OT: Lions Sign a Safety; Glover Quin Signs with the Lions

Submitted by mgobaran on

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/03/13/lions-website-says-they-really-did-sign-glover-quin/

Lions signed this guy. So that's good.

5 year deal. Money > The most amount money I will ever see at one time in my life. (actual figure unknown)

Player Profile:

Height: 6-0 Weight: 207 Age: 27

Born: 1/15/1986 McComb , MS

College: New Mexico

Experience: 5th season

High School: North Pike HS [Summit, MS]

 

Hello Post: Will come shortly. [edit:] No, we will never do one.

Go.Blue.Hail

March 13th, 2013 at 4:43 PM ^

I'm not so sure it would be a waste. He has elite speed and is a great player. I'm gonna trust the people who study these players and predict where they will go more than someone on the internet (no offense). On the other hand, I would not be totally disappointed if they drafted one of the players you mentioned.

cold_cut711

March 13th, 2013 at 9:54 PM ^

While I value Kiper and Mcshay's opinions, they are not the gospel on projected NFL talent...nor am I... But, you don't draft solely for need and find "the best" at that position and draft him with your pick. Even if he is rated in the so called top 5, drafting a CB that high is a huge risk. A top 5 pick needs to be a no-doubt great contributer, and when I watch Milliner I don't see fantastic shut-down corner. You can't base it off analyst rankings all the time, otherwise all top-5 prospects would pan out into pro-bowlers. 

The Lions can't afford another screwd up draft pick.. with the signings of Chris Houston, Glover Quin, Bentley getting healthy, and the emergence of Green and Greenwood... we need to allocate that first pick to a lineman on the D or O. What has Hoke always preached? Build from the trenches, and it has refelcted in his recruiting. Pro-football isn't any different. You select an OT, DE, and worst case scenario a LB. Those are your foundation positions, that is what you draft. Lions can always find a proven CB in free agency still at a bargain since the market is flooded with them.

Our OLine needs to be rebuilt and I wouldn't be opposed to seeing Fischer at 5 and then Barrett Jones in the Second Round. 

HipsterCat

March 13th, 2013 at 4:59 PM ^

after his combine/senior bowl hes jumped up a lot. millner is good but he isnt patrick peterson good so I think taking him there isnt a great value though it does address a need. the lions do have jonte green, bill bently, and chris greenwood on the roster so they have some potential there (with some injuries too). green played decently towards the end of the year and bently did well at the beginning i thought.

turtleboy

March 13th, 2013 at 6:06 PM ^

He's the best corner in this class, but it's not a strong CB class. He wouldn't have been the best corner in last years draft with the likes of Claiborne, Gilmore, Kirkpatrick, and Janoris Jenkins in the mix. He does have elite 40 speed, but I just can't get too fired up about combine performances. Case in point Jenkins and Hayward wre taken in the 2nd round, but it immediately turned out they're by far the best corners of the group.

TheLastHarbaugh

March 13th, 2013 at 5:18 PM ^

If I were the Lions GM I'd try to trade back, but considering that's probably not going to happen, I hope they go OT with the 5th pick. Hopefully the kid from Central is there, if not, draft  Millner or one of the DEs. This draft is loaded with pass rushers, so they don't necessarily need to pick one at 5.

I'd go try to go O-Line with the first two picks though. Fisher at 5 and then the best guard available with the 2nd round pick. Whether Warmack falls that far (highly unlikely), the other kid from Bama, or the dude from 'Cuse. The Lions desperately need to upgrade their offensive line more than any position group on the team.

Backus is old and falling apart. Raiola is old, and they have no RG or RT at present moment. Reiff is already on life support. Either upgrade at O-Line now, or they'll need to find a new QB soon, because Stafford will be toast. Also, good luck running the football.

SalvatoreQuattro

March 13th, 2013 at 5:22 PM ^

Reiff will play guard and Nagy will compete with Raiola for the center position. OT is the more immediate concern Backus is getting old and Fox is injury prone. I suspect that we will see an OT drafted in the first two rounds and another added later. I could see Reiff moved back outside if they land another guard. Drafting a guard that high is insane considering how much help they still need on defense. It also helps that good offensive linemen can be found anywhere. 

 

Why people obsess about taking offensive linemen high I do not know. Most good teams have lines that are populated by a mixture of high and low round guys. Not every one of your OL needs to be a first or second rounder.

TheLastHarbaugh

March 13th, 2013 at 6:26 PM ^

Most good teams invest high draft picks in OTs. You and I literally had this exact discussion before and I proved it by examining this very thing. The Lions have a few good O-Linemen who all happen to be old as shit and could very well fall off of the proverbial cliff in terms of injuries and ability.

Backus absolutely needs to be replaced (we're in agreement on that). He's 35, and will be 36 by the time the season starts. His body finally broke down last year after having been a lock to start for a decade. 

Dom is 34. He can't keep going forever. Nagy probably isn't the answer.

Reiff looks like a bust. He went from possible future left tackle. To future right tackle, and now is being moved to guard. 

We were one of the worst run blocking teams in the NFL last year, and while Football Outsiders might say we had the number 1 pass blocking unit last year, that seems like bullshit. Peterman was graded as the worst pass blocking O-Lineman in the entire league last year in terms of sacks+hurries given up. Gosder Cherilus was also a minus pass blocker, and I have Bill Polian to back me up on that statement (he was not a fan of the Colts signing him for that very reason).

Stafford bails them out too much, and by the end of the year they made him trigger happy.

I never said they should draft a guard at 5, that would be incredibly dumb. I suggested it as a possibility only if they are able to move back into the middle to late first round (which isn't going to happen).

If Fisher is there, they have to take him. While the Lions could use another corner, I think they're content to see what they have, and this draft is loaded with pass rushers, meaning you don't necessarily have to take one with the first pick. Especially considering the guys they're looking at are extremely high risk.

Jarvis Jones with his injury history and spinal stenosis (sorry, wouldn't touch that guy with a ten foot pole, even if he's been cleared by doctors), and Ezekiel Ansah, the workout warrior who is just learning how to play football and whose age they don't really know.

Edit: I've actually heard the Lions are considering drafting Sharrif Floyd, and moving Suh to DE a la Reggie White, which would be extremely interesting and outside the box.

turtleboy

March 13th, 2013 at 6:47 PM ^

Doctors don't say he's recovered from Sinal Stenosis, they say he never had it. If it was a problem it would've been apparent at Georgia, but it obviously isn't. This is the same deal that Gronkowski had. He had a back injury that required him to sit a whole college season and get surgery, and stenosis rumors were everywhere before the draft, but look at him now. Other players have had actual stenosis and went on to highly productive careers. Marcus McNiell had it as a left tackle and played for 6 seasons and went to two pro bowls.

SalvatoreQuattro

March 13th, 2013 at 8:09 PM ^

The evidence is that most teams have what I pointed out--offensive lines with a mixture of high and low round guys. Look at the Colts, Pats, Steelers, Packers,  Ravens, etc. Save for the Niners,  most have one or two high round guys mixed in with low round or free agent types.

 

Matt Millen's first two picks were an OT and G. They played for 13 years, but for most of those years the Lions OL was terrible to subpar. This with another 1st rounder in Cherilus.

Calling Rieff a bust after one year is foolish. I want to see him in extended playing time before a judgment can be made.

I'm not saying that you don't look at the OT position with the first pick. What I am saying is that spending two high round picks on offensive linemen is stupid for a team that has so many needs on defense.  Besides you can get good offensive linemen later on in the draft or even pick one up in free agency. The Lions best lineman was acquired via free agency.(Sims)

TheLastHarbaugh

March 14th, 2013 at 2:13 AM ^

But the Lions don't really have that many needs on defense. Their defense was ranked in the middle of the pack when Delmas was healthy, and at the bottom of the league when he was injured.

At this point they could basically use a second corner, and a pass rusher. They might not even need a second corner that badly if Bill Bentley is the real deal seeing as they already have Chris Houston. The Lions pass defense last year was actually ranked higher than their run defense, despite the perception being it was the opposite.

They're all set at the safety position, and they have a solid linebacking corps.

DT is the team's strength, and they need pass rushers. They went out and got Jason Jones, who can play inside and out. They're also talking about moving Ndamukong to end, which would probably help in that area as well. Regardless, they're going to take a pass rusher with one of their first 3 picks.

So this idea that the Lions defense is broke beyond repair, or will need several drafts to fix is kind of ridiculous. Their special teams are in far worse shape than their defense. The numbers illustrate this, as 2 years ago the Lions were 9th in total team defensive efficiency, and this year with all of the injuries they were 25th. Their special teams however has ranked 30th.

When you look at the top organizations in the league, they're either drafting offensive linemen in the first two rounds on a fairly consistent basis, signing high draft picks in free agency, or making trades for them.

The 2 best offensive linemen on the Patriots, Logan Mankins (G) and Nate Solder (LT), were 1st round picks. Their other tackle, Sebastian Vollmer, was a 2nd round pick. 

As far as the Packers are concerned, 2 of their last 3 1st round picks have been offensive tackles, so as an organization they've clearly been trying to get top flight O-Linemen in the early rounds of the draft. 

The 49ers offensive line is composed of 3 first round picks. All of their best O-Linemen are 1st round picks. 

The Baltimore Ravens offensive line has 2 first round picks, one second round pick and a third round pick. Their best O-Linemen are high draft choices.

The New York Giants offensive line has 3 second round picks starting. All of their best offensive linemen are high draft picks.

Conversely, if you go down the list of teams who have really struggled with blocking, you'll find that they either have no early round picks invested in their offensive line or very few.

Teams only have a mix of high and low draft picks because they only have so many draft picks available, and only so much cap room.

There are plenty of nuanced debates where football is concerned, however, this isn't one of them. If you're a successful franchise in the NFL competing for superbowls year in and year out it's almost guaranteed that you have a minimum of 3 high round draft choices on your O-Line.

The Atlanta Falcons, 2 first round picks and a second round pick.

It's simply an unavoidable fact.

The Lions have missed on a few guys, but that doesn't mean they should give up on rebuilding the positio unit that is at this point in time arguably the weakest on the team (corner being the other, depending how you feel about the guys there). If it's not the weakest, it's certainly the oldest and most in need of a rebuff, considering Stafford is entering into his prime years as a QB. 

Jehu the Damaja

March 13th, 2013 at 4:53 PM ^

A cover safety who can also play corner. This is a huge pickup for an awful defense, but they still need a lot of help on the line(O and D) and another corner and safety.

Michigan4Life

March 13th, 2013 at 5:24 PM ^

as well. Lions will have two S who are top 10-15 caliber when healthy (looking at Delmas).

 

They still need to find an edge pass rusher or two, OLB, and #2 WR after the FA signing. Not a bad day for Mayhew.

turtleboy

March 13th, 2013 at 6:20 PM ^

USC didn't want one either, just sayin. He's gotten several clean bills of health by national experts, who also conclude that even if he were injured specifically in the area of concern it wouldn't be career ending. They even go on to refute USCs initial findings and say he just had a "stinger."

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000149233/article/jarvis-jones-rep…

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/report-jarvis-jones-g…

Rob Gronkowski had a severe case in college and even had to sit an entire year, but its not an issue now.

TheLastHarbaugh

March 13th, 2013 at 6:26 PM ^

He just sounds like the prototypical Lions bust. 

"Hey guys, let's draft this dude. He has a tremendous amount of talent. Yeah, he has spinal stenosis, but doctors have cleared him."

2 years later...

"What were the Lions thinking drafting that guy with spinal stenosis? I mean, come on, that was a disaster waiting to happen. Typical Lions pick." 

TheLastHarbaugh

March 13th, 2013 at 7:00 PM ^

Regardless, I don't think he'd be a good fit for our system. Coming out of a 3-4 he is extremely undersized at DE, and it's not like he's a blazer either (IIRC he ran in the 4.74-4.8 range). When you combine that with the knock on him being unable to consistently disengage from blocks, it's not a recipe for success in the Lions' system.

ESPN has him graded as the 21st best player in the draft. I'm not saying their word is gold, but there are a lot of pass rushers in this draft, and a lot of guys who are much better fits.

LSAClassOf2000

March 13th, 2013 at 7:22 PM ^

It was back in January when Mayhew had said in an interview that the Lions really needed to get impact players in the defensive backfield, among other places on defense, and it is nice to see a versatile signing here with Quin. A safety with experience at FS and SS as well as at CB is someone who can be impactful (Quin averages a little over 60 tackles per year and 12 passes defended per year) in a backfield that needs depth and players who can fill multiple roles.