I know it's early, but what the hell? It's not as if the Lions have a chance to do anything this year. Plus, they now have two 1st round picks to keep an eye on for twice the fun! As of right now, the Lions would have the 2nd and 27th picks in the 2009 NFL draft. Here's the complete list from the Great Blue North Draft Report:

# Team W-L Opp W-L %

1 Cincinnati 0-6 .560

2 Detroit 0-5 .548

3 Houston 1-4 .488

4 Oakland 1-4 .523

5T Kansas City 1-4 .539

5T St. Louis 1-4 .539

5T Seattle 1-4 .539

8 San Francisco 2-4 .488

9 Miami 2-3 .476

10 Baltimore 2-3 .488

11 Cleveland 2-3 .540

12 Chicago 3-3 .478

13 Green Bay 3-3 .489

14 Jacksonville 3-3 .506

15 New Orleans 3-3 .516

16 Minnesota 3-3 .522

17 Philadelphia 3-3 .528

18 San Diego 3-3 .535

19T New York Jets 3-2 .471

19T Indianapolis 3-2 .471

21 New England 3-2 .500

22 Washington 4-2 .466

23 Atlanta 4-2 .478

24T Arizona 4-2 .483

24T Denver 4-2 .483

26 Tampa Bay 4-2 .489

27 Detroit (from Dallas) 4-2 .506

28 Philadelphia (from Carolina) 4-2 .522

29 Buffalo 4-1 .447

30 Pittsburgh 4-1 .464

31 New York Giants 4-1 .495

32 Tennessee 5-0 .407

Who would be a good pick at #2 ?

Only 3 Positions make sense if we pick in the top 5. QB (not likely this year) , LT (Hopefully) , DE (I wouldnt be dissapointed if ihe was a "sure thing".

OT looks really strong at the top of the draft this year. Michael Oher (Ole Miss) is probably the most talented, he does have some issues in his past however but from what I've heard has worked through them. Andre Smith (Alabama/Underclassman) and Eugene Monroe (Virginia) are two other tackles I personally have top ten grades on right now.

QB is Matt Stafford (Georgia/Underclassman). I'd be really curious what happens to the QB class if a number of talented underclassmen declare.

DE could be considered and I like two, perhaps not at the very top of the top ten of the draft, more the later five picks. Michael Johnson (Georgia Tech) I would consider the best prospect. I really liked what I saw out of Brian Orakpo (Texas) this past weekend who dominated a potential first-round LT Phil Loadholt.

I see a couple of DTs going in the top 10, but I don't think the Lions go in that direction (or with a WR or RB).

If the Lions slip, err I mean start winning some games, they may also consider a CB like Malcolm Jenkins of OSU.

My top three candidates right now would be Oher, Johnson, and Stafford. But there is a lot of time between now and April.

Excellent Calls on all 3 Pablo. Im right there with you. And if the Cowboys manage to blow this and fail to make the playoffs , we may get lucky (Depending on how many Undercallsman Declare) and get a shot at a Jenkins or another top CB around the 20th Pick.

Of course we have so many other needs I cant really complain as long as we get 2 of DE,LT,LB,QB.

I am not sold, (neither are many on this board), on Drew Stanton. I can't wait until he starts to play this year just so I know what we have to work with. Since I do not expect him to be starter material, I would like to see the Lions draft Stafford with their first first round pick, since I am tired of ineptitude at the position. It is rare for a team to win without a great QB.

I am not sold on Oher due to off field issues. I heard he has those behind him but I don't know. He is a monster of a man and I think the most talented O-linemen in the draft, but there is quality depth at LT this draft and I think we should grab one with our 2nd first round pick.

My dream scenerio would be to get

1. Stafford with first 1st round pick if Stanton looks horrible, otherwise go with a franchise LT. I only want a LT or QB with this selection.
2. DE like Johnson/Evans/Orakpo or LT like Smith/Oher/Monroe if we didn't get one with our first pick.
3. Get an OG with 2nd round pick like Robinson/Johnson/Urbik or if the DE or LT wasn't taken and one of them are available take one of them.

ally I would like the Lions to draft a QB with first pick and a LT/DE/OG with their next two.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/24/magaz ... wanted=all


Good article about Oher.

I'm not sold on Stafford.

He supposedly has the arm and the leadership (maybe), but his decision-making is questionable. Most importantly, he never has had much production. I don't think the scheme and the WR's are all to blame. Stafford hasn't proven anything to me. If he fell to the 2nd round, I'd take him there, but NEVER in the top 5. I watched Drew Stanton a lot in college, and I see nothing in Matt Stafford to make me think that he's way better, and especially not a top-5 pick. Stafford looks like a 2nd round talent.

See, here's the thing. I don't want to take the best QB of a weak QB crop at #2 overall (or #3,4,5) if he is not a legit Top-5 talent. Also, just because the LT crop is deep this year, I don't see the point in waiting to get a "good enough" LT in the 2nd round. There are 3 LT's this year who are considered Top-10 locks (and on some boards all 3 are Top-5). All 3 will be gone by the time we use the Cowboys' 1st round pick. We need one of those 3.

To rebuild a team, you need to rebuild from the lines out. The Lions' offensive line is in especially bad shape. To rebuild the offensive line, you need to start with a Franchise Left Tackle, a cornerstone Pro Bowl-type player. Drafting a "good enough" LT in the 2nd round isn't going to cut it. Matt Millen wasted a lot of top-5 picks on the wrong players and the wrong positions. I'd like to use this pick on the right player at the right position.

At #2, a Left Tackle......Michael Oher, Andre Smith, or Eugene Monroe. Period. Anything else, I fear, would be a mistake. Other QB's will be available in the later rounds. Stafford is far from a sure thing.

Since when did this become another "who should the Lions pick?" thread?

Back on topic:

# Team W-L Opp W-L %

1 Cincinnati 0-7 .561

2 Detroit 0-6 .561

3 Kansas City 1-5 .529

4 Seattle 1-5 .549

5 San Francisco 2-5 .485

6 Miami 2-4 .480

7 Houston 2-4 .490

8 Oakland 2-4 .505

9 St. Louis 2-4 .525

10 Cleveland 2-4 .554

11 New Orleans 3-4 .523

12 San Diego 3-4 .525

13 Minnesota 3-4 .544

14 New York Jets 3-3 .465

15 Baltimore 3-3 .490

16 Indianapolis 3-3 .495

17 Jacksonville 3-3 .515

18 Philadelphia 3-3 .534

19 Denver 4-3 .475

20 Green Bay 4-3 .481

21 Chicago 4-3 .485

22 Detroit (from Dallas) 4-3 .529

23 New England 4-2 .470

24 Arizona 4-2 .480

25 Atlanta 4-2 .486

26 Washingon 5-2 .455

27 Tampa Bay 5-2 .472

28 Philadelphia (from Carolina) 5-2 .514

29 Buffalo 5-1 .420

30 Pittsburgh 5-1 .475

31 New York Giants 5-1 .490

32 Tennessee 6-0 .410

I find it funny that the Lions and Bengals are tied for the strongest opponent winning percentage in the entire league right now. Because of this, the Lions could drop several spots if they manage to win a couple of games this year. It also doesn't help that the Cowboys have a difficult strength of schedule either.

Charles Rogers

Guys, like sly said in his post, let's not turn this into ANOTHER "Who should the Lions draft" threads. There are already a few of those. Let's not clutter this one up too.

My Bad

It looked that ways for about 3-4 games, anyway. Ah, how we punish ourselves needlessly...

here is an updated list:

PICK TEAM PCT SoS
==============================================
Pick: 1 Detroit Lions .000 .557
Pick: 2 Cincinnati Bengals .125 .586
Pick: 3 Kansas City Chiefs .167 .523
Pick: 4 Seattle Seahawks .167 .523
Pick: 5 St. Louis Rams .167 .523
Pick: 6 Oakland Raiders .250 .516
Pick: 7 San Francisco 49ers .333 .461
Pick: 8 San Diego Chargers .333 .526
Pick: 9 Jacksonville Jaguars .333 .529
Pick: 10 Cleveland Browns .333 .576
Pick: 11 Green Bay Packers .417 .500
Pick: 12 Houston Texans .417 .503
Pick: 13 Buffalo Bills .500 .432
Pick: 14 Chicago Bears .500 .482
Pick: 15 New Orleans Saints .500 .505
Pick: 16 Philadelphia Eagles .542 .539
Pick: 17 Miami Dolphins .583 .448
Pick: 18 New England Patriots .583 .469
Pick: 19 Washington Redskins .583 .492
Pick: 20 Denver Broncos* .583 .448
Pick: 21 Arizona Cardinals* .583 .482
Pick: 22 Minnesota Vikings* .583 .521
Pick: 23 Dallas Cowboys .667 .523 [Traded to Detroit]
Pick: 24 New York Jets* .667 .435
Pick: 25 Atlanta Falcons* .667 .471
Pick: 26 Indianapolis Colts* .667 .477
Pick: 27 Baltimore Ravens* .667 .518
Pick: 28 Tampa Bay Buccaneers* .750 .469
Pick: 29 Carolina Panthers* .750 .510 [Traded to Philadelphia]
Pick: 30 Pittsburgh Steelers* .750 .513
Pick: 31 Tennessee Titans* .917 .440
Pick: 32 New York Giants* .917 .503

* denotes playoff team (based on current standings)

Okay so this list adds a very interesting dimensions to the whole QB/LT debate and the odds of trading down.

Neither the Bengals nor the Chiefs would dare take a left tackle. The Sea hawks could, but I doubt it. Walter Jones is under a $50mln contract until 2012.

Orlando Pace could play out for a few more years, but he has been injured the last few seasons. The Rams could easily grab Oher or Smith.

Then the Raiders pick. The smart thing would be to take one of the two tackles. But it's Al Davis.

Assuming STL takes one and Oakland passes, the Jags are the next likely candidate to take a tackle.

Now for the QB analysis:

Bengals won't. Chiefs definitely, definitely will. Seahawks, maybe. Rams, Raiders--no. 49ers yes. Chargers, Jags, Browns--no.

Trading down:

Pretty much two options. If the Lions say they'll take Oher--STL will not trade up, they'll just wait and take Smith (who some say is a better prospect). So there exists two scenarios. In either the case the Lions need to say that they're going to draft Stafford.

Scenario 1: Swap picks with the Chiefs. Ask for their 2nd as compensation. At #3, Oher will still be available. Draft him.

Scenario 2: Swap picks with the 49ers. Pick up a 2nd, 3rd, next year's first. Would lose out on the top two QBs. Definitely one of the top two tackles, possibly both. But pick up a ton of picks. I don't know if the 49ers would make this trade.

If I had my way, I'd try for the first trade down scenario. You'd still get an elite tackle, then have another first, two seconds, and two thirds. The Lions could grab a project QB with the Dallas pick and four talented defensive rookies.