Kevin Smith's injury means Lions may have to think offense in early rounds of NFL draft
By Tom Kowalski
December 16, 2009, 12:30AM

ALLEN PARK -- When you have a defense that is as thin, as weak and as talent-poor as the Detroit Lions, it only makes sense to spend most of your upcoming draft picks on the defensive side of the ball.

After all, the Baltimore Ravens, who had not scored more than 20 points in any of their previous five games, rolled up 48 points against the hapless Detroit defense.

The Lions' wish list for the draft is two defensive ends, one defensive tackle, two cornerbacks and a safety.

They can't fill all of those needs in a single draft, of course, but they've got to do the best they can.

However, in a twisted bit of thinking and some convoluted reasoning, perhaps the best thing the Lions could do is forget about drafting defensive players at the top of the draft board.

Perhaps the quickest way for the Lions to be a competitive team in the NFL is to concentrate their draft on offensive players.

The loss of running back Kevin Smith has to change the Lions' philosophy going into the 2010 draft.

It's very likely that Smith won't be ready at the start of next season, and it would be foolish for the Lions to count on Smith at all next year. He eventually will return from knee surgery, but he probably won't be 100 percent healthy until the 2011 season.

That means the Lions will have to get a running back in the draft and they need one with some real playmaking ability, not just a plugger. That means taking one in the first, second, or perhaps, third round.

If the Lions are going to take a running back, why not fill the hole on the offensive line and make it a complete offensive unit? Instead of adding a little on one side and a little on the other side, the Lions could build a strong offense that could score some serious points, and then concentrate on the defense in following years.

If the Lions keep the fourth overall pick in the draft, they could go for either Oklahoma State left tackle Russell Okung or Clemson running back C.J. Spiller.

Okung (pronounced oh-Coon) is a dominant pass protector who could start at left guard until he's ready to replace Jeff Backus, who could then move inside. That would go a long way toward solidifying that line.

If Spiller runs a 4.3 40-yard dash at the scouting combine, he might vault into the top five and must be a consideration. He's only 5-foot-9 and 195 pounds, but he's a gamebreaker.

Regardless of which way the Lions go, they can hit the other position in the second round. If they go for Okung, they might have a shot at California running back Jahvid Best, who's about the same size as Spiller and runs a 4.4.

If the Lions go with Spiller in the first round, they can take a look at a guy like Rutgers' Anthony Davis in the second round. Davis is 6-6 and 330 pounds and is a former guard, so starting at left guard as a rookie wouldn't be an issue. He has the pass blocking skills to eventually move to left tackle.

If the Lions go for an offensive tackle and also a defensive player in the first two rounds, they might still have a shot at Stanford running back Toby Gerhart in the third round. Gerhart doesn't have great speed, but he's an excellent runner and can move the chains.

The Lions should have a lot of options if they decide to draft for offense. This strategy would seem even more appropriate if two of the big-name defensive tackles -- Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh and Oklahoma's Gerald McCoy -- are gone by Detroit's No. 4 pick.

The Lions already have Matthew Stafford at quarterback and Calvin Johnson at receiver, and it might be best to surround them with as much talent as possible. This league is geared for offense and points, and the Lions might be wise to fortify that side of the ball first and see what kind of damage they can cause.

Drafting for offense might give the Lions a fighting chance to stay in some games and maybe, just maybe, actually win them.

http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/20 ... _lion.html

Unless its AP, first round RBs are a waste of a draft pick.

If you have a decent O-line, you can plug in any 2/3/4th round RB and put up good numbers. You can even possibly find a decent one in the garbage heap (ala Grant) or take an old veteran like the Bengals have been doing this year.

I really don't see any superstar RBs coming out of the college this year, so I think it would be a huge waste for the Lions to draft one. If they want to go to offense, go o-line.

i think that dwyer will make a better nfl back