position. Hilliard has since departed in free agency.

Riley Reiff, the tackle whom the Lions took in the first round in 2012, has played on the left side in Detroit, but head coach Jim Caldwell said at the owners meetings last month that Reiff could play well on the right side, too.

Kiper projects the Lions will take a different offensive tackle, La'El Collins of LSU, with the 23rd overall pick. By Kiper's estimation, though, Detroit will have several high-caliber options at the position; Kiper lists Stanford's Andrus Peat, Miami's Ereck Flowers and Oregon's Jake Fisher among those still available when the Lions pick, with none projected to go later than 33rd overall.