OT: Lions offseason
Its the dead zone right now in college football, so why not talk some lions football. Free agency and the draft is coming on up soon. The lions have some obvious needs: CB, Safety, LB, O-line, even maybe a slot WR.
Many experts believe we will draft the lineman from Colorado. However, i have als heard that the DB from Colorado is making some noise and may be worthy of the the 13th pick. The lions may be in a position to also trade down and pick up a couple picks.
There are a number of free agents out in the market now that meet our needs: MLB A.J Hawk, CB Nnamdi Asomugha, Safety Gerald Sensabaugh, DE Marcus Spears, LB/DE Vernon Gholston, WR Steve Breaston, WR Sidney Rice, LB Hunter Hillenmeyer, Safety Eugene Wilson, Satety Bob Sanders.
I have zero idea what our salary cap looks like and what the organization is planning to do during the free agency period. So you get to be the GM and decide who are the important FA's that the lions should/will pick up this offseason.
February 28th, 2011 at 11:20 PM ^
Right, but WERE they best available, we would pass on them for a position of need, which was my whole point. As for Julio Jones, there is absolutely no chance the Lions would take him in the first round. Mayhew's old boss liked to pick WRs in the first round and we saw how that worked out. We can address WR in free agency by picking up a moderately priced possession reciever.
is what gets Matt Millen in trouble with the draft. He reached for needs, like Boss Bailey, Drew Stanton, Ikiaka Alama-Francis, Shaun Cody, Teddy Lehman in 2nd rounds. You don't reach for needs in the 1st 2 rounds of the draft. You can reach for needs in 3rd round or later.
If Julio Jones is the BPA, Mayhew would take Jones. Never say no chance. FA is pretty close to being over so there wont' be any FA signing until CBA is signed. Wouldn't surprise me if Jones is the pick at #13 overall but I doubt it because there will be players who is rated as top 10 prospect who will fall to the Lions at #13 overall anyway.
I'm salivating at the thought of Stafford throwing to Julio Jones and Calvin Johnson. That's if Stafford can stay healthy of course.
Our O-line actually did well last year especially when you compare the numbers to the past 10 years or so. If they can maintain that level of play and if we can find a solid guard to replace Peterman then our offense will pretty much be set. We'll definitely need a replacement for Backus and Raiola soon too though, so we should take a project OL in the middle rounds. I hope we can get Bruce Carter in the second, but I have a feeling that a team will grab him right before our pick.
February 28th, 2011 at 10:50 PM ^
is a DE, than I would definately take him. You can never have enough great pass rushers on your team. The 3 most important positions in football are the quarterback, the guys that protect the quarterback and the guys that rush the quarterback.
February 28th, 2011 at 11:55 PM ^
I think we can wait later on in the draft for a DE. Lawrence Jackson will bring more to the defense this year. He had 6 sacks and showed promise. Cliff Avril seems to be coming into his own. An excellent rush end for third downs. Willie Young will continue to improve and may contribute next yr. He's still very raw from what i hear. If we can get a CB in the first, LB in the second and a DE in the third, i would say that would be a very solid draft early on.
I would like to get Casey Mathews at MLB. He's part of that legacy Mathew family tree and looked terrific with the Ducks lasy year. He didnt get much hype in college and neither did his brother while at USC.
Also, what do you think of Jeff Maehl from Oregon for slot wr? He has good not great speed but knew where to go in zone coverage. Put up some good numbers in his career and made some spectacular catches. The Lions need another wr to relieve pressure for Calvin.
isn't that great of an athlete. Nowhere near the athlete his brother, Clay is. Clay got plenty of hype and he got drafted in teh 1st round. He's small for a MLB and probably will need to move to WILL. He is a 4th rounder. Take away his name, he would not have been talked up by a lot of people. Family bloodline does not guarantee success.
I think you really hope for 2 solid players each draft and I think if we can dump our 1st and 2nd rd picks to AZ and get Von Miller from TAMU it would be a great get. He checked into the combine at 248lbs and ran a 4.48 40 which would be a easily movable LB piece all over the field from MLB to rush OLB. AZ has to be looking for a QB and if none of the first four picks are a QB theres a great chance theres a solid one available at 13.
For the love of Pete, they do NOT need another receiver. It's about the Back 7 and OL.
We need a slot wr to help out johnson and also give another weapon to stafford. The lions dont have anyone outside of Johnson and Burleson at WR. Logan is a return specialist and Williams looks more like a package situational player than a slot wr. Im not talking about picking a wr in the first 3 rounds, but look for someone in the draft to add depth to the receiving core
Cornerback.linebacker.offensive line.safety. In that order.
take a de. great value and provide an even more potent pash rush...will protect the secondary. Take the money that would need to be shelled out to a top corner and distribute at LB, OL, and cb. The rest of the draft will treat those same positions IMO