After last year's NFL Draft, I had you guys vote on the picks made by the Detroit Lions and then separately had you vote on the draft after factoring in all of the trades they made as well. During the 2010 NFL Draft they made six picks, but adding in the other transactions resulted in a much longer list of players that included the likes of Rob Sims and Corey Williams.
This year I want to do the same thing, because looking at only the picks made during the 2011 NFL Draft doesn't tell the whole story. It's also important to look at what they did with picks that were traded away, so let's break this down step-by-step, starting first with the five players that were drafted.
- Round 1 - No. 13 - DT Nick Fairley (Auburn)
- Round 2 - No. 44 - WR Titus Young (Boise State)
- Round 2 - No. 57 - RB Mikel Leshoure (Illinois)
- Round 5 - No. 157 - LB Doug Hogue (Syracuse)
- Round 7 - No. 209 - OT Johnny Culbreath (South Carolina State)
- Round 3 - No. 75 - Traded to Seattle as part of the deal that allowed the Lions to move up to pick Mikel Leshoure (this pick was essentially swapped with the 57th overall selection)
- Round 4 - No. 107 - Traded to Seattle as part of the deal that allowed the Lions to move up to pick Mikel Leshoure
- Round 5 - No. 140 - Given to Kansas City as part of the swap of fifth-round picks resulting from the tampering charges against the Lions
- Round 6 - No. 173 - Traded to Seattle for Lawrence Jackson, who had 34 tackles and six sacks in 11 games last season
- Round 7 - No. 210 - Traded to Atlanta (along with a 2010 sixth-round pick) for Chris Houston, who had 56 tackles, 12 pass defenses and one interception in 15 games last season
Finally, let's see what the Lions did with picks they acquired and later moved.
- Round 5 - No. 154 - Originally received from Kansas City as part of the swap of fifth-round picks resulting from the tampering charges against the Lions; later traded to Seattle as part of the draft-day deal that included a swap of fifth-round selections (the Lions moved down three spots)
- Round 6 - No. 186 - Originally received from Philadelphia for a 2010 seventh-round pick; later traded to Denver as part of the deal to acquire Alphonso Smith
- Round 7 - No. 205 - Originally received from Denver as part of the deal to acquire Alphonso Smith; later traded to Seattle as part of the draft-day deal that included a swap of seventh-round selections (the Lions moved down four spots)
- Round 7 - No. 231 - Originally received from NY Jets for Kevin O'Connell; later traded to San Francisco for Shaun Hill, who threw for 2,686 yards, 16 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 11 games last season
In all, the Lions controlled 14 different 2011 NFL Draft picks at some point, matching their total from last year. They used five of those picks to take players in this year's draft, four to acquire players already in the league that played last season for them, four to help make the deal with Seattle to trade back into the second round for Mikel Leshoure happen and one to help satisfy the NFL's tampering punishment. When you take all of that into consideration, this is what the Lions' 2011 draft looks like with the picks that were used to select players and to acquire players factored in.
- Round 1 - No. 13 - DT Nick Fairley (Auburn)
- Round 2 - No. 44 - WR Titus Young (Boise State)
- Round 2 - No. 57 - RB Mikel Leshoure (Illinois)
- Round 5 - No. 157 - LB Doug Hogue (Syracuse)
- Round 6 - No. 173 - DE Lawrence Jackson (from Seattle)
- Round 6 - No. 186 (and TE Dan Gronkowski) - CB Alphonso Smith (from Denver)
- Round 7 - No. 209 - OT Johnny Culbreath (South Carolina State)
- Round 7 - No. 210 (and a sixth-round pick in 2010) - CB Chris Houston (from Atlanta)
- Round 7 - No. 231 - QB Shaun Hill (from San Francisco) (Side note: Detroit essentially acquired Hill for Kevin O'Connell, who spent all of five days on the roster. That's just awesome.)
When you take all of this into account, now what grade do you give the Lions for the 2011 NFL Draft? I think you can guess what I gave them.
For more coverage of the 2011 NFL Draft, check out Mocking The Draft, SB Nation's NFL Draft hub, SB Nation Detroit's NFL Draft StoryStream and Pride Of Detroit's 2011 NFL Draft archive.