Lions Draft Preview

Football is king, emporer, and lord of all sports in this country. The NFL draft is in 7 weeks and 2 days, we're in the middle of a shortened hockey season and towards the end of a fascinating NBA season (less so with the Pistons, but...), and I HAVE to talk about the NFL draft. 

As promised, I'm about to break down the first 3 rounds of the Lions' potential draft, but first a little house keeping. Since the end of the 2012 season, the Lions have released embattled (I wish I could say that more strongly) WR Titus Young, perpetually struggling G Stephen Peterman, and aging DE Kyle Vanden Bosch. They've also got a laundry list of free agents to either sign or let go, most notably DE Cliff Avril, S Louis Delmas, basically every CB that lined up there (other than the rookies), LB's Justin Durant and DeAndre Levy, RT Gosder Cherilus, K Jason Hanson... It's a long list. I'm guessing they'll let Cherilus go, Stefan Logan, maybe one of the LB's, and a nice handful of the FA corners. There will be a few holes to fill.

CB is the biggest hole. The Lions haven't used a high pick on a corner since Westbrook, and it's been a need almost every year. So maybe don't draft another DT, right? The offensive line is also a big mess, with Peterman gone, Cherilus MAYBE, and Backus and Raiola on 1-year (maybe final-year) deals. They drafted Reiff last year (instead of Janoris Jenkins, it still ticks me off!), so he can probably slide in at RT, but it's still a BIG need and it's hard to get quality linemen in free agency. DE is a need, LB is a need and S is a big need too. WR is the only need on offense, other than line, but I'd like to see them address that in free agency instead of the draft (PLEASE!). There's also a lot of rumblings about the Lions targeting Reggie Bush to fill the Jahvid Best-sized hole in the offense. I'm cool with that. Anyway, needs in order:
1) CB (biggest need by a wide margin)
2) Offensive Line (T, G, C, take your pick which)
3) DE (Vanden Bosch is gone, maybe Avril too)
4) S
5)WR/KR (it needs to be addressed somewhere, so I'm combining kick returner with WR)
6) LB

The Lions pick 5th in the 1st round, 4th in the second (36th overall), and 3rd in the third round (65th overall). They have no 4th round pick. I'll take a look at 3 guys I like, as ranked by ESPN, that fall in the realm of those 3 picks.

1a) Dee Milliner CB, Alabama 6'1", 197 lbs - 4.37 40-time
He's tough, hits hard, and can stick to a WR's hip pocket. I REALLY want the Lions to get this guy.

1b) Eric Fisher OT, Central Michigan 6'7", 307 lbs - 5.05 40-time, 27 reps
There's some debate as to whether he or Texas A&M guy Luke Joeckel is the top LT in this draft. I'd take either, but Joeckel will probably be gone by the Lions' pick.

1c) Ziggy Ansah DE, BYU 6'5", 271 lbs - 4.63 40-time, 21 reps
He's relatively new to the game, but he's a freakish athlete. Plus, he goes by "Ziggy". So there you go.

That wraps up the first round. The second round gets interesting...

2a) Cornellius "Tank" Carradine DE, FLorida State 6'4", 276 lbs - 28 reps
Yet another ACL injury question mark in the 2nd round for the Lions, but he looks too good to pass up.

2b) Xavier Rhodes CB, Florida State 6'1", 210 lbs - 4.43 40-time, 14 reps
Probably the 2nd best corner in the draft, not great at run support but he blankets his WR.

2c) Justin Pugh OG, Syracuse 6'4", 307 lbs - 5.14 40-time
Played at LT his entire career but projects as a guard. Ok. My respect if you can make it through 9 minutes of offensive line highlights.

On to the 3rd round. Here's where we roll the dice a little...

3a) Tyrann Mathieu CB, LSU 5'9", 186 lbs - 4.51 40-time, 4 reps 
(c'mon, I could probably do 4 reps!)
That's right, the Honey Badger! Draft him, get him a mentor, and watch him intercept passes and return punts for touchdowns. Hey, Deion likes him.

3b) Margus Hunt DE, Southern Methodist 6'8", 277 lbs - 4.60 40-time, 38 reps
He had the top bench in the combine, top 40-time out of all D-linemen, and the dude is 6'8"! He's Estonian, learned the game from playing Madden, and if he had played in the SEC he'd probably be a first or second round pick.

3c) D.J. Swearinger S, South Carolina 5'10", 208 lbs - 4.67 40-time, 17 reps
With the better prospects Elam and Cyprien gone, he's the Lions' best shot at filling the need at safety. Swearinger probably brings more penalties than the Lions could afford, but hopefully the great examples around him will keep the roughing flags away. Yeah.

That's it for now. I think at least 2 of the Lions' first 3 picks should be on the defensive side of the ball, they need LOADS of help on defense. What'll be interesting is if a team is interested in moving up to take a QB or something. There aren't any QB's with a top 10 grade in this draft, but that hasn't stopped teams in the past from moving up to take one. If Milliner's gone & the Lions can find a trade partner, they could grab a guy like Kenny Vaccaro, Chance Warmack or Jonathan Cooper a few picks later & be in great shape.

This is actually a pretty good draft (depth-wise) in positions of need for the Lions. I think it's time they relaxed their Best Player Available strategy SLIGHTLY.