At this point I think our DE are more competent then our DT's. White has proven to be average when healthy and Avril showed some talent last year. Cohen and Hill have shown us nothing so we will need this season to see where they stand.

I agree we need to draft a CB early Henry is ancient and a FA after this year. Buchanon can be average and only signed for 2 years. I think McCauley could end up dealing a steal though.

I agree completely. I feel better about our depth at DT than at DE, but our starters at DE I have much more confidence in. We know what we have in Grady. But Cohen, Fluellen and Hill are still unknowns. By mid-season, we should have a feel for what they can give us long term. However, White isn't getting any younger and Avril hasn't shown he can be a full timer. Behind those two, our DE depth is absolutely non-existant. We need an accomplished, ready-to-play DE out of this next draft, regardless of what round he's taken from. Let's get some competition for Dewayne White next season.

McCauley may turn out to be a keeper (I hope he does), but we'll still need to get at least one starter and a backup guy for next season. They don't both have to come out of the draft, but at least one to develop out of the draft would be nice.

I just thought of another reason to draft a CB or two in the next draft - Buchanon, King, and McCauley are the only three CBs that are signed beyond this season. Worse yet, all three of them only have two years remaining on their deals, so no one is signed beyond 2010.

You are both a scholar and a saint and bring a valid arguement to the table. The CB prospects look like the could be thin this year so we will have to snag on early.

Nice look, not to mention these guys prolly shouldn't be in the league

A real pass rushing DE can make the corner playing behind him seem more capable than he really is. Certainly the Lions need to look at both DEs and CBs but as a general rule, I'd put a DE ahead of CB on the priority list if choosing between the two positions.

Of course we'll know the team needs a lot better in a few weeks...

After what I saw today, I wouldn't mind it one bit if the Lions took a LONG look at a Left Tackle in the next draft. I'd still rather they went defense, but if there is a quality LT available, I'd be happy with that. I saw entirely too much of Jeff Backup getting pushed into our own backfield today.

Well right now it looks to be about this
Atleast 1 CB
2 OG
1 LT
Atleast 1 DE
Atleast 1 DT
And probably a SS

This team needs so much that you can't possibly do it with one draft. This year was a good beginning with definite starters in Stafford, Pettigrew, and Delmas, as well as possible starters down the road in Levy and Hill. They used free agency and trades to patch some holes with players such as Buchanon, Henry, Peterson, Foote, Jackson, and Loper, but they need long term solutions at those positions.

Perhaps, they ought to fill two or three of those holes with younger top-tier free agents next season and use the draft to fill the rest of their needs. Next year's draft is one of the strongest for the DL in years and I feel that they should draft both DE and DT early because of it. This would allow them to acquire OT, CB, and S help in FA instead.

In a perfect world, I would make a major push for OT Marcus McNeill. The Chargers have a ton of free agents and they won't be able to sign them all. If they allow McNeill to hit the market, the Lions have to sign him. Cutting Backus would save $5.7M, so money shouldn't be a problem here.

Next, I would turn toward the secondary and go after the following players: CB Dunta Robinson, CB Carlos Rogers, S O.J. Atogwe, S Nick Collins, S Dawan Landry, S Antoine Bethea or S Sean Jones. I would love for the Lions to sign both a CB and a S, but as long as they get one of those players, I would be happy.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/w ... ek1/3.html

Peter King lists the top 70 4th and 5th year players who will be RFAs next year if there is no CBA extension. If there is an extension, these guys will be regular FAs. Some pretty good names on that list and I agree with Sly that we need to go after McNeil if he hits the market.

Tennesee's "other" DT Tony Brown will be a FA next year... He's an obvious target for me...

FA
Tony Brown DT TEN
One of the OGs (Jahari Evans/ Harvey Dahl/ Logan Mankins / Jason Sptitz Duece Latui)
Ellis Hobbs CB PHI

Draft
1st Russel Okung OT OK State
2nd DE Brandon Graham

That would be a good start...

I love Brandon Graham as a college player, but I just don't think his game will translate well to the NFL. He's all heart and has a non-stop motor, but he lacks the speed to become a dominate pass rusher at the next level. With that said, I think he could have a long career in the NFL as an average starter or a quality back-up, but I don't believe he has the measurables to become an elite player. My guess is that he'll be strong against the run, but won't average more than 5 sacks per season.

You may be right... Just looking at the rankings and about where everyone is projecting right now I think that would be a good pick...

They said the same thing about Woodley by the way... They're pretty much the same player...

Woodley would chew up and spit out Graham. Woodley was un-freaking-stoppable. Graham looked weak against Western, was alright against ND but hardly a force and was great against Eastern as a pass rusher.

Against the run he's been relatievely weak. Notre Dame and Eastern both ran right at him and he was getting pushed. Against so much zone I really expected to see him penetrate and disrupt a few plays and that didn't happen.

I agree Sven. Woodley is stronger, bigger and much more athletic than Graham. Woodley is multi-dimensional and Brandon Graham is just a pass rusher. That said, a pass rusher is exactly one of the things that the Lions need, but I don't think Graham would be the Lions focus. I would venture to say that at this point Graham was over-rated as a first round prospect, and could fall as far as the third round......unless he starts playing a lot better.