Might as well start a thread for pre/during/post draft discussion.
I see the Lions have had CB Dre Kirkpatrick and OL Amini Silatolu visit:
CB Dre Kirkpatrick visits Lions, says he would fit in 2:58 PM, March 20, 2012
On the same day the Detroit Lions signed one new cornerback (Jacob Lacey from the Colts) for their secondary, they hosted another who could have an even bigger impact.
Alabama cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick made the first of what will be at least 10 draft visits, meeting with Lions coaches and touring the team’s Allen Park facility today.
Kirkpatrick is widely considered the second- or third-best cornerback in the draft and is expected to be a first-round pick. At 6-feet-2 and 186 pounds, and given the thin state of their secondary, the Lions might have trouble passing on Kirkpatrick if he slips to the No. 23 pick in the first round.
“I’d fit in great” as a Lion, Kirkpatrick said today. “I’d be hugging big (Ndamukong) Suh and Nick (Fairley) every day, because those are the guys that are going to put the pressure and make me look good as I am and make life easy. It’ll be easy to roll the dice.”
With the Lions picking so late for a change (23rd), it's hard to predict who will left at that stage in the first round, but CB and OL are certainly gonna get strong consideration.
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Per the Town Hall - they are not looking at position as much as player/fit/talent. I'm sure that if there are players rated about the same that the edge would go to CB and OL. Those are the 2 positions that I want to see them address.
They are returning 21 of 22 starters last year. That means that we are now keeping talent and training talent. We can start to look at players that do not need to come in right away and make an impact right away. It is nice to finally have a team - the draft will look to improve and add depth to it rather than change it.
stomperrob wrote:Definitely a nice change from days of old to go into a draft and not be in the situation where they need help at every position.
I guess you can say I am a glass half empty kind of guy, but we've many holes to fill, loads of uncertainty. Our D needs so much help once you get past the Dline, as many a RB demonstrated. The LB and Secondary corp are shockingly deficient. Our O-line continues to be in need of revamping, and our RBs have much more potential to be a disaster than a salvation. Hey, we've come a long way in a short while, but by building a studly passing game we have left ourself open to weaknesses where perennial playoff contenders tend to be strong. The D, run games, O line. This is a pessimistic as I can get right now. I am, afterall, very excited about the upcoming season.
Dream draft: Oline, LB, CB. Others need not apply.
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moochman
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stomperrob wrote:Definitely a nice change from days of old to go into a draft and not be in the situation where they need help at every position.
I guess you can say I am a glass half empty kind of guy, but we've many holes to fill, loads of uncertainty. Our D needs so much help once you get past the Dline, as many a RB demonstrated. The LB and Secondary corp are shockingly deficient. Our O-line continues to be in need of revamping, and our RBs have much more potential to be a disaster than a salvation. Hey, we've come a long way in a short while, but by building a studly passing game we have left ourself open to weaknesses where perennial playoff contenders tend to be strong. The D, run games, O line. This is a pessimistic as I can get right now. I am, afterall, very excited about the upcoming season.
Dream draft: Oline, LB, CB. Others need not apply.
One thing that has been mentioned in the Town Hall - not sure if I wrote about it or if it was in the link - is that they are not looking for a quick fix, but rather trying to build a team for the long-term.
Sure they caught a few breaks last year, sure they have some holes, sure they are another year older....but, returning 21 of 22 starters from a 10-6 team is pretty good. They will also have some draft picks including last years draft picks that didn't play and healthy back-ups with another year of experience(Jackson/Young/etc.). All teams have holes, but if we continue to build talent this team should be good and contend for years to come
The Lions still are in the market for a running back in next month’s draft. They hosted Oregon’s LaMichael James on a visit last week, and running backs coach Sam Gash attended Miami (Fla.)’s pro-day workout to see Lamar Miller.
Mayhew said today that this year’s draft is deep in a number of areas, including running back, offensive line, defensive back and defensive line.
moochman wrote:but by building a studly passing game we have left ourself open to weaknesses where perennial playoff contenders tend to be strong.
That has an oddly familiar feel to it.
The thought of an injury to Stafford crippling this team haunts me. I didn't need a reminder of how close we are to square none. Sure hope the Colts Luck turns for the better.
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moochman
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Detroit Lions host Illinois DE Whitney Mercilus, a projected first-round pick 5:21 PM, April 10, 2012
The Detroit Lions didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger when one-year wonder Nick Fairley fell to them with the 13th pick in last year’s draft. If things break right, they could take a flash of a pass rusher again.
The Lions hosted Illinois defensive end Whitney Mercilus on a pre-draft visit Monday. A projected first-round pick, Mercilus came out of nowhere to lead the nation with 16 sacks last year after recording one in each of his first two seasons.
He shrugged off the one-year wonder label at the NFL combine in February.
“I just was able to put everything together,” Mercilus said. “I was still learning the game as a redshirt sophomore and a redshirt freshman. Just last year, studying myself more, seeing what I do best and just put it all together for the 2011 season. I broke out that season."
The Lions return all nine contributors from a defensive line that accounted for 35 of their 41 sacks last year, but have several questions at the position long term.
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