[quote=Consistent effort, consistent ability, consistent mindset, consistent class room ethic......all make for a very successful NFL player.

Ndamukong Suh, Gerald McCoy are not the Lions' only options
Schwartz says team has a lot of studying to do
BY NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

INDIANAPOLIS -- It seems so simple. The Lions have the No. 2 pick in the NFL draft, and most analysts agree the top-two prospects are Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh and Oklahoma's Gerald McCoy. So no matter what the Rams do at No. 1, the Lions will land a good defensive tackle.

But coach Jim Schwartz is keeping his options open. The draft isn't until April 22-24.

"Let's not just stop at defensive tackle," Schwartz said Thursday at the NFL scouting combine. "I think that we'll get a good player. I think that's the most important thing, rather than, on Feb. 25, saying we have to take a defensive tackle or we have to take whatever position.

"Last year at this time, we were saying sort of the same kind of things. 'Hey, look, we're not saying we're definitely drafting a quarterback, let's get the best quarterback. Hey, let's let the whole thing play out. Let's take the best player, and if that happens to be a quarterback, that's good.' "

The Lions did draft a quarterback No. 1 overall last year: Georgia's Matthew Stafford. In the end, the Lions could do what everyone expects them to this year, too.

But before the Lions settled on Stafford, they made sure he passed all kinds of tests.

The Lions will put Suh and McCoy through the same wringer, for good reason.

Asked to compare Suh and McCoy with Albert Haynesworth, who dominated for Schwartz in Tennessee, Schwartz said it's hard to compare someone coming out of college with "the highest-paid defensive tackle in the league." But in a sense, the Lions must do just that.

Haynesworth signed a seven-year, $100-million deal with the Redskins last year that included $41 million guaranteed. As the No. 1 pick, Stafford received a six-year deal worth up to $78 million, with $41.7 million guaranteed. Last year's No. 2 overall pick, Rams offensive tackle Jason Smith, received a five-year deal worth up to $61 million, with $33 million guaranteed.

In other words, if the Lions draft Suh or McCoy, they will pay him like Haynesworth before he ever plays an NFL game. So they'd better look into every detail if they're going to pass over, say, Oklahoma State left tackle Russell Okung, who plays a traditionally high-paid position. Left tackles often go No. 1 overall. No defensive tackle has gone No. 1 overall since Dan Wilkinson went to the Bengals in 1994.

"It's one of the reasons that we're here, to try to make that decision of how much they can affect you and what order you put those guys in," Schwartz said. "It may not be just based on how they played. There may be things in the physical that come up. There may be doctors' reports and other things like that that play into those players."

Haynesworth plays at 340-plus pounds, and the Lions drafted a 329-pound defensive tackle in the fourth round last year: Stillman's Sammie Hill. Suh and McCoy each weigh about 300. That's not necessarily a negative but is something to consider.

"We've been on the record as saying we want to be a big, physical team," Schwartz said. "But the thing that's most important on defensive line is that explosion, and you can build your power through speed, and those guys have that. They have first-step quickness. They have good use of hands. They have good balance. They can stay on their feet.

"Now that being said, bigger's better as long as you stay in that skill set. What made Haynesworth such a unique player is that he had that, but he also was 340 pounds.

"They're still young players. They're guys that are 300-pounders when they're 21, 22 years old. There's also a component of that, seeing where they're going to be in two or three years."

We'll see where they're going to be in two or three months.

"Let's not make our mind up right now," Schwartz said. "It seems like everybody already has. Let's let everything play out. Let's let all the information be brought. Let's make a good decision on that. But regardless, we need to find a good player for us at that spot."