The Official 2014 Lions Draft Thread

[TrustMeIamRight]

Another interesting guy the Lions could look at with a mid to late round pick

Larry Webster. He is a small school guy, who was a basketball player before playing football his last two years. 6'6" 252 lbs and ran a 4.57 40 with a 36.5 inch vertical.

He played DE in college, but they were talking about him last night that some teams could move him over to offensive side of the ball and use him as a TE.

Could be interesting to see how his hands are -- He could be the type of player the Lions could get in a later round he could create mismatches in the passing game.

Just throwing some names out, as I don't want to see the Lions spend a high draft pick on the TE spot and this guy, while not facing elite competition and limited football experience, could be had on the cheap and could develop into a great player.

 

[Dr. Evil-er]

Neither he nor Dennard are worthy of the #10 pick. This is a great draft to trade back and get more picks. It's very deep and you can easily fill multiple positions with starters.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

Neither he nor Dennard are worthy of the #10 pick. This is a great draft to trade back and get more picks. It's very deep and you can easily fill multiple positions with starters.

I agree with this -- trading back would be my 1st choice, as you could get some great talent in the 2nd and 3rd round.

It will be interesting to see how this draft plays out. So many teams could try and move up or back as I'm sure many teams have the same thoughts process where they could fill holes with extra picks.

I am clueless on what the Lions are going to do at 10. They could go a half dozen different ways and none of them would surprise me. I just pray to the lord above they don't spend the pick on a TE.

 

[Dr. Evil-er]

I am clueless

Welcome to the club

 

[Kreton]

My choice is "not clowney".

 

[broncosmitty]

Im pretty much with laker on this.

 

[tpaulus_2]

Nice. Sounds like he'd be worth a shot if we can get him late in the draft and maybe sneak him onto the practice squad while he learns the new position. Or maybe he'd be talented enough on special teams to hold a roster spot while he learns.


Probably not the kind of guy who will make an immediate impact, but if he can learn to play TE he's got the tools to be an impact player at the position after a few years of development...

 

[Rollingthndr]

The other thing to consider is that drafting Clowney means we're already cutting bait on Ansah. There's no way we can afford both guys once their rookie deals are up.

Chris Long and Robert Quinn

 

[Rollingthndr]

My choice is "not clowney".

So you're choice is "not, the best player in the draft"?

 

[Rollingthndr]

Oklahoma State CB Justin Gilbert recorded 4.35 and 4.38 second forties at the NFL Combine.


Gilbert measured in at 6'0/202 pounds with 33 1/8" arms. He is a very athletic corner who improved from 2012 thanks to Oklahoma State's more aggressive scheme. With that said, Gilbert did play at a high level in 2011 before regressing last season, and many evaluators have him as the top cornerback in this class.

 

[Dr. Evil-er]

Iron man football. Play him at both spots.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

I think the more impressive time was Dennard posting a 4.42. He is considered a more technical, more physical and more intelligent CB than Gilbert, while Gilbert had the size and speed.

Dennard's 40 is unofficial, but I didn't expect him to run anywhere near that. I'm warming up to Dennard if the Lions were to take a chance on him.

 

[lionstop1]

Sammy Watkins
Mike Evans
Justin Gilbert
D. Dennard

Lions will choose from one of these at 10. These are the best at those positions. You don't pass on that.

 

[Dr. Evil-er]

Chris Long and Robert Quinn

Once they cut Bradford and his contract loose where else is this team spending big money like the deals we have in place for Staff, CJ, and soon Suh.

Chris Long is already under a $12m/yr deal for 3 more years so he is the most expensive other than Bradford at $13m/yr (and his days are numbered) and thats a bargain price. Between Bradford, Finnegan, and Jake Long the Rams can free $26m in space next year alone if they cut them. By the time Quinn is up for a new deal the Rams will have plenty of space to handle that.

Even if the Rams kept every single one of the guys I mentioned above their cap hits in 2015 actually drop vs going up. It's simple good cap mgmt. They can very easily afford to have book end DE's being paid top dollar.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

The Freep had an article today talking about how the Lions may even draft one of the top 3 OL if they fall to #10 (Robinson, Mathews, Lewan). It made sense, while I was reading it. They really wanted one of the tackles from last year to fall to them, but it didn't happen and thankfully we drafted Ansah.

They said the top 3 OL in this year's draft are much better than the top 3 from last year's draft, so if Detroit wanted to solidify their OL, they could draft one of those guys and either play them at LT and move Reiff inside, giving the Lions one of the best Guard combos in the league or have the draft pick or Reiff start out at RT.

Personally -- I would rather they pass on an OL, as our line played pretty good, but as I said -- nothing would surprise with our front office anymore, so it is a possibility.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

Sammy Watkins
Mike Evans
Justin Gilbert
D. Dennard

Lions will choose from one of these at 10. These are the best at those positions. You don't pass on that.

Actually only one of them at each position can be considered the best -- the other guy would be the 2nd best, if you wanted to get technical.

So do we pass on Evans if Watkins is off the board, because technically he isn't the best at the position. Same goes for Dennard or Gilbert, if one or other is off the board?

With the logic of drafting the best player at their position -- I think Detroit would end up drafting a safety at #10, as a QB, DE, OLB, WR, CB and OL will most likely be off the board before we draft.

 

[jayfan]

Gilbert's measurables may be slightly better than Dennard's, but Dennard is the more consistent, more physical, more NFL-ready player.

 

[Gulf of Brazil]

I think the more impressive time was Dennard posting a 4.42. He is considered a more technical, more physical and more intelligent CB than Gilbert, while Gilbert had the size and speed.

Dennard's 40 is unofficial, but I didn't expect him to run anywhere near that. I'm warming up to Dennard if the Lions were to take a chance on him.

This. Even if Dennard's official 40 is 4.49 to 4.52, his technique acumen over Gilbert squashes Gilbert's 40 time, as Dennard is a blanket cover corner until.... the wr gets out in a seam and is long gone. I don't think Dennard would have the closing long speed that Gilbert has. On the other hand, Gilbert takes a lot of risks in jumping routes and is susceptible to getting burned.

Dennard 2010... 6 games... 0 int...0 yds.....0 tds.... 1 FF......8 solo.....3 asst....11 Ttl....2 TfL.....1 Sks
.............2011...12 games...3 int...38 yds...1 tds.... 0 FF.....30 solo...12 asst....42 Ttl....1 Tfl......0 Sks
.............2012...13 games...3 int...49 yds...0 tds.... 0 FF.....34 solo...18 asst....52 Ttl....3 Tfl......0 Sks
.............2013...14 games...4 int...38 yds...0 tds.... 2 FF.....33 solo...29 asst....69 Ttl....1 Tfl.......0 Sks

Gilbert...2010....12 games...0 int.....0 yds....0 tds.....1 FF......16 solo....2 asst....18 Ttl.....0 Tfl......0 Sks
............2011....13 games...5 int....57 yds...0 tds......0 FF......48 solo...11 asst...59 Ttl.....1 Tfl......0 Sks
............2012....13 games...0 int......0 yds...0 tds......1 FF......53 solo...10 asst...63 Ttl...2.5Tfl......0 Sks
............2013....13 games...7 int...123 yds...2 tds......0 FF......36 solo....6 asst...42 Ttl......0 Tfl.....0 Sks

College Stats

 

[Gulf of Brazil]

The Freep had an article today talking about how the Lions may even draft one of the top 3 OL if they fall to #10 (Robinson, Mathews, Lewan). It made sense, while I was reading it. They really wanted one of the tackles from last year to fall to them, but it didn't happen and thankfully we drafted Ansah.

They said the top 3 OL in this year's draft are much better than the top 3 from last year's draft, so if Detroit wanted to solidify their OL, they could draft one of those guys and either play them at LT and move Reiff inside, giving the Lions one of the best Guard combos in the league or have the draft pick or Reiff start out at RT.

Personally -- I would rather they pass on an OL, as our line played pretty good, but as I said -- nothing would surprise with our front office anymore, so it is a possibility.

Smells like SALES pitch for some team to trade up and select whomever is left at #10.... Just what I want to see from the NYG... William Beatty sucks and was injured late last year and 2013 Draft Pick Pugh is at best a RT and really belongs inside at LG...

 

[Gulf of Brazil]

Actually only one of them at each position can be considered the best -- the other guy would be the 2nd best, if you wanted to get technical.

So do we pass on Evans if Watkins is off the board, because technically he isn't the best at the position. Same goes for Dennard or Gilbert, if one or other is off the board?

With the logic of drafting the best player at their position -- I think Detroit would end up drafting a safety at #10, as a QB, DE, OLB, WR, CB and OL will most likely be off the board before we draft.

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Not true at all. As Mayhew's draft board could have Gilbert and Dennard both rated as a 93 Grade according to their scouts and personnel... Watkins and Evans I would think are at least a point apart simply due to Watkins explosiveness on tape and at the combine