In a draft that made my draft board look like most people’s March Madness brackets, the Lions did some pretty solid work, especially when you add up the trades. Of course, not everyone will agree with that statement (not the ‘brackets’ stuff, but the ‘solid work’ part). There are reasons for that. Part of it is because of missing or bad information and part of it is because some “household” names were not drafted or perceived needs were not filled (part of it may be for other reasons as well).
Now before I get into day 3, a little more on day 2. I apparently got some bad or missing information as well. (Not the first time, won’t be the last). Based on most non-pay sites and on both Mayhew’s and Amari Speavey’s interviews; Amari is in fact a very good tackler. (I had written last night that the word is he is lacking in the tackling department). Now my info came from guys on pay sites that actually review film, not just spread info they got from someone else. However, it would seem that the film reviewed on Amari was not indicative of his actual abilities. Well, that can happen. I’m sure most talent evaluators don’t take the time to watch dozens of games on each and every guy that could be drafted unless they are working for a team and even then they don’t have to review every single potential draftee. There simply isn’t enough time between the end of the season and the draft to do that. In the case of Amari, the film watched was less then flattering and the profiles were written.
That type of thing is going to happen, and that is one of the reasons why guys “slide” or are a “reach”. No one has all the information on all the players. Fans have even less information. We fans rely on the work of others. But we fans aren’t getting everything. All I can do is point out when I find out I got bad information and continue on from there.
Okay, day 1 the Lions get Suh, the purported best player in the draft. Also deemed to be a once in a decade defensive tackle. On top of that they got the fastest running back in the draft by trading up 4 spots (see the day 1 report below). On day 2 the Lions get Amari, a potential shutdown corner who isn’t afraid to stick his head in and tackle. All three will be starting and/or making a difference in 2010. Day 3 starts with round 4, the Lions have the 30th pick after trading down. They select left tackle Jason Fox. Jason could probably learn to play any spot on the offensive line in the NFL except center. However, he is not ready to be a starter. He will need time to learn whatever position he will be playing and he will need good coaching to get there. He is a project, which is typically what you draft in the later rounds (some years starting round 3, other years round 4). I assume that Jason is going to be learning LT as a backup to Jeff Backus.
The Lions did not have any round 5 or round 6 picks due to trades. They had 3 picks left in round 7, a round that draft picks find hard to make a roster. So, what happened to the linebacker that Gunther Cunningham was gushing about in a pre-draft interview? Well, the obvious answer is, he got drafted by some other team. One can assume that happened during round 4 but there is no way to know for sure. Perhaps it was round 3, perhaps round 6 or 7 (though not as likely).
In round 7 the Lions took defensive end Willie Young at 213. At 220 they traded the pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for a 2011 sixth round pick. At 255 (Mr. Irrelevant) and last pick in the draft the Lions select Tim Toone, a wide receiver and kick returner.
Maybe one or both of the 7th rounders will make the team, the odds are not in their favor but if they work hard they may earn their way on. It’s all up to them, now.
So, in the words of BamBamFunkhouser over at Mlive “That’s all folks, [the] Lions Suhperbowl is officially over”.
This is what 2010 got them (including the trades, remember, that matters):
Note: Stole some of this from tntmischief
1st Suh DT
1st Best RB
3rd Spievey CB
4th Fox LT
5th Williams DT
5th Sims LG
5th Sheffler TE
6th Houston CB
7th Ko Simpson S
7th Willie Young DE
7th traded for a 2011 6th rounder from the Eagles
7th Tim Toone WR/KR
That's probably 7 starters, some depth, a possible kick returner, and an extra pick for next year. Not real bad for one draft... no, not bad at all.
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