Lions Trade Up In Third Round, Select Cornerback Alex Carter
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
ALLEN PARK - With their third-round pick of the 2015 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions addressed their defense, trading up to select Stanford cornerback Alex Carter.
"He's a physical guy," Lions head coach Jim Caldwell said. "He's certainly got size to match up with some of the big receivers we'll see in our division, and not only that, he's smart. He is a student of the game, works extremely hard at it, and you can see he's got all the makings to be a true pro. Those are the things that jump out at you."
The 6-foot, 202-pound Carter started 12 games as a junior and recorded 41 tackles, defended 10 passes, intercepted a pass and forced a fumble.
"He's only 20 years old, just turned 20 last fall, so he's still a young guy," general manager Martin Mayhew said. "He's got a lot of development that he can still do. We like him as a player. We like what's there as far as the raw material to improve, and he's going to be an outstanding player for us."
Caldwell said the plan is for Carter to play outside corner when he arrives in Detroit, but the Lions could adjust that depending on how everything unfolds.
The addition of a cornerback makes sense given starter Rashean Mathis is 34 years old and probably will not play more than a couple more years, and two of the team's young cornerbacks, Bill Bentley and Nevin Lawson, are coming off season-ending injuries they suffered at the beginning of the 2014 season.
With their first two picks of the draft, the Lions focused on improving their run game. They took Duke guard Laken Tomlinson with the 28th overall selection, and then they used the 54th pick on Nebraska running back Ameer Abdullah. The Lions also added another guard, veteran Manny Ramirez, by trading back in the first round.