2013 NFL Draft: Best available players on Day 3 for Lions

Through three rounds of the 2013 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions have taken a defensive end, a cornerback and an offensive guard. They got three players who all have the potential to start in 2013, and now they will turn their focus to building depth at their other positions of need on the final day of the draft. They have five picks left barring a trade, and there is still a lot of talent left on the board.

Via Mocking The Draft, below is a rundown of the top players left at the Lions' remaining positions of need. (Number is overall ranking.)

Wide receiver

60. Quinton Patton (Louisiana Tech)
64. Da'Rick Rogers (Tennessee Tech)
108. Denard Robinson (Michigan)
117. Ryan Swope (Texas A&M)
124. Ace Sanders (South Carolina)

I would be thrilled if the Lions somehow came away with Patton or Rogers in the fourth round. Either player would be a nice addition to the receiving corps and could see extensive playing time this year.

Tight end

95. Dion Sims (Michigan State)
115. Michael Williams (Alabama)
119. Ryan Otten (San Jose State)
122. Nick Kasa (Colorado)
130. Levine Toilolo (Stanford)

It would be a bit of a surprise if the Lions don't draft a tight end at some point in one of the final rounds. Look for them to target a tight end who can block, meaning guys like Sims and Williams should be in consideration on Saturday.

Offensive tackle

92. Oday Aboushi (Virginia)
100. Jordan Mills (Louisiana Tech)
111. Reid Fragel (Ohio State)
144. Ricky Wagner (Wisconsin)
163. Chris Faulk (LSU)

After taking Larry Warford on Friday, Riley Reiff should stay at tackle. This means there isn't really a huge need since you're probably not going to find an immediate starter on Day 3 of the draft. Even so, the Lions might want to get a developmental tackle, and there are a few intriguing options listed above.

Center

63. Barrett Jones (Alabama)
80. Brian Schwenke (California)

If the Lions want to go O-line again by taking a center to potentially push Dominic Raiola in 2013 or be developmental depth, their only real solid options at this point seem to be Jones and Schwenke.

Defensive end

50. Alex Okafor (Texas)
78. William Gholston (Michigan State)
121. Joe Kruger (Utah)
129. Malliciah Goodman (Clemson)
134. Quanterus Smith (Western Kentucky)

The Lions may have already taken a defensive end in Ezekiel Ansah, but getting another player at this position to develop for the future wouldn't be a bad idea. And as you can see from the list above, there is still some real talent left at this position.

Defensive tackle

31. Jesse Williams (Alabama)
109. Akeem Spence (Illinois)
116. Kwame Geathers (Georgia)
140. T.J. Barnes (Georgia Tech)
153. Everett Dawkins (Florida State)

The best overall player left on the board is Williams, who has surprisingly fallen. I don't expect him to slide all the way down to the end of the fourth round when the Lions pick again, but look for them to get some extra depth by taking a defensive tackle before the day is over.

Linebacker

43. Khaseem Greene (Rutgers)
81. Brandon Jenkins (Florida State)
85. Chase Thomas (Stanford)
89. Nico Johnson (Alabama)
104. Jelani Jenkins (Florida)

Like defensive tackle, the Lions could probably use a developmental type of player at linebacker as extra depth. Also like defensive tackle, there's some solid talent still left on the board at this position.

Best of the rest

56. QB Matt Barkley (USC)
58. RB Marcus Lattimore (South Carolina)
59. CB Jordan Poyer (Oregon State)
71. RB Johnathan Franklin (UCLA)
72. S Shamarko Thomas (Syracuse)

Can you believe Barkley is still on the board?

More from POD:

• Track the Lions' picks in our draft StoryStream

• Do fans approve of Darius Slay pick?

• Approval poll for Larry Warford

• Ranking the Lions' pre-draft needs