Jashon

Cornell

File this under “the last thing this 2020 seventh-rounder needed.” A developmental prospect to begin with, Cornell missed his entire rookie year with a torn Achilles’ tendon. Even for this rebuilding organization, Cornell’s odds of ever appearing in a regular season game are remote.

Detroit’s final pick in the 2020 draft, Cornell was a developmental project facing an uphill battle to make the team’s 53-man roster. He’ll instead lose his entire rookie season due to injury since players aren’t eligible to return unless placed on IR after 4pm ET on September 6. Detroit brought back WR Chris Lacy and RB Wes Hills in corresponding moves.

Via The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, “A four-star recruit out of high school, Cornell was a two-time all-state defensive lineman at the prestigious Cretin-Derham Hall. He was the No. 1-ranked recruit in Minnesota and a top-100 recruit overall, receiving more than 30 scholarship offers and picking Ohio State. He found himself lost on the depth chart most of his time in Columbus until breaking through as a senior starter, earning All-Big Ten honors. Cornell switched between defensive end and three-technique in recent years, but looked much more comfortable inside in 2019, introducing a more advanced rush attack with various club and rip moves. He rushes with lower body stiffness, which causes him to play upright and give blockers a large target, but he has the body control to be slippery and detach. Overall, Cornell turned himself into an NFL prospect in 2019 and while he is still learning how to be more efficient, he has sub-package potential in an aggressive, one-gap scheme.”