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Lions notes: More on Kyle Van Noy, Travis Swanson

Lions notes looks at Kyle Van Noy, Travis Swanson, Nate Burleson's latest arm injury and more.

By Sean Yuille
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
  • The Detroit Lions went into the second day of the draft with 3-4 players in mind for their second-round pick, and they actually started exploring a trade up as high as No. 33 overall. That's how much they wanted Kyle Van Noy, and they ultimately found a deal with the Seattle Seahawks at 40, allowing them to move up five spots.

  • The Lions first noticed Van Noy when they scouted Ziggy Ansah's film before last year's draft.

  • Ansah is quite thrilled that he is once again teammates with Van Noy (they played together at BYU).
  • Van Noy is also pretty excited about once again being on the same team as Ansah. Go here to see a really good video on Ansah and Van Noy.

  • Head coach Jim Caldwell expects Van Noy to be an immediate contributor for the Lions, and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin thinks Van Noy will be a three-down player who makes a lot of impact plays. Austin made it clear on Friday night that the Lions also want defensive backs with an ability to create turnovers.

  • Austin ended up speaking with Van Noy throughout the scouting process (at the Senior Bowl, at the NFL Combine and during Van Noy's pre-draft visit).

  • Herman Moore, who announced the Van Noy pick, posted a picture of the draft card on Twitter.
  • One final Van Noy note: He is engaged to Marissa Powell, who was Miss Utah USA in 2013.
  • Switching gears to Travis Swanson, the Lions' third-round pick, this is a pretty interesting tidbit: Another interesting tidbit: Jeremiah Washburn went up against Shaun Rogers in his final game at Arkansas.

  • The Lions are hoping for Swanson to be a center in the NFL, but they are aware that he can play offensive guard as well. What's more, like Larry Warford last year, they view him as someone who is ready to play in the NFL right now, even though he will likely be in a backup role as a rookie.

  • The Lions ended up meeting with Swanson at both the Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine.

  • Swanson just got married in March. Interestingly, as mentioned earlier, Van Noy is currently engaged, and Eric Ebron, the Lions' first-round pick, just got engaged on Thursday.

  • Swanson and Van Noy already had a connection before being drafted by the Lions on Friday night.
  • Dominic Raiola has indeed been in the NFL for many, many years.
  • SB Nation interviewed Swanson back in March.

  • Here's what Martin Mayhew said about his decision to not go with a defensive back in the third round:
  • Cleveland Browns wide receiver Nate Burleson recently broke the same arm that he injured in the infamous pizza accident last year. This time, the injury happened during an organized training activity with the Browns. The hope is he will be ready for training camp.

  • Contract projections are already out for the first 100 picks in this year's draft.

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