SalvatoreQuattro

April 29th, 2016 at 11:22 PM ^

And yet they need to get serious about fielding a defense with, you know, talent.

There are plenty of teams that find gems on the OL in the later rounds. The Pats for instance do this. In fact, many teams do. The Lions have wasted way too many draft picks on the OL the past 5 years and neglected the defense in the higher rounds save for the DL.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

April 29th, 2016 at 11:28 PM ^

During the time frame you cited, they've taken Alex Carter, Kyle Van Noy, Darius Slay, and Bill Bentley in the top three rounds range.  So, exactly as many O-linemen as back-seven defenders.  I'm at a loss to figure how that is considered focusing on the O-line yet neglecting the defense.  And linebacker, of course, hasn't been a need, since during all that time they had Levy and Tulloch.

Hotel Putingrad

April 30th, 2016 at 12:58 AM ^

but taking a center was not a bad idea at 95. Swanson has really struggled and may be better suited as a depth interior OL. Yes, they do need another DE, WR, S, and LB, but there's no reason they can't still get them. Could they have taken Glasgow in the 4th? possibly. But Quinn is surely erring on the side of caution with his first draft, and you can't really go wrong stockpiling solid OL. Personally I preferred Darron Lee over Decker at 16, because I expect Levy to retire any moment now, but if Stafford stays a bit more upright next year, and we can keep third downs manageable, that's undoubtedly a good thing.

somewittyname

April 29th, 2016 at 11:47 PM ^

You're right, Martha went outside of their organization to find the best candidate they could, one that was largely considered to be a good hire by local/national media, and now they are drafting toward obvious weaknesses that are also getting graded well by outsiders, not just lunatic Lion fans, as you said. I see you have a very strong agenda here, but it's not rational.