Lions have mixed results on first day of NFL Draft
With Rod Marinelli having a greater involvement in the draft, the Lions appear to be finally acheiving some modest measure of success with what should be sure-fire draft picks. 2006’s top draft pick Ernie Sims has been one of the Lions’ best players; Calvin Johnson, while not filling a core need, should combine with Roy Williams to make the Lions passing game highly effective. And this year’s top pick of offensive tackle Gosder Cherilus should help the team with their team-wide mantra of “pounding the rock”.
Of course drafting a tackle was done one year too late as picking Joe Thomas was the correct decision with last year’s #2 pick in the entire NFL draft. But you have to give Marinelli credit for realizing that drafting a solid right tackle was absolutely essential this season if the team is planning on heavily featuring the run game.
Cherilus isn’t capable of playing left tackle so this fit might be a better fit as far as the Leos drafting a tackle. With Jeff Backus being paid as if he’s an elite NFL left tackle Detroit only needs Cherilus to man the right tackle spot. He’s not considered a great pass blocker but if offensive coordinator Jim Colletto’s offense is as uncreative as I think it will be then Cherilus should be a good fit as he’s primarily a road grader who excels at run blocking.
With their second pick the Lions decided to try and fill their need for a middle linebacker. Their selection of Jordy Dizon seems like a bit of a stretch as he’s an outside linebacker, is a little undersized and doesn’t have much in the way of quickness. He’s been called “football quick” but given the fact the Tampa Two largely features four down linemen and small but quick front 7 there are legitimate questions about whether Dizon will be able to improve a run defense that was in the bottom third in the league in rush defense.
If the Lions wanted a defensive end they could have drafted Calais Campbell with this second pick. Campbell has drawn comparisons to Julius Peppers and it has been pointed out that he’s likely to draw double teams. That’s something a pretty thin defensive line could certainly utilize. If the Leos really wanted a linebacker then they should have moved up in the second round to take a flier on Curtis Lofton, a guy they supposedly considered for their #2 pick but ended up getting snapped up by the Falcons.
Based on recent history the Lions haven’t had a very high batting average when it comes to picking up players who can contribute to the team. The proverbial poster child for successful NFL drafts are the Green Bay Packers and last year’s New York Giants draft. But at least Marinelli’s first round picks tend to be very good football players. So he’s a clear improvement over whoever was making the first round picks for the Lions before Rod was hired to coach the team.
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