OT: Thoughts on the draft

Cam Newton at number 1.

obviously so happy with the first few picks the lions had!

but like most other people i'm still worried about the linebacker and cornerback situation.  linebackers only need to not be subpar because with that defensive line they literally will just have to not mess up.  cornerback - still scary.

Why was the Lions one of your best drafts?  I really thought they had a glaring need at O-line and corner.  Neither were met. 

will determine how i feel about the lions draft...if we can pick up players like LB Stephen Tulloch from tenn and asomugha from oakland this draft will be great. otherewise the lions back 7 is going to be in trouble

I also really like Cincy's draft for some reason.

San Diego had one helluva draft.

Biggest surprise for me was a tie between New England drafting Mallet relatively early despite defensive secondary holes and Atlanta basically giving up 2 drafts to pick up a wide receiver with so-so hands (but amazing physical tools and blocking) in Julio Jones.

Mouton in the second round was wonderful though, happy for him and his family.

You would think with the kinda DL they will have that free agent CBs and LBs will be interested in the Lions.

Bowers was the best pick, to me he is the biggest risk. Like they said during the draft, he could have to have a major knee surgery because he has a degenerative condition from a previous knee operation. He could play for 10 years on it with no problems, or he could tweak it in training camp and never play again.

after day 1, and even more boring when there are few Wolverines involved.  Also I'm glad the 4 months of pre-draft analysis can end, except now comes the post draft analysis.

I did find it interest that the first 4 or 5 Big Ten picks were all lineman type guys.

Ponder and Ricky Stanzi are the exact same player to me. They're both roughly the same size and have a tendancy to make horrible reads that lead to really ugly interceptions. Why you'd waste a first rounder on him is beyond me.

Mouton taken 4 rounds ahead of Greg Jones

Worst draft- Vikings maybe, but New England needed defense and got one player before the 6th round, took 2 RBs in a row, and took a QB when Brady had 4 years left on his contract. Falcons gave up way too much for a receiver too.



Best draft- Bucs maybe; not Lions. Their 2nd round picks are now must be impact picks. I thought the Saints did a really good job too. Browns for being on reverse side of Atlanta.



Dumbest pick- Christian ponder, for the reach, but I can't help feel Cam Newton has nothing that makes a good NFL QB, and they spent an overall 1 on him.



Best pick- i thought Bowers would be a steal, but the more they got into why he was sliding, the more scary he got. Might need 8 months rehab after surgery before he even plays a down? I'll go with Fairley. That's just huge value at that pick. People say it was his attitude that made him slide, but it was just as much 4 QBs going. That doesn't happen, he's at least top ten, "problems" and all.



Biggest surprise- "mouton in 2nd round". I'll go with this. I never would have guessed this in a million years. Though I'm thrilled by it.

1) Mouton going so earl says to me that the scouts saw a solid player that could excel if he had any decent coaching.

2) does anyone like the Thursday-Sat draft these days? I just don't consider it must see TV and don't understand why they are puching for primetime.

Unlike most Pat fans, I liked our draft. We got a couple of potential top-line future lineman, a good CB in Dowling, and of course, Mallet. We took a couple of RBs too, and even though I thought we took Ridley too early, we needed a big back, so I'm okay with it. I know a lot of people wanted us to improve our pass rush, but with an improved secondary including Dowling and a healthy Bodden, a ton of players on the D-Line returning from injury, a young front 7 progressing, and free agency, our front 7 should inherently improve.

Best pick- Mallet =)

Worst pick- Kenrick Ellis by the Jets in the third. Dude is facing up to 20 years in jail.

Best draft- Bills

Worst draft- Vikings

Biggest surprise- Ponder going 12th

Here are my thoughts:
Worst draft- Carolina
Best draft- Cincy or Detroit
Dumbest pick- Ponder
Best pick- Ryan Mallett
Biggest surprise- Mouton in 2nd round

Bucs could potentially find themselves down the line as having the best draft or the worst draft.  Bowers isn't playing this year, that's almost guaranteed, so the book is out on him.  If Clayborn can terrorize the NFL like he has the Big Ten, he's gonig to be a good pick.  A lot of ifs though.

Carolina threw Claussen under the bus because of last year, even though Steve Smith was hurt for almost half the year, so he had nothing to throw to, Williams and Stewart were prone to injuries, so no running game, and he had NO PROTECTION.  So they drafta kid who is a project with huge question marks on and off the field.  He has the off the field sheet of Mallet, but no where near the crisp mechanics and NFL readiness.  Yet, Cam goes no. 1 and Mallett falls to the third round.

I really like what Concy and Detroit did.  Cincy now has the possibility of trading Palmer to a team and getting some first round picks to build even more on their new youth movement.  A.J. Green with Gresham and Shipley can make Dalton, who has been a terrific passer in college, very dangerous.  Detroit now potentially has the most devastating defensive line in the NFL, and possibility to be ever. 

And Mallet falling to the Pats in the third round is the best possible scenario for him, but also a STEAL for New England.  They get possibly the best NFL ready QB already from this draft, and can have him sit on the bench a few years to learn from one of the greatest QBs of all time.  Unless, of course, Brady pulls a Favre and elects to have hardly anything to do with his probable successor.  But, he's in the best possible organization (Colts would also have been an amazing landing point for Mallett, and the Steelers do not need a QB, god willing Ben stays out of trouble) to keep him out of trouble, and to learn the most he possibly can.

I also really dug my Steelers draft.  Although I REALLY wanted them to draft Aaron Williams, getting Cameron Heyward gives them their two DEs for the future with Ziggy Hood (Aaron Smith is 35 and Brett Keisel is 32), and drafting Gilbert in round 2 was fantastic.  Since Harris from Miami was gone, drafting the next best Florida OL, who has plenty of experience playing along side our Pouncey, makes the OL that much more stable, sometihng the Steelers havent had since Faneca was there.    Brown out of Texas may not be as talented as Aaron Williams, but he is still pretty good, and should be a great improvement of the abysmal Willie Gay.

And no offense to Mouton, I loved the guy, but the fact that San Diego came out and said "We look at him as a great Special Teams guy" is astounding to me that they would draft him in the SECOND round.  However, I eat it up that he got drafted 4 rounds before Jones.  Congrats Jonas!

And finally, I would like to congradulate Schillnig for getting drafted, and will still have the pleasure of being Mouton's teammate in San Diego! 

Nice place for an NFL career to start.

Lions should reap in FA, if Fairley pans out what LB would not want to play there if he protected by that DL. Same for DB’s, Detroit should stop the run like Minny used to do with the Williams boys.  Does anyone know how the Tackle Detroit got in last year’s draft (Jason Fox 4^thrnd) pan out?  If he develops OL should have depth.  

The draft is not the finish line to the offseason. I expect them to address the back 7 needs in free agency with some mid level signings, tulloch is almost a lock to sign with detroit, and they will certainly be in the running for a schwartz defense type cb. I can't think of any names off the top of my head, but cover 2 corners don't typically demand huge contracts, and it would make sense to sign with a team who has such an incredibly talented front line. They were going to address the other safety spot in free agency even before the draft, the safety crop this year for free agents is much better than this years draft class.