Mayhew is about to do something real crazy.

[RobBase]

Media hype will also help fans change their tune about whether a team should trade up or not.

I listened to 97.1 today and I didn't hear a lot of positive feedback about this move. Even ex-players on NFL network are making fun of the Lions for being WR crazy for the past decade plus. It's kinda embarrassing. Everyone of them thought the Lions should go defense.

 

[lionstop1]

This is just a waste to talk about. All of you guys that dont want the WR are just thinking about the position itself instead of everything else that comes with it. CJ will be 30 soon, while Stafford and company are still pretty young. Watkins would be a future investment and a elite player.

When you pick very early in the draft its about getting the top teir guys regarless of position. I dont think using the excuse that we have CJ is a good one. If thats the case, we already have Suh, Ansah, Fairley, Levy and Tolluch, so why trade for a defender?

 

[lionstop1]

Where are all these holes on the defense? I would say OLB and #1 CB are the Lions only real needs right now.
I have a few questions though:

How does everyone know how the Lions feel about what they have on defense?
Do you wait until the last minute to replace one of your greatest players or do you attempt to do it while you have him?
If the Lions have Watkins rated higher than Mack, why on earth would they trade up for the lesser player?

 

[lionstop1]

I saw NFL Network Rob and one of the guys said they should move up, while Charles Davis said no. Im sure most will disagree with the move but if Watkins plays great, Mayhew would suddenly be a genius for the move.

 

[RestoretheMeow]

This is just a waste to talk about. All of you guys that dont want the WR are just thinking about the position itself instead of everything else that comes with it. CJ will be 30 soon, while Stafford and company are still pretty young. Watkins would be a future investment and a elite player.

When you pick very early in the draft its about getting the top teir guys regarless of position. I dont think using the excuse that we have CJ is a good one. If thats the case, we already have Suh, Ansah, Fairley, Levy and Tolluch, so why trade for a defender?

Because none of those guys play in the secondary. How about don't trade up at all either stay or trade back (picking up more picks) and get some guys that can hang with a receiver for 5 seconds and let the pass rush....*gasp* rush the passer. I know that sounds like football and that as Lions fans were used to football-like products.

 

[Gulf of Brazil]

In today's NFL every team is looking at a little turnover from players, mostly due to cap. However, every team has to look to the future in many varying capacities. Player's get hurt, age, cap casualty, not producing, scheme fits/changes etc. Want proof just look at the Fairley situation or even Suh not extending yet, CJ has been beaten to hell and their trying to stop that by adding two quality wr's should he go down again (maybe one of these times it's for the year). The wr depth sucks azzzzzzzz after CJ and Tate. We could say the same with where's all the holes in wr too. We're talking about adding "Quality Players Who Make A Impact" on the field no matter what the position, IMO. Most of us want a Defensive Player. A few want a wr like Watkins or Evans. Not all of us are going to be satisfied come May 11th when all is said and done with this draft anyways. The draft is a risk/reward no matter who you take and what slot# they were taken at.

 

[Rollingthndr]

If the Lions have Watkins rated higher than Mack, why on earth would they trade up for the lesser player?

Yeah, there is no way in hell anyone can say Mack is as good a prospect as Watkins. The guy was good in the MAC. Look what happened to Eric Fisher last year, dude was supposed to be hot shit and got DESTROYED at RT.

Mack is probably a 5-10 guy. Watkins is probably the #2 overall player in the draft.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

Where are all these holes on the defense? I would say OLB and #1 CB are the Lions only real needs right now.
I have a few questions though:

How does everyone know how the Lions feel about what they have on defense?
Do you wait until the last minute to replace one of your greatest players or do you attempt to do it while you have him?
If the Lions have Watkins rated higher than Mack, why on earth would they trade up for the lesser player?

The key phrase is 'right now'. Right now -- the Lions need a #1 CB, OLB and DE. Right now -- we have our top two DT's playing the last year of their contract (one that the Lions turned down picking up a 5th year option and one that we may have to grossly overpay to keep or may decide to test the FA market). We also have a stop gap signed to play at safety.

Now look at the offense -- They have almost the entire offense signed to multi-year deals, including their top 2 WR's, top 2 RB's, TE, QB, both OT's, TE and OG.

This is why so many people have issues with the Lions trading away picks to draft a WR. The offense is set for the next couple years, sans the 3rd WR spot. If Detroit had the idea of trading up to draft Watkins -- why in the world would you give a 5 year 31 million dollar deal to Golden Tate?

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

Do you wait until the last minute to replace one of your greatest players or do you attempt to do it while you have him?
If the Lions have Watkins rated higher than Mack, why on earth would they trade up for the lesser player?

One -- Detroit is never going to 'replace' Calvin Johnson. It'd be like trying to say Detroit was going to replace Barry Sanders when he left, with whoever they drafted or signed. It isn't going to happen.

Two -- Detroit just signed a guy to 5 year 31 million dollar contract who was the #1 WR last year on the team who won the Super Bowl and he is only 25 years old.

Three -- Why trade up at all? You aren't a team who is one player away from being a legit threat for a Super Bowl or even being the favorite to win your own conference. Detroit needs every pick they have.

Four -- We have multiple positions we need to upgrade that would be considered worthy of a top 10 pick and only one of those positions is on offense and it is the 3rd WR, in a draft considered by many to be the deepest draft for talent at the WR position in many years.

 

[broncosmitty]

One -- Detroit is never going to 'replace' Calvin Johnson. It'd be like trying to say Detroit was going to replace Barry Sanders when he left, with whoever they drafted or signed. It isn't going to happen.

Two -- Detroit just signed a guy to 5 year 31 million dollar contract who was the #1 WR last year on the team who won the Super Bowl and he is only 25 years old.

Three -- Why trade up at all? You aren't a team who is one player away from being a legit threat for a Super Bowl or even being the favorite to win your own conference. Detroit needs every pick they have.

Four -- We have multiple positions we need to upgrade that would be considered worthy of a top 10 pick and only one of those positions is on offense and it is the 3rd WR, in a draft considered by many to be the deepest draft for talent at the WR position in many years.

Preachin' to the choir MikeD.

 

[lionstop1]

I know you cant "replace" CJ but at some point you have to have someone to step in. Lions would be very wise to start now.

The Lions had no choice but to give Tate that money if they wanted him. The deal isn't as bad as we thought, remember?

Detroit wouldn't be trading up to win the SB, they would be doing it because theres value in going up from ten and grabbing a player who they think is elite.

We do have multiple positions that could use an upgrade but who knows how the Lions feel about some of those prospects. Maybe they see more overall value by trading up for Watkins. He's an elite player. If they got Watkins, do you honestly believe that they would play him like a 3rd WR? I dont.

Again, if you're sitting at ten and you feel like you can get the best or second best player in the draft by sacrificing a few picks, you have to consider it. People dont like it because it just so happens that Watkins plays WR. Surely the Lions would be doing this if there was a CB like Peterson available.

 

[broncosmitty]

It's a bad deal, no doubt about it. Especially when our GM seems hellbent on making Tate's doucheass a #3. Why this dipshit still has a job Ill never know. The old man (God rest his soul) should have rid the franchise of the old gaurd completely. But he didn't. And we'll most likely continue to suck.

 

[lionstop1]

Management is prolly cool wit it Smitty.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

Again, if you're sitting at ten and you feel like you can get the best or second best player in the draft by sacrificing a few picks, you have to consider it. People dont like it because it just so happens that Watkins plays WR. Surely the Lions would be doing this if there was a CB like Peterson available.

People don't like it because Detroit just so happens to already have the best WR in football and signed Golden Tate to a big contract. IF the Lions hadn't signed Golden Tate -- I could understand the talk about trading up for him.

Comparing it to trading up for an elite CB makes no sense. If you want to use that as a valid comparison -- It'd be like Detroit trading up to #2 for a CB in the draft IF they already had the best CB in the league and signed another CB to a big contract as a FA and we were trading up to draft a CB to play in nickel packages.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

The Lions had no choice but to give Tate that money if they wanted him. The deal isn't as bad as we thought, remember?

Detroit wouldn't be trading up to win the SB, they would be doing it because theres value in going up from ten and grabbing a player who they think is elite.

I agree -- Detroit did have to overpay to bring in Tate, but that should have ended the discussions of drafting a WR in the 1st round. Detroit gave Tate a contract making him the 20th highest paid WR in the NFL and they already have the the highest paid WR.

Detroit has finished anywhere from 3rd to 6th in passing yards the last 3 years. Last year, they did so with a mish mash of WR's, as everyone was hurt, and at one point their top 4 WRs were injured.

If Watkins was going to be a big red zone target -- I could understand people really wanting to go up to get him. Detroit's problem offensively wasn't moving the ball -- it was getting it into the end zone. At 6'1" with a very average vertical leap -- Watkins isn't going to be jumping over DB's to catch balls.

IMO -- The talk about trading up for Watkins is nothing more than Mayhew trying to save his job for another year. Drafting Watkins may get the Lions to the playoffs, in a season deemed, win now mode. I believe he feels if he gets the Lions to the playoffs in 2014 -- he will keep his job. Problem is -- it doesn't change the fact the Lions defense will be victimized when they have to play a quality team and will more than likely be one and done.

Maybe I am just missing something on Watkins. I think he will be really good player in the NFL, but I just don't understand the infatuation to the point of trading away picks you badly need for a WR who isn't tall (he is tweener between a slot and a big WR), is fast but not a burner and has an average vertical leap. Honestly -- I look at Watkins as a slightly bigger version of the guy we just signed as a FA. Also -- I think Watkins will be best used in the slot, where he can use his biggest asset, which is his quickness. I just don't see how that equates to a can't miss player you trade up to get.

 

[Naughtymax]

If they pay more than the second-rounder this year, I'd rather have whoever drops to #10 and the second (who should be an above-average, starting-caliber player too) than Watkins. At some point, though, the Lions will need someone to be a #1WR when the best to ever play the position starts to slow down, so it wouldn't crush me.

At least the guy has made it clear he wants to play in Detroit.

 

[lionstop1]

The management know that life after Calvin is not a good one. They also understand that it doesn't stop after Tate. Signing him doesn't mean to stop upgrading at a position thats been pure hell for the Lions. Investing in Watkins now may pay off over the long run for the defense. I can see where the Lions might want to complete the offense and then continue to work on the defense.

 

[RobBase]

Watkins or not, Mayhew will continue to draft WR's until he is fired. Next year we'll be hearing how we need to go WR in round 1 again to "help draw attention away from Sammy and Calvin" or some crap.

Nothing has changed since 2001 with this club.

 

[lionstop1]

Bro, Watkins doesn't have to out-jump everyone in the endzone to score when he can simply just beat defenders to it or catch slants or something. Tate has done pretty well catching balls at his size and I'm sure he'll get his tds.

If Mayhew was trying to save his job by drafting Watkins, I would think that it does make some sense to grasp an elite prospect to take over when your great player exits.

 

[lionstop1]

Rob,

If the Lions got Watkins, do you really believe they would draft another WR? I dont.