2009 NFL Draft Grades

by Sean Yuille on Apr 27, 2009 5:25 AM EDT in Draft Comment 43 comments

I've already separately run down my grades for each day of the draft, but below is an overall look at the Lions' entire draft.

Rd.	#	Player	Pos.	College	Grade
1	1	Matthew Stafford	QB	Georgia	C
1	20	Brandon Pettigrew	TE	Oklahoma St.	B+
2	33	Louis Delmas	S	Western Mich.	B-
3	76	DeAndre Levy	LB	Wisconsin	D+
3	82	Derrick Williams	WR	Penn State	D+
4	115	Sammie Lee Hill	DT	Stillman	A
6	192	Aaron Brown	RB	TCU	D
7	228	Lydon Murtha	OT	Nebraska	B
7	235	Zack Follett	LB	California	A
7	255	Dan Gronkowski	TE	Maryland	D
OVERALL					C+

The overall grade could have easily been a B-, and looking back I'm starting to think I may have under-graded the Delmas and Pettigrew picks. Regardless, I'm sticking with my initial thoughts and gave the Lions a C+ for their draft as a whole. There were a few good picks, a few questionable ones, and a few in between.

Poll

What grade do you give the Lions for the entire 2009 NFL Draft?

A+

80 votes

A

123 votes

A-

188 votes

B+

464 votes

B

598 votes

B-

337 votes

C+

187 votes

C

222 votes

C-

184 votes

D+

139 votes

D

109 votes

D-

53 votes

F

207 votes

2891 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

Really...?

A grade of C+??
Wow. You guys are such babies!
Just because you watch a guy’s footage on youtube and read a few magazines, you think you know more than the scouts who have actually met the player, sees the guy in camp everyday and knows all of the other intangibles and therefore YOU think you know more than they do.
Sean, I love this site because i love to talk smack to the other fans every now and then and this is the best site for Lions fans because it is more up to date than the other sites, but i am getting so sick of all of these big babies who think they know how to run a football team when they are finished from their shift at 7-11.

A lot of Lions fans and some of these webmasters definitely suffer from battered wife syndrome. They have been beat up so much that they dont want to give any one else a chance or always expect the worse out of everything the Lions do. You guys need to quit acting like a bunch of beotches and support the team! So what we didnt draft Curry. Suck it up and drive on! To those of you who said they will now be Bears fans, PEACE OUT! We dont need you.

I cant say that i agree with all of the Lions picks, (especially that last TE or Levy at LB), but so what. Who am I?
I am a soldier stationed in Japan. At least 12 hours out of the day i am dealing with “soldier” stuff. Just like at least 12 hours of the day I am sure the new Lions front office is dealing with Player stuff. Who am i to tell these guys they are idiots because they didnt pick my guy or i read a better write up about so and so in The Sporting News.

We all need to quit our belly aching and either support the team or go ahead and order that Cutler jersey and sport that around town.
A lot of these so called experts are going to feel mighty stupid when the Lions start winning some games.
A turn around isnt going to happen overnight, so give these guys a chance and let them stock the team with who they think we need.
I for one will always support my home teams no matter how much they suck. Lions, Tigers, Pistons, Wings, Wolverines, Spartans, and every other school in the state.

Remember, you’re either with us, or you’re with the terrorist. (oh wait, wrong speech), but seriously, we need to quit complaining and (still) posting mock drafts and move on and support what we have.

GO LIONS!

AIRBORNE!!

by ABN_MI_fan on Apr 27, 2009 5:52 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

For starters, stop the name-calling.

What should Lions fans blindly support everything this organization does? You’re right, we’ve been beat up a lot over the years, which is why we question nearly everything they do. Is that wrong? I think it’s worse to accept everything they do simply because they’re "football people." You know what, Matt Millen spent more time on players and I’m pretty sure many fans knew more than him.

I’m not going to outright dismiss everything they do, just as I’m not going to outright follow everything they do. Until I can determine if Mayhew and Schwartz know what they’re doing (based on results of the next couple seasons), there is no point to go to either extreme — be it blind support or dismissing everything. If I was a Pats fan, I probably would support everything they do, because they haven’t given their fans a reason to not do that. For us, though, why should we expect that things will be any different than the last 9 years? Just because Millen’s gone shouldn’t suddenly give us 100% faith.

And I’m getting sick of the whole notion of "you aren’t scouts so you don’t know anything and can’t say anything." Why do people even watch games then? What’s the fun in agreeing with everything that happens in a game because "the coaches know more?" The fun of sports is having an opinion. If people aren’t allowed to do that, then what is the point?

Pride of Detroit, SB Nation's Lions Blog

by Sean Yuille on Apr 27, 2009 6:07 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs

Well said Sean

This site wouldn’t be as good without the opinions everyone brings, that’s how it works. I think they’re are few guys here who have purely disregarded our draft, some have voiced disappointment, most of which is warranted. Does that mean we think this draft is a complete failure?, I don’t think so.
Personally, I’m just happy to just have new talent in this side.

And yes ABN, We aren’t as good as scouts at player evaluation, but we are still pretty knowledgable and we have a fair idea about who fits our team.

2009 = The start of the Lions Golden Age (We hope).

by Hyperion Ecta on Apr 27, 2009 6:52 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks Sean

You said much of what I was thinking. The “we aren’t scouts” argument means nothing to us, becuase these “knowledgeable” scouts have been the ones drafting for the last few years, and we know how those have turned out.

Initially, this draft looks a lot like those in the past, not drafting for needs and drafting guys that didn’t get attention from most scouts.

Bottom line for me at this point, is we will see what happens on the field. I do believe that Schwartz is a very intelligent coach, but I am not putting much stock in my thinking that. Remember how excited most of us were when Mooch was hired, and then again when Marinelli came in and we had a respectalbe name at defensive coach (can’t remember the name at the moment) and then we hired Mike Martz as the offensive coordinator. Judging from the boards at the time, most of us fans, both with Mooch and Marinelli thought the Lions were finally being restored back to respectability, and look at where we find ourselves now.

So yeah, I might question draft decisions that look like old habits connected with loosing coaching staffs. I’m not at all a fan of the Stafford pick, but he said in one of his interviews after being drafted that “Winning has a way of taking care of a lot of problems.” So true.

by bertwrench31 on Apr 27, 2009 7:55 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Amen Sean! Speak truth to .........whoever.

While I agree that we are not in possession of all the information that NFL teams are, it is obvious that some of their scouts and analyses are not very good. I would invite those who would slam the Lion’s LOYAL CRITICS to look at the drafts of the Giants, Steelers, Ravens, and Titans. These are all successful teams picking at the end of each round who have each picked up some excellent players who will likely further strengthen their team. They have addressed their weaknesses and built up depth in areas that they could already be perceived as strong.

I guess we are asking the Lions leadership to live up to that high standard. They did an excellent job before the draft in picking up FAs and defining how they wanted to rebuild this team. They then went completely against that philosophy, ignoring the trenches until the fourth and seventh rounds.

In my lifetime the Lions have always selected some real oddballs in the middle rounds. Leaving behind some outstanding talent to reach for someone who looked likely to be available two or three rounds later. I have to believe that there are scouts in the organization who really don’t know what they are doing and for some reason continue to have great influence over the actual selections.

I would have hoped that events [not only football] over the last eight or ten years would have taught us not to have blind faith in leadership and that it is our duty as citizens or fans to speak up when we think that our leadership is off course and failing.

This blog is one of the ways we do that. Beats yelling at the TV.

by NorthLeft12 on Apr 27, 2009 10:30 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

+1

I don’t know if you guys noticed, but we just had an 0-16 season. What kind of fans would we be if we were OK with that and got lockstep behind the management this year with no questions? Even the Republicans are questioning their leadership after the last election; I think we are allowed to also.

by ATL Lion on Apr 27, 2009 11:12 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Haha. I agree

and my favorite part is the argument that “you aren’t a scout, you can’t know,” because that works the other way around too. I mean the people saying it aren’t scouts so there opinion is just as worthless as the person they’re pointing the finger at under their argument. Way to negate your own arguments guys.

by WBL on Apr 27, 2009 4:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I gave a B

Ive come to terms with Stafford. I love how Pettigrew stuffed Orakpo, that dude can block. Louis Delmas, how can you go wrong with the top safety? I can honestly say I’m not too dissapointed. We should have gotten the guy that can jump out of the pool, I know he was there for us to take at one point.

by BIGWalt2990 on Apr 27, 2009 7:12 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

my bad....

sorry for the name calling. it just gets old hearing about how we should have taken curry and mayhew & co. are idiots.

true, we dont have to agree with them on everything or even one thing, but there is just waaay too much negativity on some of these post.
these guys havent even chosen a number yet. give them a chance.

by ABN_MI_fan on Apr 27, 2009 7:30 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Hahahaha

Yeah, you think there’s negativity here?

Go this link, friend: www.detroitlionsforum.com

Read some of those posts and tell me how negative we are.

Baldurdash.

And by the way, I’ve probably spent as much time scouting these guys as half the damn scouts in the NFL. Granted I don’t have a job right now, but AT BEST I would give us a B-, and that’s being optimistic. Sorry I didn’t get paid for my analysis.

by Nate D. on Apr 27, 2009 12:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

B-

I was a big fan of the first 3 picks. Coming into the draft we had no long term answers at QB, TE, or S and we drafted (arguably) the top guy at each position. Williams should help immediately in the punt return game and hopefully Levy can make the transition to MLB. Initially I wanted a true MLB, but they all dropped, so there must have been concerns about them from all the teams.

Hill sems a like a very good pick in the 4th gained through trading back. I like the Brown pick-up in the 6th, he was the highest rated player according to CNNSI left when we took him. TCU had a lot of RB’s this year, so his overall numbers aren’t great, but this guy is explosive (especially as a KR where he willl contribute immediately) and he has good hands. Even if he only contributes as a KR, it’ll be more the most 6th rounders. The 7th round selections of Murtha and Follett are very solid…both were projected as 4th/5th round type players.

Besides the Levy pick, it seems we got good value with all of our picks according to most rankings…ulitimately I wish we drafted more on the offensive and defensive lines though. Also, we only got 2 picks in our top 5 which I can say right now will be starting immediately…Delmas and Pettigrew. But the new mgt. has said all along they will draft the best player available and they seemed to follow those guidelines. In the end though, the key to this draft is Stafford. If he can at least turn into an abover average starter and be our long term answer at QB, then this draft is a success.

by Stones1981 on Apr 27, 2009 9:29 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Levy Is .......

…..Going to be a stud….So is Dumas!!!

by BennieBladesFan on Apr 27, 2009 9:48 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Delmas I mean

by BennieBladesFan on Apr 27, 2009 9:49 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

7th round was my favorite

Murtha and Follett especially. Murtha being the most athletic tackle in the draft(so they say), just needs to be coached up, and start his NFL weight programs. His video, I think describes him perfectly. http://www.draftcountdown.com/scoutingreports/ot/Lydon-Murtha.php

Follet just needs some technique help and some conditioning. He tackles with intent to maim.

I don’t know about Gronkowski…and/or why they picked him. Blocking I suppose.

I feel that we’ve gotten great value from the first two 7th rounders. Even if they’re just decent backups.

by BIGWalt2990 on Apr 27, 2009 10:29 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

C+

I am ok with Rounds 1 and 2. 3rd and 4th rounds were crap. 6 and 7 were good.

2 things:
1-I think Delmas and Williams will be forever linked to the Pats picks that came right after them (Chung and ?). It is odd that the Pats went for the same position as us on the next pick. I guess I trust their talent evaluators and front office more than I trust ours (go figure)
2-I don’t like to see the draft contradict their free agency picks. We get a blocking TE and a bunch of WRs in FA and then draft some of the same guys? It makes us look like we didn’t liek the guys we got in FA. Maybe we don’t. Maybe we are going for depth. I would have liked to see some depth at Oline or MLB before depth at WR.

by ATL Lion on Apr 27, 2009 11:17 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

For the record

Detroit Lions: A

A potential franchise quarterback (Matthew Stafford), the best tight end (Brandon Pettigrew) and a solid safety (Louis Delmas) give the Lions pieces to rebuild with. They will not have another winless season.

This is the rating the Sporting News gave the Lions draft.

by lionsfan22 on Apr 27, 2009 11:38 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Three pieces do not make a whole draft.

Did they just ignore the rest of the picks? Do they think that the Lions have a good O Line and D Line?

I am on record as a strong supporter of drafting Stafford at #1. That alone made the draft for me. But, the Lions did not address their line issues at all. We had a chance to add a starter [Oher], or a 2010 starter [Beatty] at LT and passed twice. They even passed a bunch more in the third and fourth rounds.
Obviously, Mayhew and Schwartz are happy with our O Line, right? These misses may likely negatively impact the success of Stafford/Daunte, Smith, and Calvin in the short and long term.

Our D Line needed help at DT and DE. They picked one DT in the fourth round. He looks like a good pick, but a second DT and a DE would be nice for competition and possible development.

Getting the best at positions of marginal value, compared to LTs and DTs, is a pretty lousy consolation prize.

by NorthLeft12 on Apr 27, 2009 11:57 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I pretty much agree with you

The only thing I can think of is that Schwartz had Pettigrew and Delmas rated much higher than Oher and Maualuga and he believes that Grew and Delmas will provide more for our team than whoever we passed, and he may very well be right. I believe in picking for talent over need, especially with our team.

2009 = The start of the Lions Golden Age (We hope).

by Hyperion Ecta on Apr 27, 2009 10:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I give it a Dt for now

I just can`t see that much for Stafford (when the Jets jumped on the chance to move up 15 spots for Sanchez and did not really give up much) and any of the other top 5 or so could have filled more pressing needs in my opinion. And this causes a shift in thinking of money available for other spots as well, Pettigrew sounds great but he probably makes less then a tackle at this spot, same for Delmas seen him play, like him alot best in class but probably makes less then a linebacker at this spot. I hope these guys all become probowlers i just would have liked to plug some holes in the middle of the field to stop all those long runs to daylight we had to watch last year. I know Millen and Rod are gone but Tom and Martin and most of this scouting staff were there the last couple of years. Just hoping that the acorns fell on the side of the tree that was going far away from the stump. I see some good grades on other sites but being a fan for over 40 years i just keep hoing for better next year and as always i hope this is our year.

by lionsfan64 on Apr 27, 2009 1:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Grade = INCOMPLETE !

Yes, the draft is over and opinions vary. One good thing yet to come is TRYOUTS ?, rookie free agent signings and veteran movements. This means COMPETITION ! In the LONG RUN, this process will most definitely UPGRADE the entire organization. It’s the little moments that make life big. Enjoy the next 4 months and WE WILL be rewarded in New Orleans !

by Keevatron on Apr 27, 2009 1:16 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm confused by the Williams pick

Didn’t we just sign a slot receiver in Ronald Curry? Did we just spend a 3rd Rd. pick on a 4th receiver/ KR? I know KR’s a need, but don’t we have bigger holes to fill than a KR?

by WBL on Apr 27, 2009 1:33 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

He and the RB

Are the two most confusing/wasteful picks in this draft

by Nate D. on Apr 27, 2009 1:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wrong

The RB will be a great spell back for Smith. And Williams was drafted to be a KR/PR, and will probably only be a 5 or 6 WR on the depth chart.

by giggy09 on Apr 27, 2009 4:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I might be wrong but wasn’t he rated the best receiver coming out of high school?

by BIGWalt2990 on Apr 27, 2009 4:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Possibly

But that doesn’t mean much. There are countless numbers of players who were rated high out of high school and never heard from again. College can be a killer for any athlete.

by giggy09 on Apr 27, 2009 5:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

All I’m saying is that, you don’t forget how to run routes effectively or catch the ball. Those are god given talents, given the opportunity, I think were looking at a Santonio Holmes on our offense.

by BIGWalt2990 on Apr 27, 2009 7:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You can lead a lions fan to kool aid

Santonio Holmes, Bob Sanders, Jeremy Shockey and John Elway part deux with our picks from what I’ve read here. What’s with the talk of not going to the playoffs next year? For all the people crying about other people whining, this unguarded optimism is crazy.
I want these kids to be good for the Lions but we didn’t just pick up the GOAT draft here.
And just an afterthought, HS football isn’t about running routes presnap recognition. If you’re running a 4.4 40 or close toit in HS you should be dominant. They send recruiting letters to every kid who can run 40 yards and not fall down.

by MattyZ on Apr 27, 2009 10:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Who Knows

If theres one consensus about the draft, or drafts, its that no one really knows how it will play out. Having said that, I agree with most people above in that the first 3 picks seem to be solid picks- given the money teams have to pay a #1, you’re almost forced to go QB, and then they got the top rated players at their positions in the next two picks. Pettigrew is rated as the best TE to come out in a few years, and if Delmas had played at a larger school, he may very well have gone in the 1st round.

Where the Lions’ picks make no sense, at least for me, is in the 3rd round. Why do you pick an OLB and hope he can play MLB? And then to spend the 82nd pick on somebody that will essentially be used as a special teamer and return specialist? Thats the part of the draft that makes little to no sense. Its fine if those types of picks come in the 6-7 round area, but in the third? I understand drafting talent over need, but at some point don’t you have to prioritize the positions that you look for talent in?

by brando45 on Apr 27, 2009 2:42 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Indeed

I think that Mayhew and Schwartz took a break on the 3rd round, went out back, and smoked a couple.

by Nate D. on Apr 27, 2009 3:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Brando

I don’t know how much Big 10 Football you watched, and I mean no slight to you. But EVERY time an offensive team sent a player in motion against Wisconsin, #11 bumped to the inside. That’s a lot of plays. He smacked Beanie around, and absolutely terrorized my Beloved Blue. Long arms, freakish strength, and is fast. Big sleeper pick. And a warning to the rest of the league. Watch out for LD at Safety. He plays EVIL!

by dylan415 on Apr 27, 2009 8:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Stafford rated as a C pick?

That is absolutely 100% pure junk. Do you realize how dumb it is to rank Stafford as a C and then Pettigrew as a Borderline A? Drafting Pettigrew only makes sense if you selected a QB at #1, hence they practically have to be graded in unison.

If you think Stafford is a poor prospect that is one thing. But from what I read, you just didn’t want to draft a QB #1 overall. Well cry me a river. I didn’t plan on drafting a TE at #20 but I won’t knock Pettigrew down to an F grade based upon my childish demands. Plus Pettigrew isn’t even supposedly a great receiving talent which makes how much sense? At least Stafford is a well rounded prospect with all of the tools. Did I want to draft 3 special teams players before drafting a MLB or CB? No but I’m not individually ranking those players as an F either. Based upon NEED we got a D or F. We did very little to improve our team this year through this draft. Fortunately we did very well for ourselves in Free Agency + trading. I like your blog for it’s structure but your opinions are beyond biased and need adjusting. They are not going to gain you respect from any football minds. As always I hope you all enjoyed the draft, take care.

by FelixWigg on Apr 27, 2009 3:54 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I don't think this is supposed to be an unbiased news source

It is a Blog. Sean can have his childish opinions.

by ATL Lion on Apr 27, 2009 4:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Childish opinions?

Go read my explanation for the grade in the first link of this story. Yeesh.

Pride of Detroit, SB Nation's Lions Blog

by Sean Yuille on Apr 27, 2009 6:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

B

I think this was a solid draft. Please don’t cry out Millen again. This year we might not have drafted the positions most thought we needed the most, but at least we drafted players that were highly rated and sought after by most teams. I think we can all agree on Levy being the most intriguing pick. Everybody that says he is undersize is underestimating his frame. He is like 6’2 – 6’3 230ish which is only ten pounds lighter and an inch or two taller.

by momentumchange on Apr 27, 2009 4:33 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

than a prototypical mlb

by momentumchange on Apr 27, 2009 4:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Grades are bullshit anyway

A team should be graded on how well they fill their needs n a draft, not by which players they select. Meaning, each player shouldn’t have his individual grade because they haven’t even put on a uniform yet. Instead, each team should be graded on how they went about picking up players they need. Only later should individual player grades be given out. No one has a clue how any of these guys will stack up in the NFL, regardless of how they played in college. I’m sure Tom Brady was given a D or lower when selected by the Patriots, and they probably thought it was dumb to take a QB with Bledsoe back there at the time. But look now.

Individual draft grades this soon after the draft are completely useless.

by giggy09 on Apr 27, 2009 4:58 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Lions Draft

How the Lions went into this draft thinking “we do NOT have to draft 8 starters for this year” is beyond logic. They drafted like they made the playoffs last year.

First drafting a QB is a 50:50 prospect at best. One that is an underclassman lowers it to a 2:15. Second, other than Peyton Manning the history of SEC QB’s is very bad, Peyton is golden, Jay Cutler is close but makes to many bad throws and Eli is more of a product of Plaxico.

Of the Lions last 7 first round picks 5 have been either a QB or WR, and 4 of them are no longer on the team which means they have neglected the core part of the team, namely the OL and defense. This draft did nothing to shore up the core part of the team.

I was hoping that the firing of MIllen would of changed the mindset of the LIons but it is more of the same.

Based on this years draft they will go 0-16 again this year.

Fire all the coaching staff , GM, president, and everyone who made this years picks.

by Redlem on Apr 27, 2009 6:00 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Is that what you call history? The only three guys you can remember?

Do yourself a favour and look up all the SEC QBs over the last fifteen years or so, then compare that group to any other conference’s QBs over the same time period and get back to us with the results. If those three guys are representative of all SEC QBs then everyone should be drafting from the SEC.

by NorthLeft12 on Apr 27, 2009 7:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

How is it more of the same?

Every other year they select flashy skill players who are moderately talented or they select under sized guys that millen thought were “neat”.

This year, if you read actual comments from most scouts, every one of our late round picks gets the same comments, “immense athletic ability, just needs to develop X”, X being some factor of his game. I am pretty sure that Schwartz believe he can teach the technique, but the athleticism is there or it’s not. That is a vast difference from previous years.

by MatthewDC on Apr 27, 2009 7:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Great point Matt

2009 = The start of the Lions Golden Age (We hope).

by Hyperion Ecta on Apr 27, 2009 10:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Matt, I partly agree with you.

I am not denying the ability and athleticism of Pettigrew and Delmas, but I would classify them as “sexy” picks for the Lions. Let me explain my thinking.
Pettigrew was clearly the best all around TE prospect in this draft. Delmas was consistently near the top of the safety class. But their positions do not merit the pick they were selected at. So in two years we may have an All Pro TE and a Pro Bowl Safety. We still will not be able to protect the QB or stop the run. Their positions just don’t help those situations very much.
The boring picks would have been the fourth or fifth best LTs who might take a year to develop into regular strong contributors. Or the second, third, or fourth best DT to help stop the run. Would those guys develop into Pro Bowlers? Maybe not. Solid regulars? Likely.

I generally liked the selections from round four on except the last pick [another freaking TE?]. Round three was our impact round. They started very well by trading down to pick up two more picks. Then used the picks for an LB that must be converted/taught to play the middle? And a WR who also returns kicks? Say what? With all the available players we chose these two? This is the third round. There are a lot of good players still available on the Oline especially. And they passed them all.

Good organizations have a vision of what their team is and where they are headed. If you look at the Giants, Steelers, Colts, Ravens, and Titans they drafted to fill weaknesses or at spots where they are older in their roster. In a lot of cases more than one time. They understand what they need and they fill it with the appropriate talent at the appropriate time in the draft. Those five teams had tremendous drafts, in my opinion, that will contribute to their long term success.

The Lions looked like they tried to take a short cut by taking high profile players at less impactful postions. That does not bode well for the future.

by NorthLeft12 on Apr 28, 2009 10:20 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

While they may be considered 'less impactful' positions

Doesn’t mean that the players we got can’t be impactful. I fully agree with you about the third round. We could’ve picked up a good Lineman and a good inside backer but we didn’t, we instead picked guys Schwartz wanted, and to be honest I trust him right now.

As for Grew and Delmas, I think that they could have as much, if not more of an impact than a LT and a MLB. Pettigrew contribution will be two-fold. He will set the edge on run plays and be a safety valve on pass plays. I think that’s a pretty important contribution and no other TE was going to offer that. Delmas-wise, he appears to be a physical run stopping safety, and there’s talk, despite his poor wonderlic (which I don’t think matters a great deal) will be a leader for our defence. So virtually, he is taking a lot of the roles that a traditional MLB would have, so if Schwartzy makes it work, then I think that’s also a steller pick.

Obviously, I’m not saying that we don’t need a LT or a MLB…we do. But If we can grab two players who are gonna contribute as much, if not more to the team, you have to take them.

2009 = The start of the Lions Golden Age (We hope).

by Hyperion Ecta on Apr 28, 2009 8:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

This could be....

…the single most willfully ignorant comment I have ever read. I feel dumber for having read it.

The Lions had a B draft this year. Just because they didn’t go with your opinions doesn’t mean they don’t have solid reasons for making the picks. And do you REALLY believe they will go 0-16 this year and that Schwartz deserves to be fired already?

Get real, man.

GO LIONS! RESTORE THE ROAR!

by Twon82 on Apr 29, 2009 1:55 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs