Detroit Lions Draft Thoughts...

Not gonna lie, I'm a little perplexed by the Detroit Lions after this weekend.

On one hand, I'm pleased that the franchise had the cajones to select Calvin Johnson, despite the tragic miscues on Chuck and BMW. On the other hand, after multiple trades and 8 picks for a team that has SO MANY NEEDS on each side of the ball, why do I feel like none of them were addressed?!?!?

Overwhelming response On The Bench today was a collective "huh?" from the audience. After CJ and Drew Stanton, no one has heard of the rest of the players the Lions drafted. Either this is a stroke of genius and a humongous coup for the scouting department; or this is the most over-calculated and mishandled draft in the Millen Era (which, I am now convinced, will become a major reference point for a college sports management course in the near future).

So...I've injected myself with a mild sedative normally used on cattle, and that combined with my already fragile sanity has yielded these thoughts on the weekend:

-The Lions didn't trade Calvin Johnson, and that's a good thing. CJ will benefit from playing in the Martz system, and Mike Furrey (who teams basically ignored last year) will have another productive year out of the slot. Detroit held firm in their demands, and took the best player in the draft when they did not receive an equal offer. Kudos for that.

-The Lions mishandled the rest of Day #1. When the Lions traded back in the 2nd round, I thought it was a major mistake giving up the chance to take the likes of David Harris, Lamarr Woodley, Chase Houston, and others. When both those Michigan players were still there after they dropped, they instead took Drew Stanton. I don't buy for a second that David Harris couldn't have immediately stepped in and helped this team. Right after he got drafted by the Jets, it was heralded as a fantastic pick...and the Jets are GOOD!!! You're telling me that we're completely satisfied with one-legged Teddy Lehman and Paris Lennon?!?!? Give me a break. Drew Stanton could have been had with one of those later 2nd round picks, believe me. Every other team had Trent Edwards above Stanton, and he went in the third round.

-The McCown/BMW trade was fantastic. Think about it, what would you rather have...Randy Moss or a combo of Josh McCown and Mike Williams??? Well, apparently each is worth a 4th-round pick. Not bad when you consider McCown didn't play a down last year (at quarterback anyways...) and Mike Williams doesn't want to play football. The kicker...the Lions not even calling BMW or his agent to let him know that he'd been traded. That goodness for that ESPN ticker, or BMW would still be not showing up for the wrong team. Hopefully Al Davis's senility caused him to forget to pay for BMW's plane ticket.

-Picks I liked: Calvin Johnson (duh), Ikaika Alama-Francis (a big athlete who seems coach-able and with a real motor...aka "Marinelli guy"), and Manny Ramierez (Strong guard who has experience in Pass Pro...and should keep us from plucking replacement guys off the buffet line at least until Week 8.)

-Picks I groaned about: Stanton (nice player...too early), Gerald Alexander (didn't we draft a safety in the second round LAST YEAR???), and Johnny Baldwin (is it bad that Stanton is listed as being bigger than the linebacker we drafted?)


So...there's some thoughts. Welcome your comments. I feel this draft will continue to be a great mystery for at least a couple years, when we figure out if these guys can play. I'd like to agree with Tom Kowalski. But I gotta see to believe.

Maybe my buddies and I shouldn't have let a hard night of partying derail our plans to kidnap Matt Millen after all....