Well, I'm not sure if there's a good fit for us at MLB then. Siler is quick, but only on a line - not a sidleine to sideline guy. Davis is quicker but may not have the size or intelligence ideal for the system. HB Blades would be a decent project if he slips maybe to the 5th, but I don't expect that. I guess outside of CB's the only other guy I'm interested in is OL Ryan Harris out of Notre Dame. He was projected early as a late first round, early second round player. Looks like he's falling quite a bit now.

I could see Quentin Moses or Victor Abiamiri at DE as well.

What was the deal? We just traded Williams & McCown... For what?

N.M... 4th rounder. Fucksy.

Are the Lions still happy with drafting Gary Coleman in last year's draft?
I mean, if they had Matt Leinhart or Jay Cutler to throw to Calvin Johnson, Ray Williams, and the other guy who had 93 catches, there might be reason for excitement.

CALVIN JOHNSON AND DREW STANTON BABY! GREATEST SHOW ON TURF!

I'M LIKE BUGS BUNNY ON THE MOON BABY!

You are JUST the kind of fan Matt Millen is looking for.

Lions trade their third (#66) and a 5th (#145) for a 2nd (#58) to take:
Ikaika Alma-Francis DE | (6'5", 280, 4.77) | HAWAII

This guy is supposed to be a stellar athelete who is a very good but still inexperienced player. He did not play football in High School!!!

I like this move but then I don't like the next one.

The Lions trade their other third (#74) and a 4th (#101) for the Ravens 2nd (#61) and select S - Gerald Alexander - Boise St.

Ikaika Alma-Francis
DE | (6'5", 280, 4.77) | HAWAII

Scouts Grade: 77

Flags: (I: INJURY) Coming off injury that may affect play(Y: YOUNG PLAYER) Need more film evaluation Selected by: Detroit Lions
Round: 2
Pick (Overall): 26(58)
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Strengths: Has a quick first job, anticipates snap counts well and can disrupt running plays in the backfield. Gained substantial weight at the collegiate level and got far stouter at the point of attack. Shows good balance and rarely gets knocked to the ground. Plays with a non-stop motor and is relentless in pursuit. Moves well laterally and runs line stunts well. Times jumps well, has good leaping ability and does an adequate job of getting hands up when doesn't get to the passer. Though doesn't show a variety of pass rush moves at this point, flashes an effective swim move and is capable of redirecting inside after starting outside.

Weaknesses: Doesn't use hands well, lacks ideal upper body strength and can take too long to shed blocks. Takes too long to locate the ball carrier and lacks ideal awareness. Lacks elite lower body strength, plays too high and still gets driven back at times. Plays with a narrow base and has problems holding ground against double teams. Is undisciplined and can get caught out of position trying to avoid blockers. Doesn't always take sound angle to the quarterback and can get ridden past the pocket. Lacks ideal top-end speed and is going to have problems turning the corner at the NFL level. Suffered a pectoral injury during the Hula Bowl, which prevented him from working out at the combine.

Overall: Alma-Francis did not play football in high school, instead earning all-state accolades in basketball and volleyball while also letting in baseball. He arrived at Hawaii in 2002 and played for the basketball team but was not a member of the football squad. Alma-Francis joined the football team in 2003, saw limited action in six games, and recorded six tackles including one for loss, and recovered one fumble during his true freshman season. In 2004, Alma-Francis played in 10 contests (one start) registering 22 total tackles, two tackles for loss, and one blocked PAT. He took over as a starter at defensive end for all 12 games in 2005 amassing 49 total tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery. In 2006, Alma-Francis became a first team All-WAC performer after playing in and starting 13 of 14 games (did not play 10/28 against Idaho) and making 39 total tackles including 10 for loss, four sacks, recovering three fumbles, and forcing one fumble. His father, Joseph Francis, played in the NFL.
Alma-Francis is a raw prospect with limited football experience but a lot of developmental upside. While he doesn't possess elite bulk or speed, Alma-Francis he is a tenacious defender with good size-potential and athleticism. He also plays with a great motor. Alma-Francis projects as a second-or-third round pick.


Gerald Alexander
S | (6'0", 210, 4.51) | BOISE STATE

Scouts Grade: 61 Selected by: Detroit Lions
Round: 2
Pick (Overall): 29(61)
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Strengths: Very smooth and fluid athlete. Possesses adequate height and can add some bulk to his frame. Shows good balance and leverage in his backpedal and also displays good burst coming out of it. He is naturally athletic with smooth hips and good change-of-direction skills for a safety. His recognition skills and instincts in coverage are above average. Displays adequate ball skills. Fills hard versus the run and is strong for his size.

Weaknesses: Lacks ideal size and strength. Fills hard but struggles to get off blocks at times and can get run over by bigger ball carriers. Angles of pursuit must continue to improve and he needs to learn to wrap up more consistently as an open-field tackler. He possesses adequate but not great speed and does not show the acceleration to make up for false steps.

Overall: Alexander was redshirted in 2002. He saw action in all 14 games as the nickel cornerback and on special teams in 2003, recording 20 total tackles including one for loss, two pass breakups, and one interception. In 2004, Alexander broke into the starting lineup for all 12 games and collected 53 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, five interceptions, eight pass breakups, and one blocked field goal attempt. He started all 13 contests in 2005 amassing 50 total tackles, two tackles for loss, one interception, and 13 pass breakups. Alexander moved to safety for spring practice in 2006 and then started all 13 games there posting 38 total tackles, one tackle for loss, two interceptions, four pass breakups, six passes defended, one fumble recovery, and one forced fumble.
Alexander made a successful transition at Boise State from cornerback to safety, where his skills are better suited for the NFL game. He lacks ideal size and elite speed, but he gives a great effort in run support and he is quick, fluid and instinctive in zone coverage. Alexander shows enough potential to contribute as a sub-package defensive back and he should be able to cover kicks on special teams in the NFL, which is why he's worth considering in the middle rounds of the 2007 draft.

The second guy graded out as a scrub.

So they're done for the day with a 4th round pick, three 5th rounders and the final pick of the 7th round tomorrow.
WR
QB
DE
S
Well, the last two could have been cooler picks instead of guys I never knew existed, but I'll wait and see and give them (but not Millen) the benefit of the doubt.
If you would have told me we would get CJ and three 2nd round picks, I would have expected a little more than this.

By the way, a couple names I like for 4th round if they're still available are Matt Spaeth (TE - Minnesota) and Daymeion Hughes (CB - Cal).

I can't believe Hughes has dropped this far. Maybe because of his slow 40 time, but corners in Marinelli's defense don't have to have top flight 40's. We are looking for bigger corners that are physical.

About Gerald Alexander, watch the video of what he does to Utah RB

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqHsB485mKM

^^Both players were straight up.

Good God, I didn't think Millen could be any more retarded.

Ok, I'm sure I'm just eating cornbread, but from the online searching I've been doing I'm starting to like these guys. I'm almost positive this is all Marinelli.
First, with Alama-Francis, there are two things I love about him. Former college basketball player and son of an NFL player. Former college hoops cats have done extremely well in the NFL, and the bloodline is another plus. He was coached by former NFL coaches at Hawaii in June Jones and Jerry Glanville, so I think he could make an impact here.
As for Alexander, it sounds like he is custom-made to play corner in the Tampa 2 defense. Marinelli must have been so high on him that it was well worth moving up just so he could sleep tonight.

I agree that these are decent players, i'm just bitching about WHERE they were taken. Alama-Francis is fine where he was taken but I really feel that Alexander was taken way, Way, WAY too early. He was pegged to go late in the third at the earliest. It's too late now but overall I thing that it was a solid day one draft. I'd give the Lions a B and that's really good for a Lions draft!!!!!!!!

I didn't understand why we didn't trade one of those thirds with a 5th or something to grab Durant in the 2nd. We still have no MLB.

not exactly a draft guru, but millen's choices in rnds 2-7 illustrate nicely, i think, why i was uninterested in trading down for additional picks.

diddy, I am not a draft guru either, but I think Millen continues to demonstrate that as a general manager, he demonstrates all the skill, poise, and intelligence of a mall security cop.

Fair enough diddy. I can certainly understand. I'm a bit upset that I've never heard of anyone after Stanton before, and while I like Stanton's heart, I really thought there were bigger needs and better fits in the 2nd round.

Now, while I say that. I was extremely upset with last years draft and yet Sims and Bullocks look like they could be really good. While the rest were depth chart fodder, at least most of them made the roster. Surprisingly, it was actually a guy from USC that was the lone one off the depth chart at the end of the season.

What I'm saying is the fact that I don't love some of the picks or don't recognize them may be a good thing. I've loved some of the previous drafts that produced the biggest busts. Unless CJ becomes a bust, most of this draft could only be a pleasant surprise at this point, right?

Well, I'm really happy with CJ at #2, not sure happy with Stanton in the 2nd (not that he isn't worth it, we just have other needs and could have gotten a guy who could start). As for the other guys, Ikaika Alma-Francis seems to have all of the tools and was highly touted but is inexperienced and might be a year or two away. Gerald Alexander is solid but was taken a round too early. AJ Davis was a pretty good pick at the spot but there were a few other guys that I would have rather taken. Ramirez was touted as a decent lineman so it's not a bad pick either.

You're jumping in on an old convo Chris and you really don't know what we're talking about. Jethro went off saying "Bush is the most overrated player in college football." He said this before his last season at USC. I completely disagreed with him. Then Bush went on to win the Heisman trophy. Obviously, he wasn't even close to overrated in COLLEGE.

Then he followed it up by saying prior to this year that OSU's offense was overrated (preseason) and that their offense wouldn't be that good. Then they hung 40+ on Michigan in the game of the decade or whatever fraud tag they gave it.

Bump. This is for Tre. It's not about the draft, but it's about the side conversation of people being overrated. In fact, this isn't even about football right now. I just wanted to reference Jason Stark's "The Stark Truth". He talks about how baseball players such as Sandy Koufax, Lou Brock, and currently Andruw Jones are among the most overrated players of all time. It's a great article, and one that explains the true definition of overrated. Here's a quote from the article, refering at the end to Andruw Jones.

Overrated-underrated isn't a study in talent. It's a study of how what we perceive differs from what's actually going on out there. And Jones was good enough to turn himself into a fabulous poster boy for that study.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2880979
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=2880887

I really think we should cut these posts out of this thread and make a whole overrated/underrated thread for all of sports. I'm not sure where to put it though, and not being in the Syndicate I'm not sure how much I can take from and add to posts across forums. Maybe the "Other Sports" forum, but I'm not sure how many people go there on a regular basis. Maybe some threads like this could spice it up, who knows. I do think it's a great debate though.

If you want just cut the posts and make a new thread here. Then I can move the discussion to the Other Sports forum. I'm furiously working on the mock and don't have time to do anything besides moving a thread.