NFC North Grades thru Rd 3

[biggunsbob]

Taking a receiver in round 2 was beyond dumb and then the Tigers lost the way they did yesterday... I almost broke my worse TV by throwing crap it it... Could have grabbed back to back CB's in the 2nd and 3rd round... sigh!!!

 

[wolverine304]

steelers and pats both addressed needs so far???

Pats have helped their D. Steelers have helped their oline. I like both of their drafts.

 

[tomdalton22]

Taking a receiver in round 2 was beyond dumb and then the Tigers lost the way they did yesterday... I almost broke my worse TV by throwing crap it it... Could have grabbed back to back CB's in the 2nd and 3rd round... sigh!!!

You better not be critical of the Lions....you will get yelled at!

 

[tsmith7559]

Pats have helped their D. Steelers have helped their oline. I like both of their drafts.

dam, Steelers killing this draft....NT out of Washington!!!

 

[Mitchrapp]

You better not be critical of the Lions....you will get yelled at!

That's because you don't add anything to the discussion.

 

[LKP]

Mehhh Broyles was a headscratcher. Personally didn't think he was BPA but I understand the pick. Lions were very lucky Calvin Burleson or Young didn't get hurt last year. They have nothing at 4th or 5th WR and didn't resign Stovall or Davis either. Burleson restructured. His cap number will be 6 million in 2013. Burleson may not be worth that. If Broyles turns out to be Burleson 2.0, the Lions will be set. The ACL thing scares me with Best and LeShoure injury problems too.

Dwight Bentley I defer to Mayhew. He played corner. If he wants Bentley and now unknown Greenwood(5th) in Round 3 and 5 over Trumain Johnson, Casey Hewyard, Josh Robinsons and Brandon Boykin, I will defer to Mayhew. Seeing the careers of Bentley, Heyward and Robinson(all in division) will be interesting. But it looks like it will be Houston, Berry and Lacey.

Ronnell Lewis. Love the pick. Durant and Levy are free agents. I think Lewis could be a 2 down thumper and will help greatly on special teams. Whitehead don't know much about him but he seems to be a special teams guy too.

 

[tonyballs]

Lions- D

2013 Defense status:

Delmas-UFA
Houston-UFA
Lacey-UFA
A Berry-RFA
A Smith-UFA
Spievey-RFA

Levy-UFA
Durant-UFA
Palmer-UFA

SLH-UFA
Avril-poss. UFA
LoJack-UFA
KVB-35, hurt, could retire
W Young-RFA
Fluellen-UFA
C. Williams-UFA


15 Free agents and a 35yr old hurt DE on Defense for 2013,
only 3 starters on Defense signed for 2013.....and we take a WR??

So, by your list there, taking a defensive player in the 2nd round solves all that, right?
Uhuh!! Relax.

 

[LKP]

Delmas and Houston must be resigned.Franchise is very possible for Delmas especially if Avril is resigned. And I think Avril needs to get resigned in July. Bentley could replace Lacey. Broyles could replace Burleson. Reiff replaces Gosder or resign Gosder and replace Backus. Hogue and Ronnell Lewis must develop but Lewis reminds me of Durant but a better pass rusher. Tough to do but 1 of the 2 OLBs replacing Levy or Durant is possible. That leaves Lo Jack and SLH as priorities. And I think this is KVBS last year given his cap number in his last year. Take the money to get Lo Jack back so you still have 3 out of 4, plus a draft for CB,DE,Center.

 

[tonyballs]

Delmas and Houston must be resigned.Franchise is very possible for Delmas especially if Avril is resigned. And I think Avril needs to get resigned in July. Bentley could replace Lacey. Broyles could replace Burleson. Reiff replaces Gosder or resign Gosder and replace Backus. Hogue and Ronnell Lewis must develop but Lewis reminds me of Durant but a better pass rusher. Tough to do but 1 of the 2 OLBs replacing Levy or Durant is possible. That leaves Lo Jack and SLH as priorities. And I think this is KVBS last year given his cap number in his last year. Take the money to get Lo Jack back so you still have 3 out of 4, plus a draft for CB,DE,Center.

Ok.

 

[tsmith7559]

So, by your list there, taking a defensive player in the 2nd round solves all that, right?
Uhuh!! Relax.

you have to start somewhere...2nd round would have been nice

 

[tsmith7559]

from walters....
2012 NFL Draft Individual Grades:

23. Riley Reiff, OT, Iowa: A+ Grade
History repeats itself. Two years ago, Iowa tackle Bryan Bulaga was a top-10 prospect who dropped to the 20s. That pick worked out really well, and I'll be shocked if the Lions don't have similar success with Riley Reiff. Detroit really needed a tackle to protect Matthew Stafford, and Reiff was the best player on the board. Great move.

54. Ryan Broyles, WR, Oklahoma: B Grade
Hmm... maybe the Vikings should have drafted Morris Claiborne after all. This is crazy. If Ryan Broyles pans out, how are teams going to stop their offense? Broyles, if healthy, should be a good player for Matthew Stafford, who will need someone to throw to once Calvin Johnson suffers from the Madden Curse. I have to wonder though, why not improve the defense? I feel like there were better prospects available, but I don't have a problem with this selection.

85. Dwight Bentley, CB, Louisiana-Lafayette: A Grade
The Lions do what they do most of the time - they select the best player available. Dwight Bentley could have possibly been selected at the very end of Round 2, so Detroit is getting really good value with him. He obviously fills a need as well; it's been well-documented how anemic the Lions' secondary is.

125. Ronnell Lewis, OLB, Oklahoma: A+ Grade
I'm not sure how the hell Ronnell Lewis fell into Round 4 (let alone Round 3). The Bills are getting a major steal. They don't need a linebacker in terms of a starter, but Lewis is way too good to pass up at this juncture.

138. Tahir Whitehead, DE/OLB, Temple: D Grade
I thought the Lions took the best player available? Tahir Whitehead was a seventh-round prospect. I also don't see how he fits into Detroit's defense. He should have been drafted by a team to be a 3-4 rush linebacker.

148. Chris Greenwood, CB, Albion: B Grade
No surprise that the Lions selected a second cornerback. They really needed help at the position. Chris Greenwood has good upside and fits the range in the middle of Round 5.

196. Jonte Green, CB, New Mexico State: C Grade
Detroit really wants to fix the cornerback position. I don't think many people had Jonte Green as a draftable prospect, however.

223. Travis Lewis, OLB, Oklahoma: A+ Grade
Another Oklahoma linebacker. Another steal. Another A+. This new Lions regime knows how to draft. The only question is, why didn't they fire Matt Millen sooner?

 

[Monster]

23. Riley Reiff, OT, Iowa: A - Love the pick. Originally, i thought glenn would be better, but seeing how far he fell, good choice.

54. Ryan Broyles, WR, Oklahoma; D+ -Only downgraded because of severe lack of need and little impact he'll have on the team immediately.

85. Dwight Bentley, CB, Louisiana-Lafayette: B - I've changed my mind about him. He may not be ready to be a starter right away in normal circumstances, but he's immediately our 2nd best CB.

125. Ronnell Lewis, OLB, Oklahoma: B - I don't see how he helps us at all, but he definitely has some talent. Schwartz said he's going to be a DE for us....okaaaaay.

138. Tahir Whitehead, DE/OLB, Temple: D - This is a big WTF pick. ST only?


148. Chris Greenwood, CB, Albion: B+ Definitely could be a hidden gem. Good size and speed. For this late of a pick, it's the perfect player to go after.

196. Jonte Green, CB, New Mexico State; C+ I guess he'll compete to be depth?

223. Travis Lewis, OLB, Oklahoma: A+++ A first round grade before the beginning of the year. Not a gamble at all here. If he stays healthy, we can finally have a deep core of LBs. If he can't stay healthy, we lose nothing.

Overall; B-ish

 

[Mitchrapp]

23. Riley reiff, ot, iowa: A - love the pick. Originally, i thought glenn would be better, but seeing how far he fell, good choice.

54. Ryan broyles, wr, oklahoma; b+ -only downgraded because of severe lack of need and little impact he'll have on the team immediately.

85. Dwight bentley, cb, louisiana-lafayette: B+ - i've changed my mind about him. He may not be ready to be a starter right away in normal circumstances, but he's immediately our 2nd best cb.

125. Ronnell lewis, olb, oklahoma: B+ - i don't see how he helps us at all, but he definitely has some talent. Schwartz said he's going to be a de for us....okaaaaay.

138. Tahir whitehead, de/olb, temple: F - this is a big wtf pick. St only?


148. Chris greenwood, cb, albion: A- definitely could be a hidden gem. Good size and speed. For this late of a pick, it's the perfect player to go after.

196. Jonte green, cb, new mexico state; c+ i guess he'll compete to be depth?

223. Travis lewis, olb, oklahoma: B a first round grade before the beginning of the year. Not a gamble at all here. If he stays healthy, we can finally have a deep core of lbs. If he can't stay healthy, we lose nothing.

Overall; b-ish

fify.

 

[kmd47]

It seems like, on this board, Josh Robinson, Casey Hayward, and Trumaine Johnson are automatic sure fire day 1 starters with no question they can make the transition to the nfl when Dwight Bentley is "at best" a nickel or dime corner.... People say it's because he was from a small school... Hmmmm but seems to me Robinson went to UCF and Johnson Montana..... Real big NFL ready caliber schools right there.... All be it Hayward played in the SEC I'll give him that and he seems to be the best prospect of the four names mentioned above. I just don't like how everyone says we have not addressed the defense.... We may have not used early picks on defense, but they stuck to their board and took (who they thought) was BPA.

 

[Mitchrapp]

I like the draft. Maybe not as flashy as people want but solid as hell. Except maybe Whitehead, lol. MM and Schwartz must see something no one else does.

 

[tsmith7559]

Would have gone with V. Curry in the 2nd..
giving up a 4th in 2013 for Whitehead is a little baffling...
There could be some hidden gems late in the draft, but idk...
overall B

 

[food4thought]

My two cents worth... the BPA strategy is the wisest strategy, assuming your scouting dept get's their grades right. Injuries happen, veteran's contracts get pricier than their production, and guys with talent always have value in the NFL. Therefore, bringing in the best possible players regardless of position ensures protection against injury, salary cap casualties, and gives a good GM some assets for trades.

I would have loved to see a CB or S taken in round 2, but the Lions board dictated otherwise, and instead we have a WR. As others have mentioned, Detroit had very little depth at WR and were one injury away from having a team strength and offensive staple become a team weakness and glaring hole considering the emphasis they put on throwing the ball. Also have to look at Burleson's contract and age going forward... and remember that none of the pundits questioned Broyles' ability, when healthy, to produce.

I didn't follow college ball very closely the past few years, so I only know what the pundits say about most prospects... my grade would be meaningless. I will say that I like the talent that Mayhew and Company have drafted even though they took some guys at RB that have gotten injured and a few other guys didn't pan out as expected... the talent was there, though. I believe they know what they're doing, so they get the benefit of the doubt from me until they prove they don't deserve it.

 

[mhughes0021]

Would have gone with V. Curry in the 2nd..
giving up a 4th in 2013 for Whitehead is a little baffling...
There could be some hidden gems late in the draft, but idk...
overall B

I agree. David or Curry would have been huge for us. Konz was a pipedream but he would have upgraded our oline. Giving up next years 4th for a reach was odd to say the least. Other than Reiff, my favorite pick of the draft might be Travis Lewis. Eventhough i hate rd3 or lower cbs i hate the current cbs on our roster more lol. Bentley could be our #2 cb...scary. He was the correct pick. Rd 2, Rd 4, Rd 5 were all head scratchers for me. I saw Ronnel Lewis as a 3-4 OLB. I thought they may move him to OLB at 230 lbs...and the pick would have made sense. But Schwartz is saying they want him as a pass rushing DE. A 230 lb dude in the wide 9....just run the ball on 3rd and long. jesus.

 

[Mitchrapp]

I agree. David or Curry would have been huge for us. Konz was a pipedream but he would have upgraded our oline. Giving up next years 4th for a reach was odd to say the least. Other than Reiff, my favorite pick of the draft might be Travis Lewis. Eventhough i hate rd3 or lower cbs i hate the current cbs on our roster more lol. Bentley could be our #2 cb...scary. He was the correct pick. Rd 2, Rd 4, Rd 5 were all head scratchers for me. I saw Ronnel Lewis as a 3-4 OLB. I thought they may move him to OLB at 230 lbs...and the pick would have made sense. But Schwartz is saying they want him as a pass rushing DE. A 230 lb dude in the wide 9....just run the ball on 3rd and long. jesus.

That's the one thing no one knows, whether Whitehead was a reach or not. I value the scouts and Mayhew and Schwartz more than Kiper and the rest of the dolts.

And they all know more than all of us on sports forums. And its not a bad idea to draft ahead, meaning getting a starting slot guy before you actually need him.

And you're nuts on Bently, he'll be our number 2 but not just because we have no one else. He was a round 2 pick that went late round 3. Value. And a couple later picks were for ST. How do you think teams get better in ST? From their late picks.

 

[lionsFTW]

mitch, you're arguing with the guy who thinks 6th and 7th round guys are supposed to come in a play on a playoff team. save your key strokes.