If I had to pick I would say Michael Johnson is the least safe pick in the draft. He will be drafted based on potential alone
In my opinion, Johnson's only value RIGHT NOW is as a situational pass rusher. He's going to have a similar role to Robert Mathis in Indy. Johnson lacks consistency...that's his biggest flaw.
I don't trust him becoming a good pro either. He's a huge red flag for me. I wouldn't touch him until the second round at the earliest.
Electric - I really like the Josh Freeman pick. And that's especially true if the Lions keep Culpepper. In essence, Freeman is Culpepper minus 10 years. Same big body and live arm. What better guy to mentor Freeman than Culpepper. The pick wouldn't give immediate results but would be a great investment for the future. And at a bargain 2-1 salary, the team can afford to keep him on the bench for a year or two without busting the salary cap. Try doing that with Stafford at #1.
Guys, I'm going to be Off-line for about 3 hours. Mr Electric has my Brown's Board which is only 2 picks away.
The Daunte Culpepper comparison is exactly why I drafted him. I thought about taking him with the Lions' second first round pick, but after the Stafford slide, I hoped Freeman would fall to the second round. I considered Mark Sanchez with the #1 overall pick, but Freeman was the guy I saw as the best fit for Detroit. I wasn't a fan of Josh Freeman at the college level, but his team had little continuity because ex-head coach Ron Prince always recruited JUCO players - no chemistry at all. Freeman also had little talent around him. Scott Linehan, who helped develop Culpepper into a Pro-Bowl caliber QB in Minnesota, is now the OC with the Lions. With Freeman sitting and learning - it would also give the Lions offensive line a chance to gel and get better. Gosder Cherilus and my 20th overall pick Eben Britton will start tackle. Former first round pick OT Jeff Backus will move inside to guard, and Edwin Mulitalo will occupy the other guard spot. Former Pro Bowler Dominic Raiola will return from an injury and start at center. There's potential here...
I dont know if Freeman will do well in the NFL, but he is a scrambler and could do well but I think he needs a later round team in order to develop properly because I dont know if he is ready to just jump in right away and help a team like Detroit, especially with the O-Line woes. I havent seen ALOT of Kansas St(Can you blame me?) but I heard a knock on Freeman is his back of a consistent long ball and you WILL need that to connect with Calvin Johnson who runs as good of a route as one can in the NFL and is mostly a Home Run WR(Well that was how he was utilized the past 2 years)
Catching up... Love Sanchez to the Jets at 17 and I think if he fell to us there would be a riot if we passed on him. I really like the Pettigrew pick and the Sean Smith pick as well. Not positive I'd have gone in the same direction as Washington, but since trading down is not an option I guess it makes sense. I think Alex Mack was a very safe pick, Harvin was boom/bust I probably would have gone with a bigger target (not going to say any names but there's one particular guy I have in Mind), Freeman is a great pick and I think the Lions did great with their first 3 picks grabbing a possible franchise QB, a great OT and the best defensive player in the draft. That being said, I'll be around for most of the day if people need me to fill in to make some picks.
I didn't draft him to start right away - he'd have to be a sit and learn player in Detroit. Josh Freeman is a very similar player to Daunte Culpepper. Culpepper didn't start a game his rookie season. Scott Linehan is the best coach possible for Josh Freeman. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1VogoHOrow&feature=related - this video shows his arm strength and his ability to get out of the pocket and throw on the run... Freeman's decision making is his biggest question mark - he's got plenty of arm and accuracy to throw CJ some bombs.
first round 1 Detroit Lions select Aaron Curry, Linebacker, Wake Forest 2 St Louis Rams Select Eugene Monroe, OT, Virginia 3 Kansas City Chiefs select Brian Orakpo, DE, Texas 4 Seattle Seahawks select WR Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech 5 Cleveland Browns select Malcolm Jenkins, CB, Ohio State University 6 Cincinnati Bengals select BJ RAJI - DT - Boston College 7 Oakland Raiders select OT Andre Smith Alabama 8 Jacksonville Jaguars select Jason Smith OT Baylor 9 Green Bay Packers select Michael Oher, LT, Ole Miss 10 Niners select Everette Brown, DE/OLB, Florida State 11 Buffalo Bills select Peria Jerry, DT, Ole Miss 12 Denver select Rey Maualuga, LB, USC 13 Washington Redskins select QB Matw Stafford Georgia Bulldogs 14 New Orleans select Brian Cushing, LB, USC 15 Houston Texan's select Vontae Davis, CB, Ill 16 San Diego Chargers select Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia 17 New York Jets select Mark Sanchez, QB, USC 18 Chicago Bears select Jeremy Maclin, WR, Missouri 19 Tampa Bay Bucs select Clint Sintim, OLB, Virginia 20 Detroit Lions select Eben Britton, OT, Arizona 21 Philadelphia Eagles select Chris "Beanie" Wells, RB, Ohio State 22 Minny select DJ Moore, CB, Vandy 23 New England Patriots select Alphonso Smith, CB, Wake Forest 24 Atlanta Falcons select Brandon Pettigrew, TE Oklahoma State 25 Miami Dolphins select S/CB Sean Smith of Utah 26 Baltimore Ravens select Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR Maryland 27 Indianapolis Colts select LeSean McCoy RB Pittsburgh 28 Philadelphia Eagles select PERCY HARVIN - WR - FLORIDA GATORS 29 NY Giants select ILB James Laurinitis, Ohio State 30 Titans take Alex Mack, center, California 31 Arizona Cardinals select Michael Johnson, DE/OLB, Georgia Tech 32 Pittsburgh Steelers select Tyson Jackson, DE, LSU
Lions have done exactly what the real Lions should do. I might've been inclined to take Smith first then Sintim at 20, but improving both sides of the line before going QB is smart.
The Lions were fortunate that Britton was available at pick # 20. Definitely the best value for the Lions so far.
You're right...I got lucky. I didn't have a plan or anything. It was also "fortunate" to land Josh Freeman, a potential mid-first round pick, at the top of the second round.
If Britton had gone in the top 19 picks, the Lions would have had more problems at left tackle without him. I said I liked the pick, what more do you want?
That was the problem with your draft you didn't have a plan. JMO you were so caught up in trying to show everyone how smart you are as a drafter. (Believed your own hype)
Sometimes you have to be able to adapt depending on how the draft goes. Example, the Jets plan on addressing defense in the first round, they want to build a Ravens' like defense. Then their pick comes up and Mauluga, Laurinitis, V Davis, M Jenkins, S Smith, A Smith, T Jackson, E Brown, A Curry are all taken but Stafford or Sanchez is still on the board. Do you still to the plan and grab a round 2 caliber defender or do you grab the top 10 talent that fell to you? Yes it's nice to have a plan, but the worst thing you can possibly do is stick strictly to the plan and end up reaching for mediocre guys when the BPA falls through your fingers.
I feel Robinson is a steal in the early second (should be a first rounder) and the Chefs need a new right side of the line. One of many needs but the value is too great here to consider other positions too much.
