Lions Draft: Good Day One, What About Day Two? Dream Scenario Requires A Trade
By Brian Chapman
(97.1 The Ticket) There just wasn't a whole lot of buzz among Lions fans heading into the 2015 draft and for weeks I was trying to figure out why? After all, draft day is usually the biggest day of the Lions season. Was there no buzz because the Lions were picking so low and it was too difficult to narrow the list of candidates when you're team is not in the picking in the top 10?
Was it because the start of the offseason has been so disappointing that it's almost irrelevant what happens in the draft because the Lions are destined to have a losing season regardless of who they select? Was it because the Lions 2014 draft class was such a major flop? Was it because fans no longer have to assume that the Lions are the worst team in the NFL at drafting because there is definitive proof? (See this for the proof). Or was it because when your team just went 11-5 you get cocky and believe that trivial things like the draft don't matter as much?
I don't know and I never got to the bottom of it, but now that Day 1 of the NFL Draft is in the books and Day 2 is here, here's what we know. The Lions didn't use the No. 23 pick to select a player. Instead they traded it to Denver for the No. 28 pick. When I first heard about the trade I applauded the Lions because I thought it made sense to move down to accumulate additional picks, especially in the 2nd and 3rd rounds.
Unfortunately, the Lions compensation was a 2015 5th rd pick, a 2016 5th rd pick and OL Manny Ramirez (a former Matt Millen pick who snapped the ball over the head of Peyton Manning in the Super Bowl 15 months ago.)
Really? A former Millen pick that the Lions cut? A bunch of 5th rd picks? After you got a 5th rd pick from the Bucs in the George Johnson trade? Since when has the draft motto been "you can never have too many 5th round picks?" (Especially when the three best 5th rounders the Lions have selected since 2002 have been Sam Martin, Tahir Whitehead and Dan Orlovsky.) It would have made a lot more sense for the Lions to have obtained one 3rd rd pick instead of the 5th rounders and Ramirez, but I still like the trade. The Lions need bodies on the OL and Ramirez can be a backup in the interior and if the Lions use the 5th rd picks to move up in the 2nd or 3rd rds or into the 4th rd, then the extra picks can be more useful than selecting the next Doug Hogue.
Then the Lions used the No. 28 pick to select Duke OG Laken Tomlinson. Like everyone else in Metro Detroit, my initial reaction was "who?" Then I did a quick check of CBSSports.com's prospect rankings and found this page. Yeah. 48th best prospect taken No. 28 overall. Other experts agreed that he was selected too soon while a few said that NFL scouts saw him as a (very) late 1st to mid-2nd round prospect. Either way it seems like the Lions reached by about ten slots.
The reach is only reason why I only like the pick, but don't love it. My top priority was for the Lions to get a starting offensive lineman in the 1st rd and that's exactly what Martin Mayhew and company did. For a change they went for need as opposed to best available (which is the way they should draft until Day 3.) Additionally, ProFootballFocus reports that Tomlinson was exceptional last year when it came to protecting his quarterback:
When your backup plan is either a guy who ran out of the back of the end zone or an undrafted free agent, you'd better do whatever it takes to keep Matt Stafford healthy. And how could anyone come away less than impressed with him after hearing his interview with Suzy Kolber of ESPN. He seems intelligent, humble and well-spoken.
So with the trade and the selection of Tomlinson, I give the Lions an A- for Day 1. They addressed a need and got depth on the offensive line. What kept them from getting an A+ were the reach and getting two Johnny Baldwins instead of a Day 2 pick.
As far as Day 2 is concerned, everyone has a plan and here's mine.
In the 2nd rd, they could go after a right tackle if they don't believe that LaAdrian Waddle will be healthy, they could take a running back and they could take a pass rusher, but I would go with a defensive tackle. I don't buy into the hype that Tyrunn Walker, who the Lions signed as a free agent a couple of months ago, will be a great defensive tackle who was simply undervalued. If that was the case, then why was his actual value only $1.75 million over one year? The Lions can easily upgrade over Walker in the second round and not have to worry about a giant vacancy in the middle of the defensive line in 2016 if Haloti Ngata decides to leave after the 2015 season… I'd go with someone like Carl Davis of Iowa (a Detroit native.)
While it might make sense to draft a running back here I'd stray away from that. Lions fans should be thrilled that Todd Gurley and Melvin Gordon were off of the board at No. 23 because you just don't draft running backs in the first round anymore because the league incentivizes passing, Todd Gurley is recovering from major knee surgery, mid-round running backs have been pretty successful lately and this is a deep drafts for running backs. A 3rd, 4th or 5th rd pick running back could lead all rookies in rushing yards. The 2nd rd is the earliest the Lions should take a running back, but they should wait until the 3rd rd… I'd go with someone like Jeremy Langford (a Michigan State Spartan.)
BONUS: If the Lions don't make any trades, then a defensive tackle followed by a running back would make for a great Day 2 for the Honolulu Blue and Silver, but my dream scenario does require a trade. As many of you know, I have long yearned for the Lions to draft UCLA QB Brett Hundley in the 2nd rd and here's how it can happen without losing out on the defensive tackle and the running back. Trade both of the 2015 5th rd picks, the 2016 5th rd pick and either Dan Orlovsky or Kellen Moore to a team in the second half of the 2nd rd and use the pick to take Hundley.
Hundley has a huge advantage over Stafford in both accuracy (completed at least 66.6% of his passes all three years in college whereas Stafford peaked at 61.4% in college and has completed less than 60% as a pro) and running ability (over 600yds on the ground in each of his last two season.) Best case scenario, Hundley challenges for the starting job and wins it over Stafford and the Lions get an improvement over their smack-dab-in-the-middle mediocre quarterback. Meanwhile, Stafford becomes the best backup quarterback in the NFL. Second best case scenario, Hundley provides Stafford with his first formidable challenge to his job forcing Stafford to improve his accuracy and become a better quarterback and worthy of all of the accolades that he unjustly receives. In addition, Hundley would give the Lions the ability to win football games if Stafford had to miss games due to an injury or suspension. If, for example, the Lions had to rely on Moore or Orlovsky to start for a month, the Lions would go 0-4 regardless of the opponent and lose any hope of going to the postseason. Even as a rookie, Hundley could put points up on the board and give the Lions a good chance to win.
That said, I don't see this scenario playing out because the Lions made a clear statement when they re-signed not Orlovsky or Moore to contract extensions this offseason, but unfortunately (and irresponsibly) both of them.
