March 22, 2006

There is no question in my mind that Matt Millen is committed to bringing an explosive offense to the Detroit Lions. Millen has drafted for offense in the first round of the draft for the previous four years. Five first round offensive (some of them very offensive) talents; one quarterback, one running back, and three gazelles. Not one lineman! Apparently the Lions are incapable of developing any semblance of an offensive line. It baffles me that the Lions refuse to draft offensive lineman in the first or second rounds of the draft. Yes, sure we did draft Jeff Backus in the first round and he is a very solid player who will continue to be so. However, one thing Backus is definitely not is a dominant lineman. Besides, you can’t have just one blocker with a bunch of has-beens or blue market specials. The entire line has to be able to do the job. Having said that; I do see that the Lions are very close to actually getting the job done up front. Backus, Raiola, and Woody are very good lineman. Millen just needs to find two more GOOD linemen. Seems simple really, which is why I pound my head against the wall after every awful Lions game. More often awful than not these days. So hear we are, only a month away from the Mel Kiper Football Bonanza also know as the NFL Draft.

The obvious needs for the Lions are a T, G, QB, RB, WR, TE, S, CB, LB, DE, DL. Oh, and A NEW OWNER. Enough seriousness though. Hypothetically, we can assume that the Lions have greater needs in certain areas. The OL comes to mind first, then some help in the defensive backfield, a defensive end, a real QB, then maybe a MLB or a TE. After that you better be taking the best available player on the board, because after round three the guessing gets pretty bad. Unfortunately, the Lions pick 9th this year. They couldn’t even lose right last year (if only they wouldn’t have beaten the Saints with the clock winding down in the 4th we would be picking 3rd. Alas, such is the way of things for the Lions. Never anyone on the board that’s any good when they draft that high anyway, except maybe Barry Sanders (we have the Pack to thank for not letting us draft Tony Mandarich). So it figures that when there is a top-flight OL prospect in the top of the draft, Thee’ Brickshow Ferguson, we are in no position to draft him. Probably the best OL prospect to come out of college since Orlando Pace. So that leaves us a little short at the 9th position. With the remote possibilities that Brick will fall to #9, or the Lions swing a deal to grab him earlier, drafting an OL at #9 would be a waste.

Two scenarios exist, in my mind, for the Lions to benefit best in this year’s NFL Draft.

1.) Draft Texas S Mike Huff at #9, or

2.) Trade down between 15-25, acquire extra picks, and draft the best OL available.

Either scenario works for me. The prospect of having an extremely gifted S roaming the defensive backfield with a penchant for making the biggest hit at the biggest moment, not to mention DB speed (4.34, 40) and hops to boot. I like the idea of having a Ronnie Lott play for the Lions. If the Lions decide to go the other way and trade down, that could be even better. Let say we trade down and are in a position to get someone like Justice or Winston in the middle of Rd 1, with an extra 2nd or 3rd rounder, that would allow us to draft one of the other S in the early 2nd or 3rd rounds. Ko Simpson or Whitner could fall to us in Rd 2, which would be a steal for us. More value for your buck is always a good thing. The problem with going for a steal or bargain instead of the sure thing is that you sometimes lose the gamble. Huff looks like the real deal, and for all intent and purpose he is considered here to be a sure thing. If we do take Huff with pick #9 that still leaves us the opportunity that a good OT could drop into the 2nd, or the more reasonable opportunity of drafting OG Max Jean-Gilles from Georgia. Any good player drafted after round 2 constitutes pure luck on the Lions part; due in whole, to the fact that scouting for the Lions is average at best.

My hopes rest with Lions perpetrating one of these two scenarios. Anything that transpires during the draft that does not include the drafting of the following player with the 9th pick in the draft: Brickshaw, Mario Williams, AJ Hawk, Huff or quite possibly Jimmy Williams, then the Lions failed miserably. At least, in my mind, it constitutes a failure because there is no other value to be had with the 9th pick other than trading down and grabbing at appropriate value for the pick. Thankfully, there are no wider receivers rated in the top 10 for the draft this year, thank god!