Nick Fairley? Sorry, I'm not on board.

First of all, any writer that makes a stupid fairly/Fairley pun should be shot in the face.  Secondly, I am glad the Lions didn't make a huge mistake and take Da'Quan Bowers.  He was available and the Lions could have tricked over themselves and taken him.  So that was a plus.

At pick #13 the Lions were staring CB Prince Amukamara right in the face.  OT Anthony Castanzo was staring them right in the face. OT and CB were the Lions two biggest needs.

Now, here is where I'm going to give Martin Mayhew some props, but it hurts to do.  I'm thinking that what happened last night is that the Lions had absolutely no clue that Nick Fairley might be available.  They probably had Patrick Peterson, Marcell Dareus, Von Miller, and Nick Fairley--in that order--at the top of their board.  So they stayed true to their scouting and followed their draft board.  This is a solid strategy.  A strategy that successful teams follow.  It's nice to think that the Lions are doing what the good teams in the NFL do.  It's weird and unsettling and makes me feel kind of funny.

Picking Fairley does not improve the entire squad as much as a pick of Amukamara would have, but it very likely gives the Lions a defensive front that can be argued to be amongst the best in the entire NFL.

Now this does help the back seven of the defense.  If you only have to cover for a second or two, you have a lot better chance of covering, even if you can't cover.  But early last season, we learned that you can game plan for a great defensive front by screening and using short drops. Nothing has changed there.

I'll hold my tongue until I see what they do for the rest of the weekend.  They are still in GREAT need of drafting at least one CB and two OLBs, plus they have need for a third wide receiver, offensive linemen and a second running back.

Players I'll be happy if the Lions find a way to get.

CB Aaron Williams, Texas
CB Ras I Dowling, Virginia
CB Brandon Harris, Miami
CB Shareece Wright, USC

DE/OLB Jabaal Sheard, Pittsburgh

LB Bruce Carter, North Carolina
LB Akeem Ayers, UCLA
LB Quan Sturdivant, North Carolian
LB Dontae Moch, Nevada
LB Mason Foster, Washington

WR Greg Little, North Carolina
WR Randall Cobb, Kentucky
WR Titus Young, Boise State
WR Edmund Gates, Abilene Christian

RB Mikel Leshoure, Illinois

OT Ben Ijalana, Villanova