Loving/Dreading the Draft

Happy Draft Day! For many fans it's the pinnacle of the NFL season. For Lions fans, it's a weird brew of intense hope and intense dread. We're like a dog that's been taken through some sick version of Pavlov's experiment, so now we're conditioned to expect the worst every time the bell rings.

Dave Birkett evaluated Mayhew's past drafts (I thought he was overly kind in his assessments) and also broke down the Lions' needs by position, which being roughly identical to my own list, I happen to agree with him. He goes into WAY more depth, including possible picks at each position, but here's the jist:

1. Offensive Line is the biggest need, at almost any position on the line
2. Defensive Line, and again, at any position
3. Defensive Back, CB slightly ahead of S
4. Running Back
5. Wide Receiver

After that come QB and special teams, which really aren't needs. That should be enough to paint a picture of my expectations as a fan. The Lions have to take the best lineman available with the 23rd pick. If they pull an Ebron (referring to last year, when they drafted a TE with the #10 pick) and totally ignore need (and even BPA - best player available) for getting a guy they just happen to like... Mayhew needs to be fired. And not in the usual, "Turn in your ID and your parking pass, please" kind of way, but in a way more in keeping with the traditional way of deposing a leader who persists in the same mistakes and refuses to see reality, despite the clamour of a weeping populace. Ok, maybe that's a bit extreme, but Mayhew's been working up to this.

As soon as the last college game has been played, the March of the Mock drafts begins. ESPN's Todd McShay has submitted no less than 5, and Mel Kiper is on #4.0 (both have the Lions taking OT La'el Collins). On the other side of things, NFL.com's Mike Mayock only does one mock draft a year and he's got a knack for knowing what's going to happen. Here's his mock, published yesterday. He's got the Lions starting a run on OTs, taking Andrus Peat from Stanford.

He could play RT or LT, probably start out at RT and move over as he gets his legs. If the draft played out that way, I wouldn't be mad. I also like Cameron Erving, who can basically play everywhere on the offensive line, and DT Malcolm Brown. My fear is that Martin Mayhew pulls a Millen (which he's done before, with Jahvid Best) and trades up for Todd Gurley.

Last year the Lions took Eric Ebron and I put my head down on the bar in exasperation (I was watching from TAP at MGM). It was a bad pick, obviously bad, and it paid nearly zero dividends in 2014. We can talk all day about who Mayhew should've taken (most of the next group of players taken - Odell Beckham Jr, Aaron Donald, Taylor Lewan, CJ Mosley, etc. - look like perennial Pro Bowlers in the making), but the fact is once again Mayhew chose poorly. So, like every other Lions fan, I'll be paying attention to the draft with a ready supply of alcohol nearby in case/when this goes horribly wrong.