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- The Detroit Lions haven't officially handed out numbers for their entire 2015 draft class just yet, but we already know that second-round pick Ameer Abdullah is taking No. 21, which is Reggie Bush's old number. Also, Manny Ramirez will once again be No. 63, and first-round pick Laken Tomlinson is attempting to wear No. 77.
Laken Tomlinson will have a talk with Cornelius Lucas about No. 77. We shall see on that one.
— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) May 2, 2015
- Tomlinson's goals in life go far beyond football.
For more on Tomlinson's background off the field, check out this great article from the Detroit Free Press' Dave Birkett."My goal in life is.. to change the healthcare system in Jamaica and improve it." - Laken Tomlinson to @suzykolber pic.twitter.com/3DpEx48HfK
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) May 1, 2015
- Tomlinson is only the third first-round pick in Duke's history, and he's the first since 1987.
- Hmm...
The more I talk to people, the more it sounds like Laken Tomlinson wouldn't have made it past Tampa Bay at No. 34.
— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) May 1, 2015
- Michigan native and Duke graduate Shane Battier was quite pleased with the Lions' first-round pick.
Congrats to @laken77, making Blue Devils proud! Happy my Lions have a fellow alum!
— Shane Battier (@ShaneBattier) May 1, 2015
- Tomlinson has never actually attended an NFL game before.
- The Lions' official site has behind-the-scenes photos from the team's draft room and Tomlinson's first day in town.
- Here are five interesting tweets about third-round pick Alex Carter:
Martin Mayhew has known Alex Carter's dad, Tom, for 20 years. Carter replaced Mayhew in Washington's starting lineup
— Kyle Meinke (@kmeinke) May 2, 2015One more: Alex Carter was baptized by the same man as Martin Mayhew.
— Kyle Meinke (@kmeinke) May 2, 2015Alex Carter played golf with Rashean Mathis years ago. #Lions
— Paula Pasche (@paulapasche) May 2, 2015Alex Carter's college roommate, Barry Sanders Jr.
— Justin Rogers (@Justin_Rogers) May 2, 2015#Lions 3rd-round pick Alex Carter is just 20 years old.
— Paula Pasche (@paulapasche) May 2, 2015
- The Lions didn't draft a wide receiver this year, marking the first time that has happened since 2006.
- Manny Ramirez, who was traded to the Lions on Thursday, has a cap hit of $3 million for 2015, but only $1.4 million of that is his base salary. The other $1.6 million comes from incentives that are based on being a starter. (via Justin Rogers)
- Why were the Lions able to make that trade in the first round that saw them move down five spots and get Ramirez from the Denver Broncos? It turns out the Broncos thought quite highly of Missouri defensive end Shane Ray.
Broncos had Shane Ray as 10th-rated player in draft, one reason why they traded up to pick him at No. 23.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 1, 2015
- Finally, thank you for making this Pride Of Detroit's most successful draft ever. We had more than 600,000 pageviews last week alone, and people from 134 different countries stopped by the site at some point during the draft. Again, thank you for reading!
Shout out to all of the fans worldwide who stopped by POD during the draft. Here are the top 15 countries by visits: pic.twitter.com/4kbUORrdv3
— Pride Of Detroit (@PrideOfDetroit) May 2, 2015