Um. Well. Um. I'm just not sure what to say about the Detroit Lions draft. Obviously, my first thought is "Typical Lions". What other franchise picks a receiver in the first round after taking one first in each of the previous two drafts and after signing a free agent wideout about twenty-four hours before? Only the Lions. Well, maybe Arizona, but the Cardinals would have opted for some kid projected to be a sixth rounder, not a first rounder.
Regardless, of what any one of us thinks, the Lions now have Mike Williams in the fold. Would I have taken LB Derrick Johnson even with the specter of a potential star wideout unexpectedly staring me in the face? Yeah, probably, but I can't completely blame the Lions for grabbing the ex-USC star, either.
Let's face it, Charles Rogers ain't exactly the picture of health. Sure, the injuries were more freaky than indicative of Rogers' overall health, but he has basically missed two seasons. That's one more than Williams has missed. On the other side, Roy Williams came up hurt for a prolonged stretch in 2004, too. Is that a good enough reason to take a wide receiver with the tenth overall selection? Not to me, but if Williams is the star about half the scouts believe he will be, than Williams is going to make the Lions offense dynamic and force one of the other WRs out of town.
Of course, if the other half of the scouts are right, Williams will be Keyshawn Johnson's twin. That's just too dang scary for me. When Williams slid down the board, I was worried. I feared this might happen. The Lions never really seemed sold to me on Johnson or the rush ends that were available. As the Williams pick showed, that apparently was the case.
Not only was the Williams selection questionable, I don't like what the Lions did in the other two rounds Saturday. Trading away your fourth round choice to move up a lousy four spots to grab Shaun Cody, a DT from most accounts, was not something I loved. Couldn't they have waited four picks and picked a DE instead?
Cody could end up a Hall of Fame tackle. Let's hope so, but in pure draft theory, tossing out a fourth rounder to move up to take Cody wasn't worth giving up the extra choice. Their final pick, third round DB Stanley Wilson was an odd pick, too. He only started one season and didn't seem like the best player on the board.
In addition, the Lions still had not addressed their need at DE or LB. The Honolulu Blue and Silver and Black still only have two quarterbacks, as well. I guess they are hoping for more free agent arrivals this summer.
It is just a weird draft. I don't like the Lions draft in general, as they failed to address more pressing needs. I just don't think they need another WR or DT. Nor do I think they were the best players available when their were picked, although I know Mel Kiper would vehemently disagree with me about Williams vs. Johnson. Nor do I think the Lions should have given up a fourth round pick to move up four spots to take Cody. The Lions acted like they were picking as Super Bowl champs and didn't have any concerns at any positions.
In spite of all of this, I like Mike Williams and Shaun Cody. (I don't know enough about Stanley Wilson to make even a half way intelligent analysis.) They both may end up being very good players. Maybe Pro Bowlers. Obviously, we all hope so. However, I just don't like the way this draft feels or how the Lions' management handled it. Maybe my expectations were too high after last year's smashing success? Regardless, the Lions draft, sans a sixth rounder, is over. It's was interesting. It was typical Lions.
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