With the 66th pick of the 2010 NFL Draft -- the second pick of the third round -- the Lions have picked Iowa cornerback Amari Spievey. This is a player who will have the opportunity to come in and compete for a starting job since the Lions' cornerback situation is really up in the air. Yes, Chris Houston should be one of the starters, but the other corner spot is pretty much anyone's guess right now.
Here is a quick look at Spievey from Black Heart Gold Pants, SB Nation's Iowa blog:
So how are his cover skills? Here, it gets complicated. In the Iowa defense, Spievey was rarely left on an island against a receiver without safety help. That's just the nature of Norm Parker's scheme. He was rather famously scorched on Penn State's first play from scrimmage last year. But... that's it. Otherwise, he's such an adept tackler--second on the team in solo tackles last season, and read that sentence as many times as you need until your brain breaks--that he routinely gave his receiver the underneath. It worked awfully well.
So he's a cornerback that didn't play cornerback like a cornerback? Well, that's unfair. He was still the best cover corner on the Hawkeyes when he had to be, to the point that some quarterbacks just didn't try testing him with anything but those wide open, minimal-gain flat routes. A defense doesn't bitchmake so many opposing QBs without a strong #1 corner. That said, a coach is probably going to be curious whether Spievey can play safety, considering his tackling skills.
This is the Lions' only pick today barring a trade. Their next scheduled selection is the 128th pick (a fourth-rounder) that was acquired from Minnesota in the deal that allowed the Lions to land Jahvid Best.