Draft Day 1 Analysis; Day 2 Predictions

#2 The Kong! will wear #90 in the honolulu blue and hopefully dominate the defensive front for the next 12-15 years. Paired up with Kyle Vandenbosch on the outside and Corey Williams on the inside and rotating with Sammie Hill...the Lions could very well have an incredibly disruptive front, perhaps they can provide enough pressure to deal with the fact that they are currently employing human pylons at one cornerback spot and a one safety spot.

#30 The Lions moved up in a trade with the dreaded Minnesota Vikings to get running back Jahvid Best. On the surface this looks like a great pick...and without thinking too hard about it, I like it. But once I start thinking about it, several issues come up.

First, the trade itself, the Lions swapped the #34 pick, the #100, and the #214 overall for the #30 and the #128. On paper, thinking about just the numbers, it looks OK...but on deeper inspection you start to realize that a) the Lions didn't need to move at all to get Best. Best's concussion history had already scared off most teams, b) #34 pick is the second pick of the second day...the entire NFL is now in regroup mode looking at all of the players left on the board and trying to figure out how to get back up high enough to get the players that have slipped through the cracks. This is a prime pick, which could have been auctioned off for multiple picks and very likely the Lions could have still gotten Best, just a bit lower. The swapping of fourth round picks, in effect is the same deal. The draft is only doing rounds two and three tonight, leaving the #100, at the top of the fourth, to be another pick which could have generated more picks. Moving back to #128 might as well be dropping completely out of the fourth round and down to the fifth. There is a drastic change in the talent levels at this point in the draft. The Lions have a ton of holes, and whereas I love Best as a possible home run threat that could legitimize the offense, the Lions still need to address CB, OLB, S, DE, and multiple offensive line positions and now they only have a third round pick to try to address so much.

Second, the Lions just traded Ernie Sims for Tony Scheffler, with the idea of converting to a two tight end set as the primary formation. This leaves the RB alone in the backfield and Best is a very light back with some question marks about his toughness.

Thirdly, they're not going to pull the magic #20 down from the rafters to give to this kid, and anybody who's watched Lions football over the last 50 years knows that a running back in Detroit isn't worth a damn, if he's not wearing that jersey. Ask James Stewart or Kevin Jones or Kevin Smith or James Jones or Greg James or ...the list goes on.

So what happens tonight?

Watch for the Lions to try and fill the CB or OLB spot tonight at the #66 pick. Names to watch are CB's Brandon Ghee, Chris Cook, and Javier Arenas or OLB's Koa Misi, Daryl Washington, or ILB Sean Lee.