Lions may face an interesting First Round Draft choice.

Coachnorm

Coachnorm

Moderator
Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press and ESPN NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert are both convinced that Nebraska CB Prince Amukamara will be the Lions' first-round pick if he's available at No. 13. Seifert calls it an "easy" decision, despite the team's need at offensive tackle. The Lions are going to have a tough decision if both Amukamara and OT Anthony Castonzo are on the board at 13, but it wouldn't be surprising to see them lean toward the cornerback. They don't have a single surefire starter under contract at the position, and Amukamara is an ideal system fit.

Our first mock says Amukamara will already be gone, check it out.

http://www.sofantasyfootball.com/nfl/f196/first-2011-sports-outlaw-mock-draft-round-1-a-39640/
 
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derringer007

derringer007

"Its An Outrage"
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
 
Cerberus

Cerberus

In Dog We Trust
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.
 
MNJHNSN

MNJHNSN

New Member
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.
 
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storminn0rm

storminn0rm

Brewmaster
Coachnorm said:
Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press and ESPN NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert are both convinced that Nebraska CB Prince Amukamara will be the Lions' first-round pick if he's available at No. 13. Seifert calls it an "easy" decision, despite the team's need at offensive tackle. The Lions are going to have a tough decision if both Amukamara and OT Anthony Castonzo are on the board at 13, but it wouldn't be surprising to see them lean toward the cornerback. They don't have a single surefire starter under contract at the position, and Amukamara is an ideal system fit.

Our first mock says Amukamara will already be gone, check it out.

http://www.sofantasyfootball.com/nfl/f196/first-2011-sports-outlaw-mock-draft-round-1-a-39640/
Click to expand...

The more I've been thinking about it, I should have taken OT Anthony Castonzo with the 13th pick. I was in the mindset of taking the best player available, so the glaring need for a LT was somehow put out of my mind. If the mock started over, OT Anthony Castonzo would be my 13th pick.
 
Coachnorm

Coachnorm

Moderator
I can't fault you for that pick. After last year having Suh turn into a major defensive force getting another Impact Rookie on the D Line could set up one legendary D Line for many years to come.
 
Fire

Fire

in the hole
MNJHNSN said:
All of that simply to say that I do not see how the Lions cannot take a franchise LT with their first pick.
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If there is a franchise LT in this draft I don't think he would be available at pick #13. That said, they do realize that improving the O-line is an off-season priority, even though only 5 teams allowed fewer sacks last season. The only 1 of this group not returning is RT Cherilus due to injury, and Hilliard played very well (better than Cherilus, IMO) in his place after he went down. Fox is a LT they took in the 4th round last year to develop, and showed some promise as a rookie last season. The only reason he slipped to the 4th round last year was due to injury concerns, and he stayed healthy throughout last season.

The back 7 is the area that needs the most improvement. Levy is the only NFL quality starter of the LB core, Carpenter and Palmer are decent back-ups that will be thrust into starting roles if the status quo remains. Houston (a UFA right now) is their #1 CB that must be re-signed. He would be a #2 CB on most teams. Delmas is a good Safety, but they have had crap lining up along side him.

Detroit has done a very good job recently of picking up quality players during FA, and trades involving late round picks, for talented players that did not fit other teams schemes (Houston, Rob Sims, Alphonso Smith, Scheffler, Burleson). This is why this off-season has been very frustrating. Had Free Agency started already, I'm sure that some of these back 7 positions of need would have already been addressed. Would love a signing of LB's Tulloch or Lawson, a Center to replace Raiola, and a Safety to play along side Delmas.

All this being said, I think Detroit would be best served by taking the BPA at #13 of the following:
1. Tyron Smith (would start immediately at RT and hopefully take over for Backus in 2012)
2. Prince Amukamara (#1 CB they desperately need)
3. Anthony Castonzo (see Smith above)

I would love the idea of trading down down and getting Castonzo or Carimi later in the 1st while getting an extra pick, but if Smith or Amukamara are there for the taking at #13 I will be thrilled with either.
 
Phicinfan

Phicinfan

Expert on nothing, opinionated on everything
Administrator
Fire said:
If there is a franchise LT in this draft I don't think he would be available at pick #13. That said, they do realize that improving the O-line is an off-season priority, even though only 5 teams allowed fewer sacks last season. The only 1 of this group not returning is RT Cherilus due to injury, and Hilliard played very well (better than Cherilus, IMO) in his place after he went down. Fox is a LT they took in the 4th round last year to develop, and showed some promise as a rookie last season. The only reason he slipped to the 4th round last year was due to injury concerns, and he stayed healthy throughout last season.

The back 7 is the area that needs the most improvement. Levy is the only NFL quality starter of the LB core, Carpenter and Palmer are decent back-ups that will be thrust into starting roles if the status quo remains. Houston (a UFA right now) is their #1 CB that must be re-signed. He would be a #2 CB on most teams. Delmas is a good Safety, but they have had crap lining up along side him.

Detroit has done a very good job recently of picking up quality players during FA, and trades involving late round picks, for talented players that did not fit other teams schemes (Houston, Rob Sims, Alphonso Smith, Scheffler, Burleson). This is why this off-season has been very frustrating. Had Free Agency started already, I'm sure that some of these back 7 positions of need would have already been addressed. Would love a signing of LB's Tulloch or Lawson, a Center to replace Raiola, and a Safety to play along side Delmas.

All this being said, I think Detroit would be best served by taking the BPA at #13 of the following:
1. Tyron Smith (would start immediately at RT and hopefully take over for Backus in 2012)
2. Prince Amukamara (#1 CB they desperately need)
3. Anthony Castonzo (see Smith above)

I would love the idea of trading down down and getting Castonzo or Carimi later in the 1st while getting an extra pick, but if Smith or Amukamara are there for the taking at #13 I will be thrilled with either.
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I agree with most of this.

But i have to admit, I am old school. That being you win football games in the trenches. They addressed D-Line last year. Now its time to address OL.

I will qualify this though, that I don't see either CB available at Detroit's pick. So OT will be their direction. It will be either Smith if he is still there, or Castonzo.

Peterson and Amukamara will be gone by #13. Neither will get past Dallas. With Peterson gone in teh first 6 or 7.
 
Coachnorm

Coachnorm

Moderator
interesting tidbit: Despite playing less than a third of the Lions' defensive snaps last season, Lawrence Jackson ranked in the top 30 among 4-3 defensive ends in run "stops." Jackson's future looked grim when his former college coach shipped him out for a sixth-round pick in August. He rode the pine for the first half of the season before flashing both run-plugging and pass-rushing ability in November and December. His emergence as a viable rotational end should allow the Lions to stick to offensive tackle or cornerback in the first round of the draft.
 
Sgt John

Sgt John

Sith Lord of T&A
Ill add this little tidbit from an interview heard on 104.9 The Horn, our ESPN affiliate in Austin:

Chip Brown and Erin Hogan did an interview a couple weeks back with a Cowboys "insider". The belief at that time was Dallas would take Prince Ramalamadingdong if he was there 9, though there were some leanings toward Tyson Smith, because he was graded as ready to start now AND to have the room to improve to a "stellar" lineman by year 3.

As for the Dallas Secondary, former Longhorn and Current Raiders S Michael Huff is all but spreading his legs for Dallas to take him. He WANTS to come home so to speak and play for Dallas badly, even going so far as telling people close to him that when the CBA mess is cleared they "just need to have the contract ready".

With all that said, I could see Dallas moving 9 overall to Detroit if they wanted Prince Amarestoudamire that bad AND Smith was still on the board.
 
Fire

Fire

in the hole
storminn0rm said:
The more I've been thinking about it, I should have taken OT Anthony Castonzo with the 13th pick. I was in the mindset of taking the best player available, so the glaring need for a LT was somehow put out of my mind. If the mock started over, OT Anthony Castonzo would be my 13th pick.
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Watt is not a bad choice at all, in fact he very well could end up being the pick at #13. Fits the BPA philosophy, has high motor and work ethic, versatile DL that can play about anywhere, kicking inside on obvious passing downs. Detroit seems to think that a top DL is this most important thing for a defense and that is hard to argue. Look at the Ravens and Steelers for example. Even though the run a 3-4, they rarely have great CB's but always stock up on talent up front, and are consistently two of the best defenses in the league. Still, the back 7 of Detroit is void of talent and needs to be upgraded significantly.

As for the OL, an upgrade in talent is needed soon, but they are a decent group as is. I don't blame them as much as others for Staffords injuries. I think Stafford himself is more to blame (that, and a couple of awkward landings on his shoulders). He needs to get better at taking what the defense gives him instead of holding on to the ball too long waiting for bigger plays to develop down field. A better running game would also help him out in this regard, taking some of this pressure off him.
 
Fire

Fire

in the hole
Sgt John said:
With all that said, I could see Dallas moving 9 overall to Detroit if they wanted Prince Amarestoudamire that bad AND Smith was still on the board.
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If Detroit moves up from 13 to 9 it would really piss me off. Besides not having the ammo make this move, and too many other holes to fill, there is very little chance of this happening.
 
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Coachnorm

Coachnorm

Moderator
Fire said:
As for the OL, an upgrade in talent is needed soon, but they are a decent group as is. I don't blame them as much as others for Staffords injuries. A better running game would also help him out in this regard, taking some of this pressure off him.
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The Detroit News calls it a "good bet" that the Lions will target a running back with "some size and power" to complement Jahvid Best in next week's draft. This has been fully expected since the Lions pulled the cord on Kevin Smith in early March, leaving just Maurice Morris and Aaron Brown behind Best. Mel Kiper expects the Lions to look for a back as early as the third round, though possibly later in the draft. Thus far, Detroit has hosted Illinois' Mikel Leshoure, Oklahoma's DeMarco Murray, Hawaii's Alex Green and USC's Allen Bradford.
 
Phicinfan

Phicinfan

Expert on nothing, opinionated on everything
Administrator
Fire

Fire

in the hole
Phicinfan said:
I will have to look, but I know alot of sites have Smith rated equal to or slightly better than Prince. The off field stuff is what is dropping Smith on boards, not talent.
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Yeah, I've seen this also. No one wanted to throw at Smith much at all, and when they did they had very little success.

On the other hand, some of the better WR's like Blackmon had some pretty good stats against Prince. Prince is a much better tackler in run support, though.
 
Phicinfan

Phicinfan

Expert on nothing, opinionated on everything
Administrator
storminn0rm said:
If Akumora... is not available, Lions have to go with an OT. Either Smith or Costanza.., whoever is available.
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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.
 
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