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The 2013 NFL Draft is finally almost here. This means that we can soon stop talking mock drafts and concentrate on what actually happened. That time has not come just yet, though. Before the first round begins, there's still some more time to talk mock drafts, and I've compiled 56 of them below to see who we should expect the Detroit Lions to pick on Thursday and Friday. Take a look:
| Site | Name | Date | Round 1 (Pick No. 5) | Round 2 (Pick No. 36) | Round 3 (Pick No. 65) |
| Pride Of Detroit | Readers | 4/22 | CB Dee Milliner (Alabama) | DE Tank Carradine (Florida State) | |
| Pride Of Detroit | Jerry Mallory | 4/24 | OT Lane Johnson (Oklahoma) | DE Damontre Moore (Texas A&M) | CB/S David Amerson (North Carolina State) |
| SB Nation | NFL bloggers | 4/18 | DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU) | OG Larry Warford (Kentucky) | |
| SB Nation | Matthew Fairburn |
4/24 | OT Eric Fisher (Central Michigan) | ||
| SB Nation | Dan Kadar |
4/25 | DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU) | ||
| CBS Sports | Dane Brugler | 4/25 | DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU) | OT Menelik Watson (Florida State) | |
| CBS Sports | Rob Rang | 4/25 | DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU) | CB Jamar Taylor (Boise State) | |
| CBS Sports | Clark Judge | 4/24 | DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU) | ||
| CBS Sports | Pete Prisco | 4/24 | OT Lane Johnson (Oklahoma) | ||
| CBS Sports | Pat Kirwan | 4/24 | OT Eric Fisher (Central Michigan) | ||
| CBS Sports | Jason La Canfora | 4/24 | OT Lane Johnson (Oklahoma) | ||
| Detroit Free Press | Dave Birkett | 4/24 | OT Lane Johnson (Oklahoma) | ||
| Detroit Lions Draft | Jeff Risdon |
4/24 | DE Dion Jordan (Oregon) | OT Terron Armstead (Arkansas Pine-Bluff) | DE Alex Okafor (Texas) |
| Detroit Lions Draft | Darren Page | 4/22 | DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU) | WR DeAndre Hopkins (Clemson) | OT/OG Kyle Long (Oregon) |
| Detroit News | Chris McCosky | 4/25 | OT Lane Johnson (Oklahoma) | ||
| Draft Breakdown | Andrew Parsons |
4/24 | OT Luke Joeckel (Texas A&M) | ||
| Draft Breakdown | Will Spencer | 4/24 | DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU) | ||
| Draft Countdown | Scott Wright | 4/25 | OT Lane Johnson (Oklahoma) | DE Damontre Moore (Texas A&M) | CB/S David Amerson (North Carolina State) |
| Draft King | Lou Pickney | 4/24 | DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU) | ||
| Draft Season | Matt Falk | 4/24 | DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU) | OT/OG Justin Pugh (Syracuse) | |
| Draft Season | Nik Edlund | 4/22 | OT Lane Johnson (Oklahoma) | DE Tank Carradine (Florida State) | WR Markus Wheaton (Oregon State) |
| Draft Season | Will Lomas | 4/23 | OT Eric Fisher (Central Michigan) | TE Tyler Eifert (Notre Dame) | CB Jordan Poyer (Oregon State) |
| Draft Tek | 4/25 | CB Dee Milliner (Alabama) | LB Arthur Brown (Kansas State) | DE Sam Montgomery (LSU) | |
| ESPN | Todd McShay | 4/25 | DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU) | ||
| ESPN | Mel Kiper |
4/25 | DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU) | ||
| ESPN | Scouts Inc. | 4/24 | DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU) | OT Terron Armstead (Arkansas Pine-Bluff) | CB Dwayne Gratz (UConn) |
| FFToolbox | Forrest N Long |
4/24 | DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU) | ||
| FFToolbox | Jeff Christiansen | 4/25 | DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU) | ||
| FFToolbox | Ricky Dimon | 4/22 | DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU) | CB Johnthan Banks (Mississippi State) | |
| FFToolbox | Matt De Lima | 4/24 | OT Eric Fisher (Central Michigan) | DE Sam Montgomery (LSU) | |
| FFToolbox | Ben Standig | 4/24 | DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU) | OT Menelik Watson (Florida State) | |
| Football Fan Spot | Steven Lourie | 4/22 | OT Eric Fisher (Central Michigan) | Traded to Raiders | DE Corey Lemonier (Auburn) |
| Football's Future | Robert Davis | 4/25 | DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU) | ||
| FOX Sports | Peter Schrager | 4/24 | OT Eric Fisher (Central Michigan) | DE Damontre Moore (Texas A&M) | CB Robert Alford (Southeastern Louisiana) |
| MLive | Justin Rogers | 4/25 | DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU) | WR Justin Hunter (Tennessee) | |
| National Football Post | Russ Lande | 4/25 | DE Bjoern Werner (Florida State) | ||
| NE Patriots Draft | Matthew Jones | 4/24 | DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU) | ||
| NE Patriots Draft | Dan Hope | 4/24 | DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU) | OT Terron Armstead (Arkansas Pine-Bluff) | CB Logan Ryan (Rutgers) |
| NE Patriots Draft | James Christensen | 4/24 | DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU) | ||
| NE Patriots Draft | Mike Loyko | 4/24 | DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU) | ||
| NFL.com | Mike Mayock |
4/24 | DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU) | ||
| NFL.com | Gil Brandt | 4/23 | OT Lane Johnson (Oklahoma) | ||
| NFL.com | Charles Davis |
4/15 | OT Eric Fisher (Central Michigan) | ||
| NFL.com | Daniel Jeremiah | 4/25 | DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU) | ||
| NFL.com | Bucky Brooks | 4/24 | DE Dion Jordan (Oregon) | ||
| NFL.com | Charley Casserly | 4/19 | DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU) | ||
| NFL.com | Josh Norris | 4/22 | OT Lane Johnson (Oklahoma) | ||
| NFL.com | Matt Smith |
4/17 | OT Eric Fisher (Central Michigan) | ||
| Pro Football Talk | Mike Florio | 4/24 | DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU) | ||
| Rotoworld | Evan Silva | 4/25 | DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU) | ||
| Sporting News | Vinnie Iyer | 4/19 | OT Luke Joeckel (Texas A&M) | ||
| Sports Illustrated | Peter King | 4/24 | CB Dee Milliner (Alabama) | ||
| The Big Lead | Jason McIntyre | 4/25 | DE Dion Jordan (Oregon) | ||
| Walter Football | Walter Cherepinsky | 4/25 | DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU) | OT Menelik Watson (Florida State) | CB/S David Amerson (North Carolina State) |
| Walter Football | Charlie Campbell | 4/25 | OT Eric Fisher (Central Michigan) | DE Bjoern Werner (Florida State) | Traded to Raiders |
| Yahoo! Sports | Doug Farrar | 4/24 | OT Lane Johnson (Oklahoma) |
There has been a massive shift for the most popular positions for the Lions in mock drafts. Defensive end is still the favorite, but now it's by a big margin. And just a couple months ago, offensive tackle wasn't even really a consideration for the Lions, but now it is clearly one of the favorites.
Positions (first round)
- Defensive end - 32
- Offensive tackle - 21
- Cornerback - 3
When it comes to the player breakdown, Ezekiel Ansah is the favorite. It's not even really close. He is projected to go to the Lions in half of the 56 mock drafts in this database. Plenty of people think the Lions will take Lane Johnson or Eric Fisher (many have Detroit trading up to get him), but Ansah is the clear-cut favorite.
Players (first round)
- DE Ezekiel Ansah - 28
- OT Lane Johnson - 10
- OT Eric Fisher - 9
- DE Dion Jordan - 3
- CB Dee Milliner - 3
- OT Luke Joeckel - 2
- DE Bjoern Werner - 1
The most interesting comparison is to go back and look at our mock draft database from January. The two most popular picks back then were actually Damontre Moore and Bjoern Werner. While one mock draft still (puzzlingly) has Werner going to the Lions in the first round, these two are more often found in the second or third round for the Lions. It just goes to show you how much things can change in only a few months.
More from POD:
• Seven-round Lions mock draft
• Ranking the Lions' pre-draft needs