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Monday 2 May 2011

Detroit Lions 2011 Draft: Initial thoughts

This draft seems to have really split the opinions of Lions fans, whilst winning universal praise from everyone else. It is tainted severely by the fact that there has been no free agency period yet, meaning we have no idea if the needs and holes in the roster (most notably at corner and linebacker) will be addressed before the season kicks off. Mayhew is not a fool; those needs will be filled. So nobody needs to panic. And our draft is nowhere near as dubious as the Bears or Vikings drafts! The Packers sadly had an awesome draft (poo...)

Purely from a TALENT standpoint, this draft can only get an 'A' grade initially.

The picks the Lions have made are scheme perfect, talent and potential filled non-reaches. Three things you couldn't say about many Millen era picks. In a lockout dominated off-season these top 3 picks of Fairley, Young and Leshoure are 3 guys who won't need as much prep to contribute as others may have. We filled 2 large needs in a speedy deep threat receiver and a second power versatile back and in doing so have blown our offense wide open. Beautiful!

In Nick Fairley I think we immediately gained the best defensive line in the NFL. I remember Michael Irvin shouting "How they gonna run against that?!" over and over when the pick was made. Regardless of what people say about who else should have been taken, this was 100% the best pick, a no brainer, the Lions win!

I love the final 2 picks. Doug Houge will contribute well on special teams year 1 but has every potential to be a starter in the following years. He has everything you'd want and so much room to grow. As for Johnny Culbreath he is extremely underrated. The fact he can play guard as well gives him a great shot at playing too. I really believe that with Jason Fox and Culbreath growing behind the scenes we may be set at tackle for the next few years. The Lions don't waste picks (except Derek Williams)

Bring on 2011! I think we just won the NFC North. Fear no-one, Lions look fantastic!
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2 comments:

  1. pancho smith2 May 2011 at 16:28

    Good assessment, Sam. Pending some shrewd trades and/or free agent acquisitions, the Lions have placed themselves in a very good situation.

    By loading up at every offensive skill position the last few years (running back, wide receiver, tight end and quarterback), Detroit is now one of the most potent scoring threats in the NFL.

    Adding Fairley was brilliant. There now isn’t a better defensive front four line rotation in the NFL. The Lions will be able to hammer and penetrate opposing offensive lines with very talented, aggressive and rested D-line players all game long. It will wear most offensive lines down.

    So if we score early and often and wear down opposing offensive lines in the third and fourth quarters, our opponents will not be able to rally late in the game and overcome our lead. If we managed to acquire some additional talent at linebacker and cornerback before the season starts, we’ll be in the playoffs this year!

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  2. British Lion7 May 2011 at 08:39

    I agree 100%. Some games this year we will dominate completely, which I am much looking forward to!

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