2014 Detroit Lions draft picks thoughts and comments........

[TrustMeIamRight]

Figured I'd do a thread and see how every feels about each pick made by the Lions this year.

1st round -- Eric Ebron

Personally, as most of you know, I hated the pick. I understand the thought process on why they chose him, but there is only one Jimmy Graham and Graham is the reason why the Saints offense is so successful. Ebron will play the role Graham played in NO, but they are completely different players.


2nd round -- Kyle Van Noy

He was the guy the majority of the board wanted to see get drafted in the 2nd round if we didn't go OLB in the 1st round. Should start for the Lions from day 1 and help upgrade the LB position. Really liked this pick.

3rd round -- Travis Swanson

Raiola's replacement at Center. I think they could have grabbed him in the 4th, but understand why they took him in the 3rd, as the top two Centers were off the board. Will have a year to become accustomed to the Lions OL and take over next year once Raiola retires.

4th round -- Nevin Lawson

Wasn't thrilled with this pick at all. He is just another mid to late round CB to add the mix on the roster. He will add depth to the position. Hopefully he can show enough promise to overtake Bentley at some point in his career in the nickel role. I was hoping for Telvin Smith or even Dakota Dozier, who would have been a great pick up this late in the 4th and given the Lions a replacement for Sims.

4th round -- Larry Webster

Don't laugh. Prior to the draft -- I actually thought the Lions were trying to strike gold with Webster as a Jimmy Graham clone. College basketball player, 6'6", ran a 4.58 and extremely long and athletic. Instead -- it looks like they are going to try and use him on the defensive side of the ball. Will be an interesting project. If they can hone his skills as a pass rusher -- he could be a steal. Then again -- He could just as easily be a bust. Worth a shot in the 4th -- I liked the pick.

5th round -- Caraun Reid

I love this pick. If, for nothing else, I'd be afraid he would track me down and body slam me if he read that I didn't. This guy looks like a serial killer in the picture of him I saw. Then you read he is on accapella groups and plays the drums and guitar in a campus band, it is like he daring someone to make fun of him, so he can give them a beating. Great value with this pick and extremely athletic for a guy his size. Ran a 4.91 at 302 lbs -- classic one gap DT and someone I think could get to the QB in the Lions scheme. Don't think Detroit will ever have to worry about him getting lazy, cough, Fairley, cough.

6th round -- TJ Jones

Unfortunately, it is another Notre Dame guy. Thankfully -- they chose the right one. I think Detroit fans will be pleasantly surprised by this guy. He seems to catch everything thrown his way, which is a nice change of pace for a WR. He isn't going to wow anyone with any specific skill set, but he is very polished and improved each year at ND. I think he will find a home in Detroit as a slot WR, if his sure handed ways continue in the NFL.

7th round -- Nate Freese

Like Fantasy football -- you never draft a kicker until the last round. This is a whatever pick for me. I would have rather the team use the pick to draft Jeff Janis or Jackson Jeffcoat, but I understand the team using a 7th round pick to address the K position. Maybe they can bring in Jeffcoat as an UDFA.

Overall -- I give the Lions a B-/C+ -- It could have easily been raised a full grade if not for the 1st round pick of a TE. I think it was a pretty successful draft overall. I liked more picks than I didn't, so that is a good thing in my book.

 

[black_magic]

I agree with everything, except the Ebron pick. I think he will really make our offense dangerous and add a dimension that it did not have before. I also really liked the swanson pick. It'll add something to the line that it hasnt gotten from the center position for a while, size and intelligence. The only pick that I can really bash on is the Lawson pick, and that is because of his size. He is a very agressive player, but will get severely picked on. I would much rather of taken Atone Exum or Telvin Smith as many wanted.

 

[Old Lion]

This was the best all around draft I have seen from the Lions that I can remember. Maybe that is because they drafted every position I wanted them to. They didn't pick all the guys I was expecting but an astounding number of them or a very similar one.

I will withhold judgment on the Nevin Lawson pick until I see more of him.

I was initially very upset because I thought they said Navin Johnson

 

[Old Lion]

This was the best all around draft I have seen from the Lions that I can remember. Maybe that is because they drafted every position I wanted them to. They didn't pick all the guys I was expecting but an astounding number of them or a very similar one.

I will withhold judgment on the Nevin Lawson pick until I see more of him.

I was initially very upset because I thought they said Navin Johnson

I am doing much better now that I have found out different

 

[Naughtymax]

I really only liked the Van Noy and Reid picks. As you say, you could have had Mike Sam and Jackson Jeffcoat over a couple of the special-teamers and longshots we did draft, and we could have re-stocked the DE position on the cheap. A kicker you can get off the street corner - no need to waste a draft pick. Should have picked

1 - Taylor Lewan - the new coaching staff can demonstrate how good they are at getting hotheads to behave and we get a bookend to go with Rieff. Run game improves next year and Stafford investment is that much more solid. Donald would have been fine too.

2 - Van Noy. Right guy, right price. Best possible pick at the position.

3 - Louis Nix - scary value this late - not if Donald at #10 but with Lewan in the fold this guy really tells Fairley to put up or pack his bags, and Suh can behave or we'll take the 3rd and the cap space, thanks very much.

4 - Tom Savage - now we have a backup QB who can develop, and either be trade bait in 2 years or give us a fill-in if Staff gets injured (or, dare I say it, give us a way to keep Suh and keep the cap in line by trading Moobs).

4b - Shaquille Richardson - the big corner that is all the rage, could be a starter if he gets his head on right.

5 - Ed Reynolds - he'll play on special teams right away at least

6 - Michael Sam - late third round talent comes with unwanted attention, but the potential for a 15-play-a-game effort guy to give the starting DEs a breather.

7 - Jackson Jeffcoat - I hope he is the Lions first FA signing. There must be some red flag somewhere with this guy but I haven't heard it. Love the bloodline - this kid should have been raised to be a consummate pro from the age of 5 like the Matthews boys.

With this draft we'd have a much better team than I see with what we actually drafted - solid OL with depth in case of an injury, LB help, a first-round talent NT who we can rotate in on run downs and give us the abillity to flex between 4-3 and 3-4 on defense, a nice project QB to develop, a CB and FS project, and two DEs who at worst should be rotation depth guys.

Two more TES after signing Pettigrew has me shaking my head.

 

[black_magic]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmpSCdB9XNY

damn, this kid is really a hard hitter

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

I think he will really make our offense dangerous and add a dimension that it did not have before.

I agree he will add a dimension to the offense it didn't have before, but unless the TE you are drafting is going to put up numbers similar to guys like Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski -- you don't need to spend a top 10 pick for one, IMO, it is a luxury pick.

There is a reason only 4 TE's have been drafted in the top 20 in the last 10 years, prior to Detroit drafting Ebron. It isn't as if Ebron put up mind blowing numbers at the combine and catches everything thrown his way.

He had the highest drop rate of any TE last year. He can make the spectacular catch, but I'd much rather he just made the run of the mill catches consistently.

Overall, I understand the pick, but other than Ebron taking over the role played by Graham in New Orleans, that is where the comparison's stop. I feel some fans believe he is going to be for Detroit, what Graham was for New Orleans and I just believe they are completely different players. To me, it'd be like saying Sammy Watkins could take over Calvin's role and do what Megatron does.

Not taking anything away from Ebron, as it remains to be seen what he is going to do in Detroit's offense. Graham is a one of a kind type of TE -- 6'7" 265 lbs, ran a 4.53 and uses his basketball skills to dominate defenses once the ball is in the air.

I would love to be wrong in this instance and truly hope I am.

 

[lionstop1]

Overall, Im impressed by what the Lions did for several reasons. This draft clearly shows that they did their homework and had the a solid plan. Mayhew shows that he will continue to take chances and have faith in his scouts by selecting project players. Im not sure I see any wasted picks but I sure would like to know what they offered to move up for Watkins because Buffalo got a steal.

Overall, I give the draft a B-

1st round- Eric Ebron-I thought the pick was a good move and one that will prove its worth. Ebron had been linked to the Lions but fans often gave the idea a backseat http://www.sportshoolpa.com/forums/detroit-lions/142930-teams-focus-talent-not-need.html. Ebron will bring an immediate impact to the offense and a hybrid WR/TE is well worth the 10th pick of the draft. Ebron was rated as high as five on the Lions board.

2nd round- Kyle Van Noy- Another favorite pick and I like the Lions aggressiveness here. Lions now have a solid group of LBs and have added one that should help the Lions implement the new scheme. Outside of Van Noy, it mostly seemed like WRs were the most valuable here, so fans should be happy.

3rd round- Travis Swanson- I wasn't immediately attracted to the pick but it grew on me after I read what the Lions think about him as a player and his ability to play guard too. I think he can push for Sims spot this year and take over at center next year. Swanson is huge and should stack up well against the larger DTs in the game.

4th round- Nevin Lawson- Undecided about the pick but from what Ive read, he is a solid cover guy. Im not in favor of the pick since Aikens and Desir came off the board just before. This also states that the Lions already have an idea of who they want to start this year.

4th round- Larry Webster- Good pick, especially as a comp. I could see him coming off the edge in certain packages this year as the Lions groom him. Adds good depth.

5th round- Caraun Ried- Another good pick by the Lions and may turn out to be Fairley's replacement. This pick shows me that the Lions haven't panicked with the situation at DT and they take a guy they think they can mold into a starter or a significant contributor.

6th round- TJ Jones- I wasn't expecting this at all but with this pick, the Lions are serious about adding good depth to the group. Jones will definitely push some of those other guys for a spot.

7th round- Nate Freese- Glad we took him, we need a kicker in the worse way.

 

[lionstop1]

http://www.sportshoopla.com/forums/detroit-lions/142930-teams-focus-talent-not-need.html

 

[Old Lion]

I agree he will add a dimension to the offense it didn't have before, but unless the TE you are drafting is going to put up numbers similar to guys like Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski -- you don't need to spend a top 10 pick for one, IMO, it is a luxury pick.

There is a reason only 4 TE's have been drafted in the top 20 in the last 10 years, prior to Detroit drafting Ebron. It isn't as if Ebron put up mind blowing numbers at the combine and catches everything thrown his way.

He had the highest drop rate of any TE last year. He can make the spectacular catch, but I'd much rather he just made the run of the mill catches consistently.

Overall, I understand the pick, but other than Ebron taking over the role played by Graham in New Orleans, that is where the comparison's stop. I feel some fans believe he is going to be for Detroit, what Graham was for New Orleans and I just believe they are completely different players. To me, it'd be like saying Sammy Watkins could take over Calvin's role and do what Megatron does.

Not taking anything away from Ebron, as it remains to be seen what he is going to do in Detroit's offense. Graham is a one of a kind type of TE -- 6'7" 265 lbs, ran a 4.53 and uses his basketball skills to dominate defenses once the ball is in the air.

I would love to be wrong in this instance and truly hope I am.

I think we picked up Jones for that reason too. I would not be surprised to see Ebron on the sidelines on passing 3rd downs even after he establishes himself as the starter. My guess is they go 4 wide with Broyles and Jones ( and of course Tate and CJ) and Bell in the backfield. Put in the most sure handed guys on the field will most likely be Caldwell's approach. Not sure if Lombardi will go along with it all the time though.

 

[Dr. Evil-er]

I will come around to the Ebron selection. Van Noy was rock solid. Swanson is a question mark and every report you read on him seem to be completely contradictory of each other.

The Neville Longbottom selection was straight up asinine. You get nothing there other than a camp body. Even his measurables aren't attractive. This was a complete waste of a pick.

Very pleased with the Webster and Reid picks. Should be nothing less than solid depth players but each offer excellent upside that good coaching can bring out.

Deep draft at WR gives you a shot at Jones in the 6th rd. good pick there. Broyles can't stay healthy, Ross, Ogletree, and Durham are nothing's. He will be our #3 in the slot by mid season if not earlier.

We needed a kicker so we drafted one. The kid from Rice went undrafted. Would have loved to have signed him as UDFA. I wonder if Kickalicous will be in camp again? I hope so. Kicking battle will be entertaining.

 

[tpaulus_2]

I don't get the hate on the Lawson pick? It should be pretty obvious he was brought in to be a slot defender. He's short (5'10") and compact (190 lbs), likes to tackle and is supposed to be sticky in his short-area coverage. He's also wicked fast.

He was drafted right about where he was projected and our DC is a defensive back specialist, so I imagine he had some pretty good influence on this pick.

CBs in today's game really need to be split into two categories: Outside CB and Slot CB. They have become two entirely different positions in the last 10 years. Outside CBs need to be tall, lanky and fast as shit. Slot CBs are asked to tackle far more as they usually play in the box (or at least right on the edge of the box), so they need to be more compact, still fast, and they have to be good tacklers. Basically an outside CB crossed with a LB.

 

[lionstop1]

I think we picked up Jones for that reason too. I would not be surprised to see Ebron on the sidelines on passing 3rd downs even after he establishes himself as the starter. My guess is they go 4 wide with Broyles and Jones ( and of course Tate and CJ) and Bell in the backfield. Put in the most sure handed guys on the field will most likely be Caldwell's approach. Not sure if Lombardi will go along with it all the time though.

Maybe you're right but Ebron is much better than those WRs. In some cases he may not be on the field but im sure he will be out there most of the time. Putting him in the slot is a favorable matchup on 3rd down.

 

[lionstop1]

I will come around to the Ebron selection. Van Noy was rock solid. Swanson is a question mark and every report you read on him seem to be completely contradictory of each other.

The Neville Longbottom selection was straight up asinine. You get nothing there other than a camp body. Even his measurables aren't attractive. This was a complete waste of a pick.

Very pleased with the Webster and Reid picks. Should be nothing less than solid depth players but each offer excellent upside that good coaching can bring out.

Deep draft at WR gives you a shot at Jones in the 6th rd. good pick there. Broyles can't stay healthy, Ross, Ogletree, and Durham are nothing's. He will be our #3 in the slot by mid season if not earlier.

We needed a kicker so we drafted one. The kid from Rice went undrafted. Would have loved to have signed him as UDFA. I wonder if Kickalicous will be in camp again? I hope so. Kicking battle will be entertaining.

Good assessment here but consider that all the most coveted CBs were gone and Smith smokes weed. Swanson is huge and may be a steal somewhat like Warford.

 

[lionstop1]

I don't get the hate on the Lawson pick? It should be pretty obvious he was brought in to be a slot defender. He's short (5'10") and compact (190 lbs), likes to tackle and is supposed to be sticky in his short-area coverage. He's also wicked fast.

He was drafted right about where he was projected and our DC is a defensive back specialist, so I imagine he had some pretty good influence on this pick.

CBs in today's game really need to be split into two categories: Outside CB and Slot CB. They have become two entirely different positions in the last 10 years. Outside CBs need to be tall, lanky and fast as shit. Slot CBs are asked to tackle far more as they usually play in the box (or at least right on the edge of the box), so they need to be more compact, still fast, and they have to be good tacklers. Basically an outside CB crossed with a LB.

Yeah, he definitely deserves a shot and may be an upgrade over Bentley. That should be an interesting battle and if both play well, we are in a good spot. Im looking forward to seeing if Greenwood or someone else can come away with that CB spot.

 

[lionstop1]

I would just like to add this too:

We need not continue to compare Ebron to Graham as that is not fair to either of them. Ebron is a different player and is not expected to things in the "exact" same fashion as Graham. He is athetic and has the skill-set that can be very useful in the offense and a complete mis-match to opposing teams.

To not like the pick is one thing but to suggest that he is not Graham or that he better put up Graham numbers is dumb. Thats like saying Gilbert should be like Revis or something.

 

[Dr. Evil-er]

Good assessment here but consider that all the most coveted CBs were gone and Smith smokes weed. Swanson is huge and may be a steal somewhat like Warford.

Smith??

 

[Gulf of Brazil]

Smith??

FSU FS/SS/ILB/OLB Telvin Smith. (tested positive for the ganja at the combine). He played all 4 positions at FSU, however, listed as an OLB. Played a lot of FS/SS in 2012 until LaMarcus Joyner took the FS spot this year as a converted CB in 2012

I think there were a few of us board member's who jumped on the Gandy train, I sure did, wanting him as a Lion due to his vast versatility.

 

[themuzzer]

I'm slowly coming around to the idea it wasn't a bad draft for the Lions. I wouldn't have been upset with a WR at 10 so I guess I shouldn't be upset with TE at 10 if they use him more like a WR.

Like everyone else, I like the Van Noy pick.

I'm optimistic about Caraun Reid. Princeton guy....Maybe a rookie ivy league guy can instill some character in the locker room, something the Lions have been lacking for years.

 

[gandydancer]

Overall, I understand the pick, but other than Ebron taking over the role played by Graham in New Orleans, that is where the comparison's stop. I feel some fans believe he is going to be for Detroit, what Graham was for New Orleans and I just believe they are completely different players. To me, it'd be like saying Sammy Watkins could take over Calvin's role and do what Megatron does.

Not taking anything away from Ebron, as it remains to be seen what he is going to do in Detroit's offense. Graham is a one of a kind type of TE -- 6'7" 265 lbs, ran a 4.53 and uses his basketball skills to dominate defenses once the ball is in the air.

I would love to be wrong in this instance and truly hope I am.

Totally agree with the bold. I really don't think even Lionstop1 is saying he is JG. Just he will fill the role of JG in the new offense.

Watkins will never be CJ. He might become a top 5 WR. I love having Megatron, but I sure as hell would not be upset if I was stuck with Julio or A.J.

Ebron will never be JG. He may be in the top 5 convo one day. That I will take over what was currently on the roster.