Detroit Lions Weblog

Millen’s Worst Draft Yet as Team President?

As much as I had hoped entering the draft that the Lions would parlay their number two overall draft pick for a bevy of picks or players, I can’t fault the logic of selecting WR Calvin Johnson, in spite of all of the team’s previous draft failures at that position, since Johnson was considered by the general consensus as the premium talent in this year’s draft.    Matt Millen, resident “wide receiver expert”, made the right call with selecting Johnson, in spite of the endless supply of jokes that have been generated from the team selecting four wide receivers with their first draft pick (all in the top 10) in the past five seasons.

As surreal as it may be, the Lions should have a dynamic offense with the addition of Calvin Johnson to a personnel  mix that already featured quality receivers in Roy Williams, Mike Furrey, Shaun McDonald, and potentially, Marcus Robinson, if he has enough gas left in the tank to contribute.  I am moderately concerned that Mike Martz will become so enamored of his new toy (Johnson) that eventually Roy Williams will demand a trade in anger over his diminished role in the Lions offense.    I would also like to see a rough estimate of the complete salary cap charge the Lions will have committed to wide receivers (past and present) once Johnson is signed, too.

The next seven draft picks are where my concern/anxiety begins.   I am a graduate of Michigan State University, therefore I am somewhat of a homer for QB Drew Stanton.   That being said, I believe that the Lions made a grievous error in selecting him so early, when they had so many more critical needs to address.   Stanton is a character guy, who is both tough and courageous.   He is also familiar with a losing culture, after four years in East Lansing, and will likely be quite comfortable in Detroit as a result.   Stanton’s selection is a clear indication that the organization is all too willing to settle for the underachieving play of players like DE Kalimba”The Ghost” Edwards, MLB-to-be Teddy “I.R.” Lehman, and G Damien Woody, rather than pursue upgrades.  

In my eyes, if you can remain objective, Stanton is eerily similar to former Lion QB Mike McMahon.   They are both are second in their respective school career passing yards totals and have been positively referred to with adjectives like “gritty”, “spirited”, and “field leader” by various observers.   These platitudes, that are often used to describe intangible qualities, are duplicitous, though.   As much as we pine for the success of underdogs, hard-workers, etc.,  these pithy descriptions that are often appended to players serve to obscure the cold reality that genuine talent and actual performance are both lacking.

Both players came from disappointing programs who have been mired in mediocrity, at least until recently for Rutgers, and have little experience with leading their teams to major victories.   They both had their draft stock increase dramatically as a result of quality performances in post-season senior exhibition games in front of NFL scouts.

Their stats are eerily similar, too:

Senior Season:–CMP-ATT-YDS–TD–%–Career Passing YDS

Stanton——–164–269–1807–12–61%–6524

McMahon——-169–340–2157–18–50%–6608

They both battled a number of injuries throughout their college careers, suffered from poor passing accuracy, and the inability to deliver a nice, tight spiral in the passing game.  Neither was gifted with the greatest of passing arms, either.  Both players were highly regarded for their athleticism and noted for their willingness to scramble outside of the pocket and successfully run with ball.

The primary difference between Stanton and McMahon is the presence of a big-time agent, Drew Rosenhaus for Stanton, and the significantly wider media exposure Stanton has enjoyed at Michigan State. 

I do believe that Stanton may be able to overcome these haunting similarities to Mike McMahon, especially under the quality tutelage of Jon Kitna and Mike Martz, unlike McMahon, whose tenure in Detroit was riddled by being surrounded with complete organizational incompetence. 

The Lions were agressive in this year’s draft, you have to acknowledge that.  They wheeled and dealed their way to making three picks in the second round.   The selections after Stanton were equally puzzling, though.   DE Ikaika Alama-Francis has a NFL pedigree, since his father was Bart Starr’s back-up QB in Green Bay.  With his NFL pedigree considered, Alama-Francis is still relatively inexperienced as a football player. Alama-Francis also suffered an injury in a senior exhibition game that may interfere with his ability to participate in some of the early minicamps.  

Considering all of this, I think it is safe to say that he is somewhat of a project pick, in an organization that needs near-immediate contributions from the players that it selects.  Alama-Francis should eventually be in the mix to start at left DE, which serves more of a run-stopping role in the defense.   The sad reality is that by selecting Alama-Francis, the Lions completely ignored their need for a quality edge-rusher (Central Michigan’s Dan Bazuin was on the board), which would certainly could be deemed more worthy of a project pick.  Alama-Francis compares favorably to Cory Redding, according to Head Coach Rod Marinelli. I would compare him to another failed Millen draft pick, Montana DE Johnathan Taylor.

S Gerald Alexander was a fast-riser on some draft boards who should compete for playing time immediately and posesses valuable versatility.   He has some collegiate experience playing CB, so he may be able to provide some depth their in a pinch, too.   I don’t dislike the selection of Alexander, the Lions secondary will need to be bolstered, since they were not inclined to try and upgrade their pass rush in the draft.

CB A.J. Davis is considered to be a good value pick as fourth rounder.   That being said, he is undersized as a Cover-2 cornerback, and a player who is considered to be better suited to the Lions defense, Tanard Jackson, still remained on the draft board.  G Manuel Ramirez is an agressive, strong, mauler-type of interior linemen who will compete with players like Frank Davis and the versatile Blaine Saipia for a roster spot.  MLB Johnny Baldwin is from a small school and appears to be virtually anonymous in most draft guides.   “Mr. Irrelevant”, Ramzee Robinson, is better suited to the Lions Cover-2 defense than A.J. Davis and is considered a good value as a 7th round pick.

It remains to be seen if this Matt Millen’s worst draft, and whether he will be around to have a worse one yet in the future?   I can’t help but think that ultimately, the Lions will enter next season with another top 10 draft pick and a completely new front office and coaching staff in place, partially as a result of the team ignoring it’s glaring roster needs with this draft.