Detroit Lions Weblog

The Day After: Some Thoughts on the 2009 Detroit Lions Draft

Rd. 1, Pick#1: QB Matthew Stafford Georgia

Rd. 1, Pick#20: TE Brandon Pettigrew Oklahoma St.
Brandon Pettigrew Video Highlights

Rd. 2, Pick#38: S Louis Delmas Western Michigan
Louis Delmas Pro Day Interview

Rd. 3, Pick#76: LB DeAndre Levy Wisconsin
Wisconsin Defense Highlights

Rd. 3, Pick#82: WR Derrick Williams Penn St.
Derrick Williams Highlight Video
Williams Burns Zbikowski

Rd. 4, Pick#115: DT Sammie Lee Hill Stillman College
Sammie Lee Hill at Home
Sammie Lee Hill interview

Rd. 6, pick#192: RB Aaron Brown TCU

Rd. 7, pick#228: OT Lydon Murtha Nebraska
Lydon Murtha Draft Analysis

Rd. 7, pick#235: LB Zach Follett California
Zach Follett Highlight Video

Rd. 7, pick#255: TE Dan Gronkowski Maryland
Dan Gronkowski TD catch

The Lions did very little to calm the ample concerns of many Lions fans with their perceived-to-be shaky decisions during the second day of the NFL draft.

While, they did eventually address a few positions of critical personnel need (OT, DT, LB), their decision to trade the first pick of the third round for a few more mid- and late-round draft picks to the Jets, when there were several very enticing players available at those positions of need at the time, was puzzling.

Given the fact that players like RB Aaron Brown, LB DeAndre Levy, DT Sammie Lee Hill, and OT Lydon Murtha are all projects, I am left wondering, whether the Lions made the right decision by opting for quantity over quality, by trading down for a few extra draft picks.

The infuriating fact for many Lions fans is that there were numerous rumors floated in the media that Kansas City offered the Lions the opportunity to trade up and select LB Aaron Curry, the resounding people’s choice. If this is true, the Lions decided to bypass the fortuitous opportunity to select Curry, and instead chose to select another OLB much later in the draft, DeAndre Levy.

Ironically, the Lions plan on converting Levy to MLB, much like they would have done with Curry.

Obviously, if the Lions have struck draft gold, and eventually all of their first three draft picks emerge as immediate contributors (and how could they not?), then let’s hypothesize that:

1) WR Derrick Williams meets his true playmaking potential as a slot receiver, punt returner, and a sort of “wildcat” wildcard player and

2) the raw and massively-gifted, small college DT Sammie Lee Hill actually rises to the formidable challenge of jumping from Stillman College to the NFL.

Under that scenario, the Lions draft will have taken a much different shape in many Lions fan’s eyes.

Hill is definitely the most intriguing selection. He could become a “Big Baby” Shaun Rogers-clone, obviously an unproven one, potentially with a stronger sense of motivation and an insatiable hunger for NFL success, down the line.

Brown was the most quintessentially “Lions”-decision of the day. Brown is the same kind of running back, slot receiver, and return specialist that the Lions thought that they had selected with Brian Calhoun several years ago. Brown had previously experienced a number of off the field issues, which had tarnished his draft grade with some teams.

With the presence of Maurice Morris, and the continually improbable-but-inevitable return of utility back Aveion Cason to the Lions 53-man roster, Brown strikes me as a prototypical free agent pick-up, rather than someone the Lions should have actually utilized a draft pick upon.

Ultimately, the Lions did get the three top players at three personnel positions, whether they met their overwhelming team needs, or not? Much like nearly every other the Lions draft day decision of late, some, or all of these picks will not pan out.

The Lions desperately need for Matthew Stafford to succeed. If he doesn’t, unfortunately, the Ford’s may find themselves the proud possessor’s of the Detroit “Silverdome, part II”, or experience a beautiful Ford Field becoming routinely empty on football Sundays. What a shame.