Martin Mayhew became the Detroit Lions' interim general manager after Matt Millen was fired during the 2008 season. Following the season, Mayhew became the permanent GM and continued making moves to build talent and help the Lions turn their bad fortunes around.
Although many of the moves Mayhew made in the 2009 offseason were very important to building a foundation for future success, the 2010 offseason served as an even bigger step for the Lions with all of the moves they made. Via the NFL Draft, trades and free agent signings, the Lions improved the talent they had in a big way and put themselves into a very good position this offseason. There is still a need to add talent, but the gap between the Lions and some of the top teams in the NFL is quickly shrinking.
After seeing the 2010 season play out, giving us all a look at the players he brought to Detroit last offseason, what grade do you think Mayhew deserves for the job he's done so far as general manager of the Lions? Vote in the poll below and leave your thoughts in the comments. My vote and reasoning is after the jump.
Back in July of last year, I gave Mayhew an A grade for the job he had done so far as Lions general manager. That was based partly on moves he made that already turned out to be pretty good, as well as hope that the moves he made during the 2010 offseason would pay off for the Lions. After what we saw out of the guys he brought to Detroit last year, I see no reason to change my grade. Mayhew has done an outstanding job of bringing talent to Detroit and putting this franchise in a position to make the playoffs. Whether or not key players will stay healthy remains to be seen, but the pieces are in place for the Lions to make a run in 2011. If Mayhew keeps up the good work and puts together another strong offseason for the Lions, then that run could end up being pretty special.