Detroit Lions Post Draft Commentary

The Lions had the worst season in NFL history last year and came into the 2009 off season with a plethora of positions that needed to be upgraded. The first and foremost concern for new Head Coach Jim Schwartz should be defense, where the Lions gave up 172.1 yards per game on the ground. The offense fared a bit better, but was also not very dynamic.

The defensive front 7 needed to be overhauled in a big way coming into this season, but help on every level of the defense is required. The Lions signed Grady Jackson and Phillip Buchannon in Free Agency and acquired Anthony Henry and Julian Peterson through trades. The team continued to address the defensive side of the football using another 4 draft choices on defensive players. I am surprised that none of the picks were dedicated to the defensive end spot as the team did not get a great deal of production from the incumbent players on the roster. There were still pass rushers available when the Lions selected in rounds 2-4, yet the team did little to address this situation; a decision that could come back to haunt them. Nor, did the team draft a hard hitting inside linebacker to replace Jordan Dizon who was miscast as an inside player in my opinion. There are rumors that the Lions will sign Larry Foote to man the position; a clear sign that they feel Dizon is not the man for the middle.

The Lions did devote a good deal of resources to upgrading the skill positions on the offense by signing Bryant Johnson and Ronald Curry in Free Agency and drafting Derrick Williams, Brandon Pettigrew and Aaron Brown, but the Lions continue to neglect the offensive line. The Lions waited until the 7th round to add some talent to the offensive front. Jeff Backus is only a marginal starter regardless of position and in my opinion the team failed to capitalize on its numerous draft selections by not drafting an offensive lineman earlier than the 7th round. The unit needs an influx to high quality talent to allow the playmakers time to make plays. The Lions have a good many pieces in place to have an attacking offense, but their offensive line may hold them back in the end. Other Gosder Cherilus, the Lions have not selected an offensive lineman before the 4th round in the last 5 years; that does affect the level of talent up front.

The Lions are destined to pick in the top 10 of the 2010 NFL Draft as well in my opinion as they chose to allocate a great many resources to the skill positions over interior players. The team needs a great deal of talent up front before it can truly showcase the talent at the skill positions. The defensive line was only marginally upgraded and will probably continue to be a sore spot throughout the 2009 season. Personally, I think the Lions should have devoted more selections to the offensive and defensive lines rather than waiting until the 4th round to draft a defensive tackle or the 7th for an offensive lineman. Both areas are where many games are won and lost, and right now the Lions do not have the personnel to compete against many teams in the trenches.

Pre Draft Needs: DL, OL, WR, LB, S