With the 2008 NFL Draft just five days away, it is time to take one last look at Pride of Detroit's Lions Mock Draft Database. This is the third edition, and this time around I have included 50 mock drafts from around the Internet. (Big thanks to Hail Redskins for providing links to these mocks)
The trend of first-round picks has changed drastically since the first database I posted. Originally, the common thing for the Lions was to draft a cornerback with the 15th pick. Then, after Kevin Jones was released, the trend began to shift toward running back. Now, less than a week away from the draft, I would say the trend is running back for sure. Specifically, that running back is Rashard Mendenhall. As expected, players like Jerod Mayo, Derrick Harvey, and Jonathan Stewart also are mentioned as being potential first-round picks for the Lions, but not nearly as much as Mendenhall.
One more thing that stood out to me when I was putting this together is that the first-round picks listed below are all players we've heard mentioned many times before as being real possibilities to join the Lions. I would say all of them sans Dan Connor could end up a Lion after Saturday, so it'll be interesting to look back and see who had the most accurate predictions.
As usual, the third-round pick listed below is Detroit's actual third-rounder, not the one they acquired from the Browns.
For the previous two editions of this database, click here and here.
| 2008 DETROIT LIONS MOCK DRAFT DATABASE (Third Edition) | |||||||
| Site | Upd. | First-Round | Second-Round | Third-Round | |||
| Pro Draft Guide | 4-20 | LB | Jerod Mayo | CB | Aqib Talib | RB | Kevin Smith |
| The NewNFLDraft | 4-20 | RB | Jonathan Stewart | LB | Dan Connor | DT | Red Bryant |
| Football Draft Analyists | 4-20 | OT | Jeff Otah | TE | Fred Davis | RB | Matt Forte |
| The Scouts Notebook | 4-20 | RB | Rashard Mendenhall | LB | Tavares Gooden | - | No Pick |
| TheFootballExpert (1) | 4-20 | RB | Rashard Mendenhall | LB | Curtis Lofton | LB | Tavares Gooden |
| Inside the Eagles | 4-20 | RB | Jonathan Stewart | - | No Pick | - | No Pick |
| Junkyard Jake | 4-20 | DE | Derrick Harvey | TE | Dustin Keller | - | No Pick |
| Fantasy Football Xtreme | 4-20 | OL | Branden Albert | - | No Pick | - | No Pick |
| Draft Headquarters | 4-20 | RB | Jonathan Stewart | - | No Pick | - | No Pick |
| Fantasy Football Jungle (1) | 4-20 | DE | Derrick Harvey | LB | Curtis Lofton | - | No Pick |
| Heard's Football Report | 4-20 | RB | Rashard Mendenhall | - | No Pick | - | No Pick |
| East Coast Sports News | 4-20 | LB | Jerod Mayo | - | No Pick | - | No Pick |
| Football Thoughts | 4-20 | CB | Aqib Talib | OT | Anthony Collins | DE | Calais Campbell |
| 53 Deep | 4-20 | RB | Jonathan Stewart | - | No Pick | - | No Pick |
| TheFootballExpert (2) | 4-20 | LB | Jerod Mayo | - | No Pick | - | No Pick |
| Fantasy Football Jungle (2) | 4-19 | LB | Dan Connor | DE | Cliff Avril | OT | Duane Brown |
| NFL Draft Specialist | 4-19 | CB | Mike Jenkins | RB | Matt Forte | DE | Jason Jones |
| The Landry Hat | 4-19 | RB | Rashard Mendenhall | - | No Pick | - | No Pick |
| Draft Wisdom | 4-19 | RB | Jonathan Stewart | - | No Pick | - | No Pick |
| Windy City Gridiron | 4-18 | RB | Rashard Mendenhall | - | No Pick | - | No Pick |
| NFL Draft Countdown | 4-18 | LB | Jerod Mayo | RB | Ray Rice | DE | Chris Ellis |
| NFL Rough Draft | 4-18 | RB | Jonathan Stewart | LB | Jerod Mayo | CB | Tracy Porter |
| Football.com | 4-18 | RB | Rashard Mendenhall | - | No Pick | - | No Pick |
| Draft Tek | 4-18 | RB | Rashard Mendenhall | LB | Curtis Lofton | DE | Darrell Robertson |
| NFL Draft Blitz | 4-18 | DE | Derrick Harvey | DT | Trevor Laws | RB | Jamaal Charles |
| Sports News Southwest | 4-18 | RB | Rashard Mendenhall | LB | Xavier Adibi | CB | Dwight Lowery |
| Draft.com | 4-18 | RB | Jonathan Stewart | - | No Pick | - | No Pick |
| Fantasy Tailgate | 4-18 | LB | Jerod Mayo | - | No Pick | - | No Pick |
| The Phinsider | 4-18 | RB | Rashard Mendenhall | - | No Pick | - | No Pick |
| NFL Mock Draft Aces | 4-18 | OT | Chris Williams | DT | Marcus Harrison | LB | Beau Bell |
| Walter Football | 4-18 | DE | Derrick Harvey | LB | Jerod Mayo | RB | Ray Rice |
| KC Chiefs Fanatic | 4-18 | DE | Derrick Harvey | RB | Felix Jones | DT | Ahtyba Rubin |
| Draft Prospects | 4-18 | DE | Derrick Harvey | RB | Chris Johnson | LB | Philip Wheeler |
| Draft King | 4-18 | DE | Derrick Harvey | - | No Pick | - | No Pick |
| Draft Ace | 4-17 | RB | Rashard Mendenhall | OT | Anthony Collins | - | No Pick |
| Draft Daddy | 4-17 | LB | Keith Rivers | LB | Jerod Mayo | - | No Pick |
| Consensus Draft Services | 4-17 | RB | Rashard Mendenhall | LB | Curtis Lofton | LB | Geno Hayes |
| AM 1430 The Buzz | 4-16 | OT | Jeff Otah | - | No Pick | - | No Pick |
| SportsCity | 4-16 | DE | Derrick Harvey | - | No Pick | - | No Pick |
| Chris Steuber (Scout.com) | 4-16 | RB | Rashard Mendenhall | LB | Curtis Lofton | - | No Pick |
| NFL Draft Dog | 4-16 | LB | Jerod Mayo | - | No Pick | - | No Pick |
| KFFL | 4-16 | RB | Jonathan Stewart | DT | Pat Sims | - | No Pick |
| Saturdays2Sundays | 4-15 | LB | Jerod Mayo | DE | Calais Campbell | RB | Kevin Smith |
| Draft Board Insider | 4-15 | RB | Jonathan Stewart | DT | Dre Moore | - | No Pick |
| Pro Football Talk | 4-15 | DE | Derrick Harvey | - | No Pick | - | No Pick |
| New Era Scouting | 4-15 | RB | Rashard Mendenhall | DE | Calais Campbell | - | No Pick |
| Football's Future | 4-14 | RB | Rashard Mendenhall | DT | Marcus Harrison | - | No Pick |
| War Room Report | 4-14 | RB | Rashard Mendenhall | DE | Calais Campbell | LB | Tavares Gooden |
| TheFootballExpert (3) | 4-14 | DE | Derrick Harvey | RB | Chris Johnson | OT | John Greco |
| Pro Football Critics | 4-12 | RB | Rashard Mendenhall | - | No Pick | - | No Pick |