Official 2010 NFL Draft Thread

[MoTown]

The Lions have now secured the #1 pick. Do they finally start doing what they should have done for the past 10 years (especially last year) and start building from the trenches?

What does the WTF Big Board look like right now?

[Tahoe]

LEFT
OFFENSIVE
TACKLE

[MoTown]

Okay so they have the second pick of the draft.

[Tahoe]

Chris kept saying LOT next year, now watch he'll want to put it off again.

[DrRay11]

I'd rather we take a really long look at free agent LTs Alex Barron or Donald Penn. That way we can draft Ndamukong Suh, Gerald McCoy, or Eric Berry.

We need a corner, too, but there's not really anyone spectacular this year. My current ideology:

Sign Donald Penn
Draft Suh or McCoy in Round 1
CB in round 2
Kurt Coleman, Safety, in Round 3
Best available player in Round 4 (guard or WR)
BPA from then on. We look like:

QB Stafford
WR Johnson/Williams
WR Johnson/Rookie
RB Smith/Morris/Brown
FB Felton
LT Penn
LG Backus/Rookie
C Raiola
RG Peterman
RT Cherilus
TE Pettigrew

CB Buchanon
CB Rookie
SS Kurt Coleman
FS Louis Delmas
LB Sims/Levy
MLB Foote
LB Peterson
DE Avril
DT Hill
DT Suh or Mccoy
DE Free Agent or Jason Hunter

That actually would be shaping up into what could be a good team.

[WTFchris]

Chris kept saying LOT next year, now watch he'll want to put it off again.

You are correct (as a #1 pick, not as a need). I don't see a LT worthy of a top 3 pick. If a franchise one steps up, so be it. Otherwise I might spend the second rounder on a OT. Given the big board now, I see DT as our best option. Best bet is like Dray said. Use Backus money on a legit LT in FA (if you can).

When I said to draft one in 2010, I also expected us to be in the 5-10 range for picks, where it would actually be good value this year. The lions managed to suck even more though.

[DrRay11]

Another possibility would be to keep Backus and lose the always injured Dewayne White and the aging Julian Peterson. Casey Fitzsimmons as well. That opens up around 14 million I think. We could then sign an LT, move Cherilus to LG, Raiola and Peterman stay where they are, and Backus moves to RT. That's how I meant to do it in that depth chart.

We'd still have Levy, Foote, and Sims as our LB unit, which is pretty good. Eventually we would replace Foote, etc...

[DrRay11]

My current top 4 most talented needs (currently picking 4th):

1) Ndamukong Suh, DT
2) Eric Berry, S/DB
3) Gerald McCoy, DT
4) Russel Okung, LT

[DrRay11]

Just threw down a quick mock... Work in progress, obviously.

Firstly, I really hope that a new CBA agreement comes without too much trouble. With a rookie salary cap included, not only would we not be committing insane amounts of money to an unproven player, but we would not be quite as hampered in our spending elsewhere. Lastly, I feel like a lockout of any sort would be an incredible hindrance to the reconstruction of this franchise, which is a reconstruction that I feel has finally gained its footing at the very least.

Notable Cuts/Walks:
DeWayne White cut
Andre Fluellen cut
Casey Fitzsimmons walks
Ephraim Salaam walks
Daunte Culpepper walks
Marquand Manuel walks
Anthony Henry walks

Free Agent Signings/Re-Signings:
Donald Penn, LT, signed
Rex Grossman, QB, signed
Terrelle Smith, FB, re-signed
Larry Foote, MLB, re-signed
Will Heller, TE, re-signed
Ko Simpson, S, re-signed
Jon Jansen, RT, re-signed
Jason Hunter, DE, re-signed
William James, CB, re-signed
Dan Gronkowski, TE, signed to active roster

Draft:
1. Eric Berry, S, Tennessee
2. Brandon Graham, DE, Michigan
3. Perrish Cox, CB, Oklahoma State
4. Danario Alexander, WR, Mizzou
5a. Jared Veldheer, OT, Hillsdale
5b. Brandon Carter, OG, Texas Tech
6. Kurt Coleman, S, Ohio State
7. Al Woods, DT, LSU

Depth Chart:
QB Matthew Stafford/Rex Grossman/Drew Stanton
RB Kevin Smith/Maurice Morris/Aaron Brown
FB Jerome Felton/Terrelle Smith
WR Calvin Johnson/Danario Alexander
WR Bryant Johnson/Dennis Northcutt/Derrick Williams
LT Donald Penn/Jared Veldheer
LG Gosder Cherilus/Brandon Carter
C Dominic Raiola/Dylan Gandy
RG Stephen Peterman
RT Jeff Backus/Jon Jansen
TE Brandon Pettigrew/Will Heller/Dan Gronkowski

CB Perrish Cox/Eric King
S Eric Berry/Ko Simpson
S Louis Delmas/Kurt Coleman/Kalvin Pearson
CB Philip Buchanon/William James
OLB Deandre Levy/Ernie Sims
MLB Larry Foote/Jordan Dizon
OLB Julian Peterson/Zack Follett
DE Jason Hunter/Jared DeVries/Turk McBride
DT Sammie Hill/Landon Cohen
DT Grady Jackson/Joe Cohen/Al Woods
DE Brandon Graham/Cliff Avril

K Jason Hanson
P Nick Harris
LS Don Muhlbach

With a vast infusion of youth and talent into both the offensive line and the secondary, things begin to look up for the Lions.

With Eric Berry alongside Louis Delmas, the Lions have an incredibly intelligent ballhawking secondary capable of hurting people. Backed up by Ko Simpson and another young intelligent safety in Ohio State’s Kurt Coleman, the safeties appear to be well off for now and the future (with depth!). Perhaps we can stop seeing big plays deep. The secondary’s improvements don’t stop there; with the addition of Perrish Cox, an athletic CB, we have two capable cornerbacks that can cover. Cox has decent speed, decent height, and a nice vertical that should allow him to cover and play jump ball with the game’s better receivers. Buchanon probably becomes the weakest starter in the secondary, making 2011 a year where we can look at a corner again with his contract coming off the books.

Brandon Graham adds an attitude and intensity to a d-line including Sammie Hill, who I expect to largely benefit from an offseason of weights and study. The skill for Hill is there. However, the d-line still needs improvement, making it 2011’s priority. There is also the option of cutting Julian Peterson and adding a free agent DT if we are that uncomfortable with our inner line. It is my opinion that the inner d-line has performed better than expected and that Sammie Hill can become something special. With Graham providing pressure and run-stopping ability, the d-line becomes that much better.

Around the league, I feel that Donald Penn is an underappreciated talent. Bringing him in to protect Matthew Stafford will benefit not only Stafford but our entire o-line in general. We move Backus to the right side where he should perform much better and we move Cherilus in at left guard, where he also would have the chance to thrive (I don’t think Cherilus will cut it at either tackle position). With the drafting of the athletic but little-known Jared Veldheer and the passionate Brandon Carter, we infuse youth into the backup positions that should push the starters to perform their best. Furthermore, if Veldheer is a success, he can step into the RT spot for Backus in the following year(s). Carter, with his size, should be a force on the line that can step in and start both this season and in the future.

With the acquisition of the lengthy Danario Alexander, we give Stafford another big target to round out the year’s receiving core. Along with an ever-improving Pettigrew and the mega threat Calvin Johnson, the receiving core will be better but still not great unless Bryant Johnson steps up or Danario Alexander surprises big time.

I feel we should stay neutral at running back for the season, making it another of the priorities in 2011. Kevin Smith, although not spectacular, is an every down back who comes at an excellent price. Morris is a decent backup and Aaron Brown has the chance to become a solid KR/receiving RB for the team.

2011 Priorities:
DT
DE
CB
RB

[WTFchris]

I'd rather have the dominant DT than Berry and hope that another safety can be OK there.