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9 days ago: South squad quarterback Jarrett Brown (16) of West Virginia, is sacked by North squad defender Brandon Graham (55) of Michigan, during the first half of the Senior Bowl NCAA college football game in Mobile, Ala., Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

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The week in Mobile for the Senior Bowl taught us quite a bit about many potential draft picks, including both positive and negative things.  Obviously we are still a long way away from the draft, especially considering the combine still has to happen later this month, but here are the three main things I took away from Senior Bowl week:

1. The Lions will be lucky to have a shot at drafting Brandon Graham in the second round. 

Graham's stock was soaring all week just during practice, and once he took the field on Saturday for the game he showed everybody why, wreaking havoc with the South's offensive line and taking home MVP honors.  Sure, people aren't necessarily thrilled with some of his measurables, but Graham is a football player.  When he's on the field, his play speaks for itself, and I think that, combined with his amazing week in Mobile, will make him a first-round pick for sure.  I suppose anything could happen come draft time, but Graham just seems like he is too talented for there not to be a team, say in the last 12 or so picks, that decides to draft him.  He can obviously play as a defensive end in a 4-3 defense, and many people believe he can be a linebacker in a 3-4 (much like LaMarr Woodley).  Quite frankly, I just don't think he will be around when the Lions go on the clock in the second round, although I'd love to be wrong.

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Below is an updated look at the 2010 NFL Draft order, now taking the playoffs into account.  The draft order will still need to be updated two more times after this -- once after the Super Bowl and once after the coin flips are done to break the tiebreakers.  Other than that, though, the order is pretty close to becoming official.

Below is a look at the current order of the first-round of the 2010 NFL Draft. Many of the picks are already in place, but there are some ties that need to be broken by a coin flip at the NFL Combine.  Also, the order of the last 12 picks is dependent on what happens in the playoffs. Teams that lose in the wild card round will get the earliest picks (20-24), and ultimately the teams that end up in the Super Bowl will have the last two picks of the first-round.

The St. Louis Rams are officially the worst team in the NFL this season after losing to the 49ers 28-6 today.  The loss by the Rams means they finished the 2009 season with a 1-15 record, giving them the first overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.  Since the Lions lost to the Bears today to finish with a 2-14 record, they officially have the second overall pick of the draft.  This is the third time in four years the Lions will pick in the top two of the draft.  Last year the Lions obviously had the top pick, and in 2007 the Lions picked Calvin Johnson with the second selection.

It will be interesting to see how the top of the draft plays out, because the most asked question will definitely be about whether or not the Rams will select a quarterback.  To me it seems pretty obvious that they have a definite need for a quarterback, but then again, Ndamukong Suh seems like a once in a blue moon talent at defensive tackle.  I guess what it will come down to is if St. Louis feels that Suh is simply too talented to pass up and if St. Louis feels it can pick up a QB at some other point in the draft.

For the Lions, it will be another year where the best player available is selected.  The good news is that even if Suh isn't around when the Lions go on the clock, it seems like there are quite a few other players who are top-five talents.  Considering how many needs the Lions have, whoever the pick is should be able to come in and immediately make this team better.  Personally I hope that player is Ndamukong Suh, but that is simply my opinion right now.  It's a long way until April, and as we have all learned before, a lot can change until the draft actually arrives.

With one week left in the NFL season, the 2010 draft picture is starting to clear up a little bit.  There's still a lot that could happen in this last week, though, so let's take a look at where we are right now and examine what the draft lineup would be if the season ended today.

What exactly does this all mean as we head into the final week of the regular season?  A rundown of the different scenarios and what they would mean for the Lions can be seen below, but first I want to note that I am not even going to bother mentioning the Buccaneers beyond this point.  The difference between their strength of schedule and Detroit's is too large for Tampa Bay to end up with the easier schedule, so there is no way the Lions will have anything lower than the third pick.

Now that that is out of the way, here is a look at the different draft scenarios that could happen depending on if the Lions win or lose against Chicago:

Detroit Wins

• If Kansas City also wins, the Lions will be guaranteed to have the second pick.
• If Kansas City loses, which team gets the second pick will come down to the strength of schedule tiebreaker.  There is only a difference of one game right now, so that theoretically might not break the tie.  If that is the case, I believe the tie would be broken with a coin flip at the combine.

Detroit Loses

• If St. Louis also loses, the Lions will be guaranteed to have the second pick.
• If St. Louis wins, which team gets the first pick will come down to the strength of schedule tiebreaker.  As is the case with the scenario involving the Chiefs, that tiebreaker theoretically might not break the tie since there is only a difference of 2 games between the Lions' and Rams' strength of schedule.  If the teams are still tied, then the next tiebreaker is conference record.  Originally I thought it went straight to a coin flip, but if teams are in the same division or conference, then those specific records are taken into account.  For the purpose of this scenario, the Lions would end up with a 1-11 record against NFC teams and the Rams would be 2-10.  As a result, the Lions would have the top pick of the draft.

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If the season ended today, the Lions would have the No. 2 pick in the draft thanks to the Browns and Buccaneers winning their games this past Sunday.  The win by the Browns gave them 3 for the season, and the Buccaneers' upset victory over Seattle gave them 2 for 2009.  That means that the Lions and Buccaneers are the only 2-12 teams, and only the Rams have a worse record.  St. Louis looked like they might pull off an upset of their own against Houston to improve to 2-12 as well, but they ended up losing and are still 1-13.

The reason the Lions would have the No. 2 pick if the season ended today is because they hold the tiebreaker -- strength of schedule -- over the Buccaneers.  There has been some confusion on here over what that means, but let me explain.  The team with the easier schedule (i.e. lower winning percentage among its opponents) gets the higher pick in the first round of the draft if there is a tie.  Right now Detroit's schedule is easier than Tampa Bay's, so according to the tiebreaker, Detroit would get the second pick.  Below is a look at what the top five picks of the draft would be if the season ended today.

Had Cleveland lost to Kansas City, the Browns would be ahead of the Lions in the draft order based on a difference of only one game in the tiebreaker. That's how close this can be. If St. Louis had won, the Lions would be at the top of the draft board because their schedule is easier by four games. The difference is much greater with Tampa Bay, though.  Compared to Detroit's schedule, Tampa Bay's is tougher by ten games. 

The thing that is so interesting about the possibility of the strength of schedule tiebreaker coming into play is that St. Louis, Detroit, and Tampa Bay have a lot of the same teams on their schedules.  That is especially true for the Rams and Lions, which play each others' divisions.  This means that if St. Louis were to win another game and the Lions were to lose out, the No. 1 pick in the draft very well could be determined by the outcome of a game that neither team is even involved in. (By the way, if two teams finish with the same record and same strength of schedule, the deciding tiebreaker would be a coin flip.)

Photo by Scott Boehm - Getty Images

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TE Dan Gronkowski (Maryland) - Round 7, Pick No. 255

With their third pick of the seventh round and the second-to-last pick of the draft, the Lions selected another tight end, Dan Gronkowski out of Maryland.  When it gets this late in the draft, teams usually make picks based on how hard it will be to sign a certain player as an undrafted free agent.  I'm sure that played a part in the Lions' selection, but another part apparently was the fact that the tight end position still needed more depth.  Brandon Pettigrew is the obvious starter, but additional depth at the position apparently was a need for the coaching staff, as Gronkowski became the second tight end to go to the Lions in this year's draft.

Experts' Opinions

Best trait per Scouts Inc.:

Possesses soft, reliable hands. Shows good concentration in traffic but lacks the body control to make acrobatic catches.

SI.com:

POSITIVES: Nice-sized tight end prospect who plays much faster than his forty time. Quickly gets off the snap into routes, displays a burst of speed, and extends his hands to make the reception away from his frame. Gets vertical and adjusts in midair to come down with the difficult catch. Uses his frame to shield away opponents and protect the pass. Smooth moving around the field, and shows a good degree of quickness in his all-around game. Breaks down well, and plays with good knee bend. Solid strength at the point, and removes linebackers from the action.

NEGATIVES: Inconsistent hands and does not show the ability to pluck the fastball from the air. Lacks blocking balance and does not finish blocks.

Video

Touchdown reception against Florida State (2006):

Draft day feature (shows him getting the call from the Lions):

Outlook for 2009

Gronkowski will compete for a spot on the roster with the other tight ends on the team.  If I had to make a prediction right now, I would say he is more of a practice squad type of player since the Lions do have quite a few tight ends now, but it is only May.  Once training camp begins we should have a better idea of which players will make the roster and which ones will be on the practice squad or off the team altogether.  Also, we should have a better idea if three of four tight ends will make the team.  Scott Linehan seems like he wants to utilize the team's tight ends in his offense, so that very well could mean four TEs make the team.  If that is the case, then Gronkowski has a good chance of making the team as the fourth tight end.

Photo by Lance Iversen - SF Chronicle

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LB Zack Follett (California) - Round 7, Pick No. 235

One of my favorite picks of the draft came in the seventh round.  After already selecting an offensive tackle with their first selection of the seventh round, the Lions decided to draft their second linebacker of the day with the 235th pick.  Like DeAndre Levy, the LB selected earlier in the day, Zack Follett was technically an outside linebacker in college.  The difference between the two is that Follett played some MLB at Cal, though I believe that was mainly in the 3-4.  Regardless, Follett has a ton of potential and is a big hitter.  I don't care what people say about his technique, he gets to the ball and makes his target pay when delivering a hit.  The best way to describe his play is by saying that he has a mean streak at all times.

Experts' Opinions

Best trait per Scouts Inc.:

Flashes effective power moves coming off the edge and quick enough to turn the corner working against most NFL right tackles but doesn't show a variety of pass rush moves and could do a better job of setting offensive tackles up to the outside before redirecting inside.

SI.com:

POSITIVES: Instinctive linebacker who plays with good instincts. Breaks down well, quick in his head, and immediately locates the ball. Effective in run defense, fires up the field, and wraps up tackling. Tough, and works hard to get involved in the action.

NEGATIVES: Displays marginal skill in pursuit and lacks speed to the sidelines. Struggles in coverage, displaying a poor backpedal and average ball skills.

Avinash of California Golden Blogs:

Zack's best strength is his pass rushing ability, to get off the edge and plant the quarterback down. He loved coming off the side and taking the quarterback out when he was called upon to do so. He's very athletic. He gets very pumped up for games, and he's capable of making game-changing plays on defense (he played a huge part in several California victories last season). He has played in both 3-4 and 4-3 schemes, so he is flexible in terms of understanding each formation regardless of where you put him.

Some of his more noticeable weaknesses include coverage and passing defense; he sometimes lets the receiver fall behind him and he plays the scheme rather than the man. His huge aggressiveness can sometimes be a detriment, because once he makes a big play he struts a little bit and doesn't exactly listen to the whistle (you'll see examples of this in the highlights).

Also, the fall in the draft for Zack might have been due to his neck issues.

For more on Follett from California Golden Blogs, click here.

Videos

Career highlights:

Senior Bowl practice (includes Follett making a play on Pettigrew in coverage):

More:

• Butkus Award watch list highlights
• 2006 highlights
• 2007 highlights
• Highlights against Miami (FL) in the Emerald Bowl (2008)
  
• Huge hit against Tennessee (HD)
• Pro Day interview
• Interview after a loss to Maryland (2008)
  
• Big hit from Follett's younger years
• Follett's YouTube page (includes videos of his fish tank and a still frame video of him buying Guinness)

Outlook for 2009

Follett is a versatile linebacker that will probably be nothing more than depth this season.  He definitely has potential, though.  If he can stay healthy and work on his technique, he may be able to climb up the depth chart someday.  Like I said already, he gets to the ball and makes plays.  If he can improve his technique, then he will have a great skill set to go along with his aggressive, hard-hitting attitude.