bronxblue

April 25th, 2013 at 9:01 PM ^

Hate to say it - they weren't that good with Sanders.  The team has been messed up for decades, but I'm not going to bury them quite yet for this pick.  Their defensive player drafting has been decent the past couple of years - Suh, Fairley, Delmas until he got hurt.  There were no offensive linemen left, so might as well take a kid with a bunch of potential.

gwkrlghl

April 25th, 2013 at 8:52 PM ^

but ever since I started following them like 8 years ago, it seems like they always screw up the draft somehow. Why do they keep doing this to themselves? Who is advising people on these picks?

bronxblue

April 25th, 2013 at 8:55 PM ^

I don't get why people are killing this pick.  They need a pass rush, and with the top tackles off the board and no good DBs at #5, why not take a chance on an uber-athletic kid?  JPP is the clear analog, but even if he is only 75% to that level would be an upgrade.  I care more about how the Lions draft in the next couple of rounds, but Ziggy isn't a horrible pick IME.

bronxblue

April 25th, 2013 at 9:08 PM ^

Milliner is a stretch at 5 IME.  He's had an injury history, and while he looked good for Alabama at times, he doesn't seem like an elite DB compared to guys in the past - like Patterson and Claiborne.  He's got a pretty lengthy injury history for a kid - hernia, shoulder problems, leg soreness, etc.  Plus, and I mean this will all due respect, people around here may be overrating him a bit given how he looked against UM in the game.  As we learned later on this year, the passing game was kind of a mess with Denard at the helm, so perhaps a bit of his dominance was due to some poor throws.  

GoBlue_55

April 25th, 2013 at 9:38 PM ^

You don't think it's odd that all of the news about his injuries came out a day or two before the draft? D.J. Fluker "taking money" didn't hurt him. Watch the kid on the field, he can play.

bronxblue

April 25th, 2013 at 10:44 PM ^

I'm not questioning that he's a good player, but torn labrums and hernias are also troubling because they are the types of injuries that could affect his playing early on.  The injuries were known during his college career, but just took on additional significance as the draft approached and more people pointed them out.  And I stand by my assertion that he's not a shutdown corner like guys drafted at that position in recent years.  He's a very good athlete (one of the best times as a corner at the combine), but he also played on a great defense, which could make him a bit better than he is.  With the Lions, you aren't going to have great players everywhere to help out, and if I'm not getting shutdown vibes from the kid that's a bit of a stretch at 5.  Ansah is a major reach too, but with all the needs the Lions have I'm fine with a top-notch prospect at DE.  Milliner was not going to turn the Lions' defensive woes around.

GoBlue_55

April 26th, 2013 at 9:13 PM ^

He wouldn't turn it around, but he's got a much larger sample size than Ansah. I agree with what you said about Milliner playing on a great defense, but is that his fault? How much help does a corner get? Yes, the pass rush is important, but corners have to cover, bottom line.

M-Wolverine

April 25th, 2013 at 8:55 PM ^

But today he was on that only the Lions could really need a tackle in a draft with three good ones and a top five pick....in a year there are no quarterbacks, defensive linemen, running backs, or receivers to go really high.

Rabbit21

April 25th, 2013 at 8:56 PM ^

I thought the Lions were supposed to hire a guy this year to act as a common sense filter for the draft room.  I'm guessing it's time to fire him.

Browns with Mingo, hmmmm.........  What a weird draft so far.