Pride Of Detroit, a Detroit Lions community

Not sure if this is a wake-up call for RB Kevin Smith or not, but Jim Schwartz, in explaining the Lions' high draft grade for LB DeAndre Levy, he dropped this little nugget: The Lions were busy looking at Beanie Wells last week, thinking he might fall to them at No. 33. And they very likely would've grabbed him, or at least that was the impression he left. It was a moot point, considering Arizona grabbed him at No. 31, as a lot of us expected. But, still ...

"We did some work on Beanie Wells late in the week with an anticipation of where he might drop," Schwartz said, later adding when asked about it, "We considered just about everybody. We had done a lot of work on where (Wells) was and looking at a lot of mock drafts late in the week and who might take him. We were ready in case he would've fallen."

Rachel Nichols, who will be covering the Detroit Lions draft for ESPN, just reported that "As time grows short, Jason Smith's name floats out there.'' If there ever comes a point in the next 24 hours where Smith, the Baylor offensive tackle, enters negotiations with Detroit -- and there's no evidence of that yet -- then the reason is because talks with Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford have collapsed.

Lions general manager Martin Mayhew says the chances are very good Detroit will have a deal done with the No. 1 pick before the NFL draft begins Saturday.

Mayhew declined to say much else during a news conference Tuesday. The Lions have taken great pride in staying quiet about their plans.

"I hope nobody expects me to say anything earth-shattering," Mayhew said in his opening comments.

As the session with Lewand was breaking up, a few reporters continued to poke and prod about the No. 1 overall pick. After revealing the Lions would unveil their new logo next Monday, I thanked Lewand for helping me set my schedule for next week then asked in jest when they planned on signing Matt Stafford so I could pencil that into my planner, too.

"I didn't know Aaron Curry changed his name," Lewand joked back.

The Detroit Lions brain trust headed south today to hold a private on-campus workout with Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Matt Stafford. The results were encouraging for Stafford and the Lions, who own the first pick in April's draft.

Sources described Stafford's workout as flawless, stating it was significantly better than his March 19 pro-day workout, also held at Georgia.

KFFL has learned the Detroit Lions will take Baylor OT Jason Smith with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft.

"You can go play blackjack in Vegas and play at the $5 tables and play for a couple hours and make bad decisions and lose $100 and have some fun," Schwartz said Thursday at the NFL Scouting Combine.

"You go play at the $5,000 and $10,000 tables, you're making bad decisions, and you're walking home. You're not flying home. So I think you've got to add that into the equation. Not only is it an opportunity to get a great player, but you also need to make sure."

USC coach Pete Carroll said Monday that All-American safety Taylor Mays, cornerback Josh Pinkard and tailback C.J. Gable would return next season.