ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Bob Quinn looked at the draft, saw what could be there, what might not be there, and the Detroit Lions general manager and his staff made a decision: if it went how they expected, to focus on the offense.

It's why Detroit spent so much draft capital on its run game and virtually none, other than fourth-round defensive lineman Da'Shawn Hand, on the defensive line and trying to improve the pass rush.

Here's an overview of what we learned from the Lions' 2018 draft:

"You look at the board, I'd say, quite honestly, that there was much, much more depth along the offensive line and running back than there was at pass rush," Quinn said. "And the pass-rushers came off pretty early and then there's a huge drop-off.

"So it's supply and demand every year."

It led to four offensive picks for Detroit -- all partly with the run game in mind -- and two on defense. Quinn said the Lions aren't done yet and might revisit old conversations with available free agents on defense, but it's part of revamping their scheme.

In Detroit's new defense, which Quinn said would not have a base 3-4 or 4-3 -- essentially meaning the team will scheme toward its opponent, much like the New England Patriots do -- the need for position flexibility is important. And the Lions will be more than a one-gap team on the defensive front, as they were last season.

In addition to Hand, the Lions believe they got good value Saturday -- the draft's final day -- with fifth-round offensive lineman Tyrell Crosby; Quinn said the Oregon product was much higher on Detroit's board than anyone else when he was picked.

Last year's toughness "bothered" Quinn: Over and over again last season, Quinn watched his team fail in short-yardage situations. Those struggles led, in part, to a head-coaching change, with offensive-line coach Ron Prince being the only coach let go along with Jim Caldwell on Jan. 1.

Toughness was a big part of it.

"I think it was lacking," Quinn said. "You look at the team last year, you go back and you study what we did well -- which I do every week and then at the end of every year -- what we did poorly, I think, really this game comes down to a couple things. NFL games come down to about five plays or less every week and most of these plays are short-yardage, goal-line, third down, red area, special teams.

"So if you can get your team to perform better in those situational areas, you can win the majority of those four or five plays, then you're going to have a better chance to win. So I think when I look back at our team last year, all those critical situations, like it's goal-line and we can't run the ball a half a yard, that bothered me."

That's another area Quinn is trying to change, from the coaching staff to the draft emphasis and what the makeup of the team is going to look like. The draft reflected that.

The Lions are serious about their run game: From the start (center Frank Ragnow) to the finish (fullback Nick Bawden), the Lions tried to improve a group that was worst in the league in both yards per game and yards per rush. In all, four of the team's six picks were focused in that area. If it looked familiar, that's because the Lions took a similar approach in 2015, almost down to the same positional breakdown (the only difference being an extra pick in 2015 that led to cornerback Quandre Diggs, the best Lions pick in that class).

That class was a spectacular failure. This is a different regime (Quinn and new head coach Matt Patricia instead of Martin Mayhew and Jim Caldwell), and it had a definitive plan. That included a rededication to a fullback 11 months after the Lions cut Michael Burton because the team was moving away from needing one on the roster.

"Some conversations we've had in the offseason since Matt's gotten here with some of the new staff members, just something we wanted to add to the mix to kind of give our offense a little bit more of a physical presence," Quinn said. "Listen, it's a seventh-round pick so it is what it is, but it's a guy that we liked, so we wanted to add a fullback this offseason and he's a good value at that pick."

Based on the moves the Lions made, Quinn said, "On paper, should our run game be better? Yeah, probably." They have the personnel. Now they have to make it work.

S-E-C. S-E-C: Quinn's two most recent first-round picks -- linebacker Jarrad Davis (Florida) and Ragnow (Arkansas) -- were SEC players. So too all three of his second-round picks: defensive tackle A'Shawn Robinson (Alabama), cornerback Teez Tabor (Florida) and running back Kerryon Johnson (Auburn).

"When you watch SEC football, it's probably the closest thing in terms of scheme to the NFL," Quinn said. "Listen, the level of competition, I think each conference in different years has different levels of teams, the Big Ten being right up there as well.

"But really the level of competition to see guys against better players on a consistent, day-by-day, week-by-week [basis], if you go out to practice at an Alabama or LSU or Tennessee or a Michigan, Michigan State, all those, these guys are practicing against good players every day, and on Saturdays they are playing against good competition. So that just helps the evaluation process when you're trying to project a guy to play at our level."

It isn't only a Lions trend, though. It's league-wide. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the SEC has had the top four drafts by conference since the NFL went to a seven-round format in 1994. That includes 53 picks each in 2017 and 2018, 54 picks in 2015 and 63 picks in 2013.

Alabama, specifically, had 12 players taken this year, tied for the second-most picks in the past 30 years from a single school.

"We've got great talent on both sides of the ball, so the competition and the speed of the game is as close as you're going to get to the NFL," Johnson said. "Hopefully that helps as a learning curve and you know, helps me to succeed at the next level."

Joint practices should happen: The Lions are trying to figure out joint practices ahead of preseason games with at least one team -- Quinn confirmed they've talked to the Giants -- but nothing is final yet. In explaining some background, Quinn said teams start talking and submit a list of preseason games they'd like to play. Some requests are granted; others aren't.

For instance, Quinn said the Lions didn't request a West Coast preseason game. But they are trying to practice with another team for the third consecutive year.