Back to the NFL...

Since the Pistons had the weekend off (oh wait, they didn't?), now is a good a time as any to open up on the up-coming NFL Draft (up-coming as in it's a mere 2 months away).

The NFL Combine is winding down, tomorrow being the last day. Kiper & McShay both put out their second mocks a couple weeks ago, with Kiper giving the Lions Georgia OLB/DE Jarvis Jones (despite injury concerns) and McShay giving them Oregon DE Dion Jordan. In both cases they had my guy, Dee Milliner, getting picked up just ahead of the Lions' slot, so that left whoever was the best fit at DE as the Lions' pick.

(reminds me a little of Vanden Bosch in his pursuit of the ball, except, you know, FASTER)

Ok, Milliner is the only CB with a first round grade, and Detroit's needs are CB, CB, & CB... and then S, DE, OL, LB and WR (sadly) in some order. The "wisdom" of prior off-seasons has been "if we put pressure on the QB, we don't really need to spend upgrade our CB position". How'd that work out? Yes, they put more pressure on the QB in 2011 than in 2012, but possibly a good amount of those sack numbers were due to relative stability with Chris Houston and Eric Wright getting most of the snaps at CB. In 2012 the sack numbers dropped, but much of that was due to a revolving door at CB (injuries didn't help) and opposing QB's getting the ball out in 2 seconds or less. 

So if Milliner is gone by the time the Lions pick at #5, what should they do? Well, Texas S Kenny Vaccaro isn't too much of a reach there, and the Lions need a good cover guy to play next to Delmas (or whoever is playing while Delmas is injured). Another guy the Lions might take a look at (in the 2nd round most likely, if at all) is FSU CB Xavier Rhodes. He grades out as a low 1st rounder/high 2nd rounder, and plays press coverage well (unlike everyone else on the Lions' roster, who give up any pass underneath).

(when's the last time you saw a Lions' CB turn & look for the ball?)

The Lions also need to upgrade the offensive line to take advantage of the Calvin Johnson Effect, and currently that sub-par O-line is in shambles. They got Reiff last year, but clearly he wasn't good enough to replace either Cherilus or Backus. If he was good enough & Schwartz just didn't make the move, we have bigger problems. Anyway, top OT guy Luke Joeckel will probably go with a top-3 pick, but local OT guy Eric Fisher grades pretty high, and Alabama OG Chance Warmack gets the top OL grade, despite being a guard. I'd really like them to upgrade the defense, but I couldn't get mad at an O-line pick right there.

One guy I'm following right now is the Honey Badger, Tyrann Mathieu. Much like Janoris Jenkis last year, Mathieu has a list of character concerns as long as my arm, and the Lions have plenty of problems in that area as it is. Still, when you're as bad as the Lions were last year, you can't turn your back on talent. Mathieu is a ball hawk, and he would also add some punch to the return game which the Lions currently lack. Based on current NFL discipline policy, do you think 3rd round is too high?

So, he's got issues. On the other hand, getting kicked out of school may have been the best thing to happen to the guy. He now knows what can happen. I think it's important he have a mentor-type relationship with a vet on the team to look out for him, Nate Burleson being the obvious choice except a defensive player would be better.