Who Will Be The First Pick of This Year's Draft?

[Chadman]

the lions need d line help first and foremost. with the guy from tennessee as the new coach(i forgot his name)i wouldnt be surprised if a strong front 4 wasnt his priority this offseason. However i cant think of any d lineman worth a 1st overall pick so i think the pick will be the following in order of what is more likely to happen.

1. draft a o line...most likely jason smith
2. draft stafford
3. trade down
4. draft orakpo or raji

[DSpydr84]

The first pick is Aaron Curry, and I have three great reasons why...


1) He is the best player available

This goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway: You take the best player available when you're in the top 5, because if you're in the top 5, you have a lot of holes, and you need a player that can help you immediately.


2) Jeff Backus makes too much money to NOT see the field

Jason Smith looks like a great selection, but we can't have two pickpockets at left tackle. And following what somebody else does (Miami) will never get you ahead of them.. at best you will only equal them. That is never a good idea in competition.


3) Jim Schwartz was a linebacker coach

Come on Spydr, does this REALLY matter? I say yes. You stick with your guns in football, sports, and life. He played linebacker, coached linebacker, and now with his first pick as a head coach, he'll draft a linebacker. It's a match made in heaven.

And not to mention, Martin Mayhew (the new Lions GM) has openly admitted he wants to gain size on defense. How does a 6'3", 256 pound linebacker sound?


And just to finish the rest of the draft for you, here's Detroit's first day:

1) Aaron Curry, LB (BPA)
20) Josh Freeman, QB (In my opinion, he is the most "NFL-Ready" QB in this draft. Can be groomed or plugged in right away.)
33) William Beatty, OT (Good size and quickness; very versatile. Less money than the top pick overall would be, but not a huge drop in overall talent.)
65) Louis Murphy, WR (Will he fall here? Lived in the shadow at Gator nation, but has excellent height and quickness. The perfect compliment and secondary option for Calvin Johnson.)
*If he doesn't fall: Trevor Canfield, OG (With the recent signing of Grady Jackson, you can take a DT off Detroit's big board, and put an OG on it. Canfield has good size and can be an instant starter over Detroit's less-than-stellar guard combo.)
82) Nic Harris, SS (Hard-hitter that some say should play LB. Excellent 8th man in the box for 1st down/running situations.)

[Chadman]

The first pick is Aaron Curry, and I have three great reasons why...


1) He is the best player available

This goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway: You take the best player available when you're in the top 5, because if you're in the top 5, you have a lot of holes, and you need a player that can help you immediately.


2) Jeff Backus makes too much money to NOT see the field

Jason Smith looks like a great selection, but we can't have two pickpockets at left tackle. And following what somebody else does (Miami) will never get you ahead of them.. at best you will only equal them. That is never a good idea in competition.


3) Jim Schwartz was a linebacker coach

Come on Spydr, does this REALLY matter? I say yes. You stick with your guns in football, sports, and life. He played linebacker, coached linebacker, and now with his first pick as a head coach, he'll draft a linebacker. It's a match made in heaven.

And not to mention, Martin Mayhew (the new Lions GM) has openly admitted he wants to gain size on defense. How does a 6'3", 256 pound linebacker sound?


And just to finish the rest of the draft for you, here's Detroit's first day:

1) Aaron Curry, LB (BPA)
20) Josh Freeman, QB (In my opinion, he is the most "NFL-Ready" QB in this draft. Can be groomed or plugged in right away.)
33) William Beatty, OT (Good size and quickness; very versatile. Less money than the top pick overall would be, but not a huge drop in overall talent.)
65) Louis Murphy, WR (Will he fall here? Lived in the shadow at Gator nation, but has excellent height and quickness. The perfect compliment and secondary option for Calvin Johnson.)
*If he doesn't fall: Trevor Canfield, OG (With the recent signing of Grady Jackson, you can take a DT off Detroit's big board, and put an OG on it. Canfield has good size and can be an instant starter over Detroit's less-than-stellar guard combo.)
82) Nic Harris, SS (Hard-hitter that some say should play LB. Excellent 8th man in the box for 1st down/running situations.)

Im surprised about your comments on freeman. He is quite raw in my opinion and seems to be a project at this point. Why is he nfl ready in your mind?

[DSpydr84]

Im surprised about your comments on freeman. He is quite raw in my opinion and seems to be a project at this point. Why is he nfl ready in your mind?

Most obviously, his size and his arm strength. He reminds me of a Ben Roethlisberger kind of player out of college: Hard to bring to the earth, and can throw the ball a mile.

I like the fact that - although it was a spread style offense - he ran a lot of play action and is capable of turning his back on the defense and making a read quickly.

Another thing that I love is his pocket mobility. He has a great sense for where people are and can avoid the rush extremely well, but even more importantly he always keeps his eyes down field to make a big throw. Not to mention, he's gritty. He's not afraid to take a hit, and he's not afraid to dish one either.

A lot of people say he's a poor leader and can't win games, but I never buy into that. The TEAM didn't win games, and although he's supposed to get the most out of his players, it cannot be solely his fault when the team wins or loses. I have never blamed/credited a QB for a loss/win when he didn't deserve it, and I won't start now. And as far as leadership - of course, the media would know. They were in the huddle listening to him speak, they were at practice seeing him pick his nose, and they were on the sidelines watching him drink gatorade. The point is leadership is not a guagable quality by people who have never been around the player.. it's just another lame excuse by some dumb expert when he can't think of anything better to say. If they aren't Tim Tebow, or they don't get visably animated at their teammates, they aren't a "good leader".

All in all, I think the best quarterback in this year's slate of players is the ex-Wildcat himself. His best years are ahead of him, and his tenacity will take him a long way in this league.

[GhostIcon]

Detroit will take Stafford with the first overall pick. It's almost guaranteed.

[mgoblue2290]

It'll probably be Stafford. I don't think Stafford is going to be bad, I really don't. I don't think he's going to be good though, he's going to be a mediocre quarterback. He has some nice things, like a strong arm and decent mobility. He makes some really nice throws sometimes as well. Unfortunately he also makes boneheaded throws and is inconsistent.

The problem with Stafford is that there are guys like him every year. He isn't a must have guy, there will be another guy like Stafford next year and the year after that. Thats why I think the Lions go after Aaron Curry and wait to get a QB.

I really can't say I'd be disappointed with drafting Stafford, we do need a quarterback. I also won't be happy about it either.

[Saluki]

I think they will probably take Stafford. But when u look at a team that just has soooo many problems you gotta wonder if they might take someone else. I think if they don't go QB, that LB Stephan Curry is a possibility to help sure up one of the leagues worst defences.

[Saluki]

Edit: I said one of the worst D's. I ment THE worst defense in the league.

[Hasselbeck]

forced to take him? noones put a gun to their head telling them to take him

Technically you are right. But when you are an 0-16 team.. the pick comes down to two major things.

- Does it fill a need?
- Is it a player we can market and sell to our fans?

Arguably, the logic should be taking the best player available. But the entire Lions franchise is in shambles. They desperately need a guy they can build their franchise around. You can argue all you want about whether or not Stafford will succeed at the next level, but he does have the tools necessary to develop into a good quarterback.

You can't build a team around an outside linebacker. You could build the groundwork for one around a good franchise tackle like a Jason Smith.. but how the hell do you market that? You never see a team marketing promo go.. "Come see Joe Thomas and the Browns 8 games a year!"

The pick will be Stafford because the only other option was Matt Cassel through trade and they obviously did not acquire him.. the Lions need a QB and to start building an identity that gets them far away from the "0-16 season"..

So that's what I meant when I said they are almost forced to take him. Because no one will trade up for that pick.. and a lot of the casual fans would gravitate towards the pick of the franchise QB to be over that of a tackle or OLB in my opinion..

[manchild24]

I agree with alot of the posts here, I think they 'll draft Stafford but I like the Curry pick the best. The guy is an instant impact player, the Lions O is going to suck for a few years yet. Sign a free agent, and then draft a qb with the number 1 pick next season.

[Saluki]

Technically you are right. But when you are an 0-16 team.. the pick comes down to two major things.

- Does it fill a need?
- Is it a player we can market and sell to our fans?

Arguably, the logic should be taking the best player available. But the entire Lions franchise is in shambles. They desperately need a guy they can build their franchise around. You can argue all you want about whether or not Stafford will succeed at the next level, but he does have the tools necessary to develop into a good quarterback.

You can't build a team around an outside linebacker. You could build the groundwork for one around a good franchise tackle like a Jason Smith.. but how the hell do you market that? You never see a team marketing promo go.. "Come see Joe Thomas and the Browns 8 games a year!"

The pick will be Stafford because the only other option was Matt Cassel through trade and they obviously did not acquire him.. the Lions need a QB and to start building an identity that gets them far away from the "0-16 season"..

So that's what I meant when I said they are almost forced to take him. Because no one will trade up for that pick.. and a lot of the casual fans would gravitate towards the pick of the franchise QB to be over that of a tackle or OLB in my opinion..

Stafford will put asses in seats for sure, but when u give a young QB only one good WR, NO O-line, NO RB it might ruin his career. Doesn't this look suspiciously like David Carr and the Texans? Carr was EASILY the best QB in the draft that year, both he and Harrington had their careers destroyed by being put, not on bad teams, but on bad teams that had nothing in place for them to work with.

What good is a QB if the other team is scoring 33 points a game and he's getting sacked 50 times, which is what happened to David Carr in Houston, and is exactly what happened in Detroit last season. I agree they need a face to their franchise, but they need to address some other dire needs first if they wanna keep that face out of the dirt.

[Bmore]

Leftwich brought this to my attention.

The Lions would be dumb if they pass up...




Keegan Scott Rush - QB - Guilford

"Rush has a rocket arm but is Jared Lorenzon on the run" - Leftwich

[Hasselbeck]

Stafford will put asses in seats for sure, but when u give a young QB only one good WR, NO O-line, NO RB it might ruin his career. Doesn't this look suspiciously like David Carr and the Texans? Carr was EASILY the best QB in the draft that year, both he and Harrington had their careers destroyed by being put, not on bad teams, but on bad teams that had nothing in place for them to work with.

What good is a QB if the other team is scoring 33 points a game and he's getting sacked 50 times, which is what happened to David Carr in Houston, and is exactly what happened in Detroit last season. I agree they need a face to their franchise, but they need to address some other dire needs first if they wanna keep that face out of the dirt.

I agree but you have to put that face on your roster before you worry about everything else.

What good is a good offensive line if you have dog shit at QB? And vice versa.

Look.. if you finish the season 0-16, you have some major holes all across the board to fill. The most important position on a football team is the quarterback. To me it's a no brainer. They have to take Stafford.

[Saluki]

I agree but you have to put that face on your roster before you worry about everything else.

What good is a good offensive line if you have dog shit at QB? And vice versa.

Look.. if you finish the season 0-16, you have some major holes all across the board to fill. The most important position on a football team is the quarterback. To me it's a no brainer. They have to take Stafford.

You must not have really read what i wrote, so i'll summarize in two words.

Carr
Harrington

[Hasselbeck]

You must not have really read what i wrote, so i'll summarize in two words.

Carr
Harrington

I'm not saying I disagree with you.. hell I think the Lions should draft Curry or Crabtree as they are the best players in this draft IMO and thats the logic I take into the draft.. but like Houston was forced to take David Carr.. Detroit is all but forced to take Matthew Stafford.