POD Community Mock Draft: Pick No. 1

The poll seems to indicate that.

One thing I will say is that DrewsLions has been on the Stafford bandwagon for as long as this was a debate.

The Lions need to give him a chance to watch and learn for 2009. There is absolutely no need to rush him onto the field in 2009.

I expect to be writing this again in three weeks.

it’s about the need of a quarterback, plain and simple. We’ve gone too long plugging in journeyman veterans and late round wannabes and never contend for anything. Maybe Stafford busts. But maybe he becomes a very solid quarterback and puts Detroit back into contention. The fact is that we need to get a quarterback at some point… why not start by building around one?

him higher than Stafford. I haven’t seen anything that makes me think that Sanchez is the better QB. He’s got fewer starts. Weaker arm. Played in an offense that’s much less pro-style than Georgia’s. Maybe he is more accurate, but he had a much better team around him than Stafford. It’s hard to judge completely, but I think that Stafford is the better pick.

Apples to oranges… completely. Vince Young played in a completely different offense. The only similarity was the desire by the team drafting him to choose to build around that quarterback. Nothing else is the same. To think Schwartz will be tentative because of the Young pick is nonsense. He’s too smart for that.

The only question Schwartz should be asking himself is “can Matthew Stafford play and play well within the boundaries of the offense that I put on the field?” If the answer is yes, draft him. Schwartz and everyone in the country can tell that Stafford is not Vince Young… he’s better. Why? Let me explain…

There’s always a risk in taking a running QB that has had college success and played in non-pro style offense. The Titans knew this. They gambled and failed. Stafford is a MUCH safer pick than Young because is floor is higher. Young had that boom or bust potential… high ceiling, low floor. Needless to say, there were also indications that he didn’t have the mental capacity to handle a pro offense and the pressure that comes with it (see his wonderlic scores if you need proof). Stafford at worst, will be an average quarterback because of his physical skills and the offensive understanding he already has within the Georgia system. I highly doubt Stafford will fold like Vince Young did. Therefore, he is a better prospect. Make sense?

And you probably expected it from me. But like I said, in the last few months, nothing has happened that takes me to any other conclusion than Stafford grading out as a top five player in the nation. And when you need a QB, you pull the trigger. I just can’t see giving a LB that big a contract. The value versus impact is just not there. They could take Maualuga at #20 and it would be a good defensive upgrade for a quarter of the cost. They can’t however, can’t get a good quarterback prospect at #20. I don’t wanna hear that Freeman is in the same league as Sanchez or Stafford, either. Not even close.

Anyway, I think the world of Curry… just not at number one!

People are obsessed with replacing Backus this year. I think that there are bigger needs (like QB) and that Backus is at least an average tackle. We need to replace the poor talent this year (like at QB) and work on replacing the average talent next year. Let’s focus on the massive hole at guard in this draft. I like a guy like Urbik in the 3rd round.

IF he turns out as good as his potential, IF he doesnt get killed by NFL defenses, IF he isn’t the next Joey Harrington. Too many questions

I’ve been on the quarterback bandwagon for a long time. Not necessarily the Stafford bandwagon, but the reasoning that we will never be consistent winners without a good quarterback. I just can’t understand the thought process of constantly waiting to put a highly drafted quarterback on our roster. It just doesn’t make sense to me.

1. We need a reliable run game and upgraded pass-protection. Backus is declining and getting older…barely serviceable today maybe, but not long-term. Jason Smith or Eugene Monroe will be a cornerstone of our team for a decade and make any QB and RB better.

Aaron Curry would do the same for our defense.

2. Culpepper has a full, healthy offseason with the team (something he hasn’t had in a long time). He’ll be way better than the ex-retired overweight guy he was last fall. He can be our game manager for a couple years while we fix the rest of the team. Add Jason Smith for pass-protection and Culpepper will be even better.

3. Stanton deserves a shot. When you spend a 2nd-rounder on a guy, you give him a chance in year 3 instead of just giving up on him. He’s still a tall, mobile, young QB with a strong arm and 2 years with the team. We don’t need to spend any draft picks on a young QB because we already have one.

4. If we draft a QB, we need to spend another pick on a lineman right away to protect him to avoid David Carr Syndrome—the young #1 overall QB who never gets a chance because he’s on his back all the time. This may not be a great draft to get an OT at #20 or #33—the elite guys will be gone by then and the second-tier tackles will be off the board. We lose the opportunity to fix our defense as much as we’d like because we have to spend so many picks on offense.

5. Don’t spend a #1 pick on a guy you don’t know you need.

Culpepper may have a few years of good play left IF we can keep him upright behind a good O-Line, not playing from behind because the defense is really bad.

Stanton may be a good QB who was stuck in a terrible situation—we won’t know unless he gets real playing time behind a good O-Line, not playing from behind because the defense is really bad.

just a few thoughts that I know have been said before.

First, our defense is depleted. But which defender are you going to give $40MM guaranteed to? Curry? What, when you can get a middle linebacker like Maualuga at #20? You can’t be foolish with money. Like I said in my reasoning for the pick, value has to meet impact with the top pick.

Second, if we are waiting to find a quarterback in late rounds like NE did with Brady, the Detroit Lions will NEVER win a Super Bowl. Hear that… NEVER. It just doesn’t happen. We have a chance to take the best quarterback in the draft this year. That gives us a BETTER chance in succeeding with getting a good quarterback.

Third, do you think that if we draft every player this year on defense, that we will win more than six games? Heck no. This is going to take two or three years to build. Why not get your QB, build around him, give him time to learn the system and put the pieces together over time? We don’t know if we’ll ever be in the right place, right time to get the best quarterback again.

Lastly, let’s put the Millenisms to rest. If Mayhew takes Stafford it doesn’t make him Matt Millen. If Stafford is the real deal and takes us to a championship in 2011, no one will be jeering this pick. There is no way that you can simply say, “if you take Stafford, it’s Matt Millen all over again”. That’s just a cop-out and a easier way of saying “I really don’t have a better point or argument to make”. Remember, and pay attention because this is VERY IMPORTANT… we have more than one draft pick! We can get great defensive help with the #20 and #33 pick. Honestly, why does everyone feel that if we don’t use the number pick on defense, we have no chance of upgrading this defense at all? Makes no sense!

Anyway, not attacking you, just your analysis of the pick.

When your rebuttal starts with the wise words from “The Hair”, I’m not sure I can take those comments with much worth. I get your point, but I wouldn’t draft Stafford to sit. I’d draft him to play. I like Curry… I actually like him very much, just not at number one. At number five… absolutely. As much as we all hate it, money is a factor in the decision. Once again for everyone who missed it… value must meet impact with these high picks. You simply can’t give a LB $40MM dollars.

then you and I will put this to rest and just agree to disagree. First, you are implying that Curry is the best player in the draft. There is no consensus on that. He’s been considered the “safest” pick – in my mind, this means that he has a high floor and should be a good player. But safest doesn’t necessarily mean best. In this year’s draft, there is no Reggie Bush or Michael Vick – someone coming out of college that teams are willing to trade up for. This year, that player doesn’t exist. Curry is NOT a consensus best player. If anything, it might just be Eugene Monroe. If Curry was that type of guy, maybe you think about him at that spot. If he’s that special, maybe he’s worth the contract. But we’re not sure he is – and if you’re not sure, that means he’s not a consensus guy. In my world, Monroe, Smith, Curry and Stafford are all great choices. But quarterback trumps everything if you don’t have one.

The other blatant factor is the Lions NEED a quarterback. It’s not like we have this other great option and we’re just taking a quarterback to add to our stable. It’s just not the case. Truth be told… we have no idea what Culpepper is going to do. Legitimately, he could tank… hard. Then what? Oh well, let’s try in 2010. Wrong. Stafford’s there now and just as good a prospect as Curry. Take him.

People get riled up over the Lions, and rightly so.

He obviously is nowhere near capable of starting from what we’ve heard from the coaches. If things are that uncertain with him, we need to bring in another QB. A waste? For sure… but necessary.

The Lions need to hire you right now! Because you can already see that Stafford is a bust. Are you a real life psychic? That is amazing!

C’mon, this is getting ridiculous. You have absolutely no idea if Stafford is a bust or not. None. Neither do I. Pro scouts and analysts alike think the guy might have a bright future in this league. So for you to come here and start making these ridiculous statement is getting soooo old. I can see if you would rather see the Lions go in a different direction, that’s totally fine that you disagree with me. But to already know that Stafford is a bust is laughable. Here’s a thought… think, then type.

But I don’t like any of the QB’s coming out next year. They are mostly system QB’s and they tend to struggle. Stafford and/or Sanchez are more pro-style QB’s and, like Drew says are more NFL ready. Preferrably I’d build our O-line but taking Stafford might be the smart thing for the future. He doesn’t have to play this year. We can sit him for 2009 and take a top notch LT with next year’s draft.

But from what I’ve read, and that’s what I rely on since I have no ability to watch college games, guys like Bradford and Tebow are in a style of offence that doesn’t resemble a pro-style offence. Like you said, NFL offences run shotgun maybe a 1/4 of the time. That’s 75% of the game that’s under centre. Asking a college player to try to run an NFL offence to which he has little experience in while not being used to being under centre would be tough and has proved to be for players in the past. But again, Bradford, McCoy and Tebow might be different by I can’t pass proper judgement on them until their up for drafting in a year’s time.Right now though, Stafford/Sanchez looks to be a solid choice.

Being in Australia, they only show 3-4 games on TV in the regular season each week so I have to hope they are showing the Lions game that week. From the 5 years I’ve been a Lions I’ve seen 7 Lions games, most of them being the Thanksgiving game. So, I rely on the game threads here and the NFL.com game coverage with the coloured lines representing the plays and the like. It’s tough.

College games are obviously worse. My pay TV provider sometimes shows bowl games and then only the big ones, but I’ll be more on the look out for games I can watch this year.