Lions may face an interesting First Round Draft choice.

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I will agree to a point.

If they can trade down, still get OT or Smith, and get additional picks...that too would work.

That would be too good to be true for me, my ultimate wishful thinking.

 

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Could be that the Lions do indeed need some secondary help but if they want to keep M.Stafford off the injury list the OL needs to be first priority IMO

Agreed. Think after his season last year, or lack of, they would be concentrated on the o-line to protect that huge investment they have in Stafford.

I am going to grossly over simplify the game here to win you must
1. Have a good QB
2. Protect that good QB
3. Get the other teams QB....

All of that simply to say that I do not see how the Lions cannot take a franchise LT with their first pick.

I respect all of your opinions here, and I would be happy if Tyron Smith or Castonzo ends up being the 1st round pick. However, I must add that Backus and Hilliard both surrendered 1 sack last season, Cherilus zero. I'm not saying they are great and should not be upgraded, but facts are facts.

Detroit has many needs and should stick with their BPA philosophy, but the need for OT is not as bad most think. If Prince or Smith are both available at 13, I would be happy with either. If both have been selected already (a more probable scenario) I would be fine with Castonzo or Jimmy Smith. A trade down and still selecting one of these two would be even better.

Linebacker must be addressed in this draft. Levy is the only solid starter I am comfortable with. I would like them to take 2 of them in rounds 2-5. Bruce Carter and/or Mason Foster are high on my list, a little lower are Sturdivant, Moch, Greg Jones, and a few others. I had hoped that FA could have landed a starter here already (Tulloch or Lawson), and it still may in the future, but the lockout has spoiled these plans and will probably affect the drafting plans of all teams.

 

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I do not see how the Lions cannot take a franchise LT with their first pick.

If there is a surefire franchise LT in this draft do you really believe that he would be available at 13?

I sure don't.

 

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From Rotoworld:

The Detroit Free Press lists Colorado's Jimmy Smith, Nebraska's Prince Amukamara, Clemson's Da'Quan Bowers, USC's Tyron Smith, Boston College's Anthony Castonzo, and Mizzou's Aldon Smith as candidates for the Lions in the first round.

Beat writer Dave Birkett suggests the Lions will pull the trigger on Amukamara if he falls to No. 13 while Jimmy Smith would be a fallback option in a trade-down scenario. Detroit seems to favor Tyron Smith over Castonzo at tackle, but the former could be gone in the top-12 picks. Birkett suggest Aldon Smith would be the pick only if Amukamara, Bowers, and Tyron Smith are off the board.

Sounds about right to me, except I like Castonzo or Watt more than Aldon Smith

 

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This backs up what I have been saying about the team needs of the Lions:
Team Needs: Detroit Lions - NFL - Yahoo! Sports

Top needs:

Outside linebacker: This was by far the weakest link in the defense last season and three of the four players who started are gone. The problem is, there is a pronounced scarcity of outside linebackers in this draft that fit the Lions' 4-3 scheme.

Cornerback: The Lions have tendered Chris Houston(notes), but there is still a chance he could be lost to free agency once the new collective bargaining agreement is in place. On the other side are promising but unproven players like Alphonso Smith(notes) and Prince Miller(notes).

Offensive line: This unit is expected to return intact next season, but that line includes 34-year-old LT Jeff Backus(notes) entering the final year of his contract and RT Gosder Cherilus(notes) coming off micro-fracture knee surgery.

Running back: The Lions released Kevin Smith(notes), leaving them with second-year Jahvid Best(notes) and veteran Maurice Morris(notes). They have for years now lacked a true power back

 

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Article on how Detroit's OT's compare to the rest of the league:

The Lions In Winter: a Detroit Lions blog: Old Mother Hubbard: The Offensive Tackles

takes a fascinating, in-depth look at how Jeff Backus and Gosder Cherilus stack up in the various metrics used to grade offensive lineman. Spoiler alert: They're both pretty solid tackles.