A unique story of an Air Force graduate."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Detroit Lions NewsDetroit Lions NotesDetroit Lions AnalysisDetroit Lions TransactionsDetroit Lions Game RecapsDetroit Lions NewsFormer Air Force linebacker Ryan Watson to attend Detroit Lions rookie minicampNew Luke Willson Jersey ,26commentsA unique story of an Air Force graduate.EDTShareTweetShareShareFormer Air Force linebacker Ryan Watson to attend Detroit Lions rookie minicampChris Nicoll-USA TODAY SportsThe NFL Draft hasn’t even started yet, and the Detroit Lions already have their first player who will attend their rookie minicamp.Former Air Force linebacker Ryan Watson reportedly worked out for the Lions on Wednesday and accepted an invite to Detroit’s rookie minicamp, scheduled for early May.How can Watson do that already? Well, Watson actually entered to be eligible for the 2017 NFL Draft. Although he wasn’t taken during the seven rounds, he agreed to a deal with the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent. However Sylvester Williams Jersey , the Department of Defense changed their rules and Watson was not allowed to enter the NFL until he finished his two years of active duty with the Air Force. Now, those two years are up and Watson is free to go anywhere. Watson last measured in at 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, though he says he’s “as strong if not stronger than two years ago.” In his senior year at Air Force, he tallied 10 tackles for loss and 8.0 sacks Eli Harold Jersey , the second most in the Mountain West Conference. According to USA Today, Watson had also visited with the Falcons this week, but it appears he has chosen to try out with the Lions instead. It’ll be a long road for Watson to crack the Lions’ final lineup, especially being out of football for a couple of years, but he’s a unique story and a player worth following to see if he can earn a contract with Detroit. Matt Patricia’s style as a head coach was a topic of conversation before his first season on the job got underway when he was criticized by a local columnist for making players run at practice.Lions players didn’t share the belief that was a problem Ricky Wagner Jersey , but Patricia’s approach to the job continued to be a talking point as the Lions went 6-10 during the 2018 season and was cited as a negative factor by an agent in a survey about best and worst free agent destinations by Robert Klemko of SI.com.Defensive end Trey Flowers didn’t share that opinion. Flowers said teams “can’t be comfortable” if they are going to succeed and cited his experience with Patricia with helping push him to the Lions in free agency.“He taught me a lot of things, developed me,” Flowers said, via MLive.com. “I developed through his system of doing things. So he’s just a great guy to work for. Obviously he demands a high standard of excellence from his players, and when you get someone who can challenge you like that Anthony Zettel Jersey , day in and day out, you’re going to just continue to get better. Those are the types of guys you want to play for, because you know they’re expecting high [things] of you.”The Lions brought in another former Patriot in Danny Amendola and we’ll see if that familiarity brings a different tune in Patricia’s second season in Detroit.
