Detroit Lions
Suh will be a force on the Detroit Lions defensive line.
Round 1 – Pick 2: Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska -
Ndamukong Suh is the best prospect in the 2010 NFL Draft class, making him a very obvious choice for the Detroit Lions with the second overall selection. Suh was absolutely dominant in his senior season for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, having one of the greatest individual seasons by a defensive player in college football history.
Throughout the season, Suh proved he was the best player in college football, and is the #1 overall prospect from the 2010 NFL Draft class. Suh has the ability to be an absolutely dominant defensive tackle in the National Football League, and is likely to become a perennial All-Pro player.
Given that the Lions needed to upgrade on the defensive line anyways, to pass up Suh for any other player would have been a huge mistake for Detroit. Fortunately, the Lions did not make that mistake, and have added a superstar for many years to come to their defense.
Round 1 – Pick 30: Jahvid Best, RB, California -
The Detroit Lions moved down 28 spots in the fourth round in order to move up four spots to select California running back Jahvid Best. Jahvid Best is certainly an explosive player whom can be both a rushing and receiving weapon for the Detroit Lions, but given the Lions’ bevy of needs, this was not the best move for them to make.
The Lions would have been better off staying put, or using this selection to address their need at left tackle by selecting Indiana’s Rodger Saffold. Best can certainly help the Lions, but contrary to his surname, he was not the Best selection for them here, and not one that was worth trading up for by any means.
Round 3 – Pick 66: Amari Spievey, CB, Iowa -
Amari Spievey is a long, athletic cornerback whom had a very good senior season for the Iowa Hawkeyes, and was a good choice in the third round to bolster the Lions’ shaky secondary.
While Spievey was certainly not the best cornerback available at the top of the third round, he is a good defensive back whom should be at least a solid contributor for the Lions’ defensive backfield, and was a sensible choice here.
Round 4 – Pick 128: Jason Fox, OT, Miami -
While Jason Fox is an experienced, strong lineman whom had a very good career for the Miami Hurricanes, he has very limited upside and has battled injuries throughout his career, and the Detroit Lions made a big mistake by selecting him over a much better offensive tackle prospect in Virginia Tech’s Ed Wang.
While Wang has the potential to develop into an effective left tackle in the National Football League, Fox is a right tackle only, where the Lions already have Gosder Cherilus. Fox is a more NFL-ready prospect than Wang, but the Lions should not have drafted a likely career backup over a player with high upside to play left tackle. Poor decision here from the Lions’ draft room.
The 133rd overall selection was traded to the Seattle Seahawks along with defensive end Robert Henderson in exchange for guard Rob Sims and the 213th overall selection. Rob Sims should start at left guard for the Detroit Lions, filling one of their needs on the offensive line, so he was well worth trading a fifth-round pick and a reserve defensive end for. This was a very good move for the Detroit Lions.
The 171st overall selection was traded to the Atlanta Falcons along with the Lions’ 2011 seventh-round selection in exchange for cornerback Chris Houston. Chris Houston is a very talented young cornerback, so it is puzzling that the Falcons would trade him away for so little. Either way, the Lions really needed to find a #1 cornerback, and they found a very talented young player with the potential to be that shutdown corner they need, and were able to acquire him for a couple of draft picks of little value. Brilliant acquisition for the Detroit Lions, as they got a first-round level talent for a sixth-round pick.
The 209th overall selection was traded to the Buffalo Bills in 2009 in exchange for safety Ko Simpson. Ko Simpson has had trouble off of the field, which is likely the Bills traded him away for only a seventh-round selection, but this was yet another effective acquisition of a talented young player for the price of only a draft pick of little value. Simpson spent his first year with the Lions on injured reserve, but should contend for the starting strong safety position this year. The Lions really did a good job of using their late draft picks in this year’s Draft to acquire talented young players from other teams.
Round 7 – Pick 213: Willie Young, DE, North Carolina State - This pick was acquired in the aforementioned trade for Rob Sims, and the Lions made good use of it by selecting North Carolina State defensive end Willie Young. Young has always been inconsistent, but he does have considerable upside, and it would not have been a surprise to see a team take a chance on him in the fourth or fifth round. He was good value in the seventh round, and while he may never make an impact for the Detroit Lions, he is a talented prospect worth taking a chance on in the seventh round.
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Round 7 – Pick 255: Tim Toone, WR, Weber State - The Detroit Lions used the infamous final selection to make Weber State wide receiver Tim Toone the Mr. Irrelevant of the 2010 NFL Draft. There were certainly many players who went undrafted whom are much better prospects than Toone, including fellow wide receiver Jeremy Williams of Tulane, a legitimate third-round prospect whom was the best prospect to go completely undrafted. However, it really seems like overkill to criticize such an “Irrelevant” selection, and Toone was an FCS All-American, so even though he is unlikely to make the roster, who knows.
Overall Outlook: The Detroit Lions were lucky that the St. Louis Rams needed a franchise quarterback, which allowed the true superstar prospect of the 2010 NFL Draft, Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, to be their selection at #2 overall. Suh should be the centerpiece of the Lions’ defense for many years to come, so that was a fantastic start to their Draft. However, they made some very questionable selections after that, such as trading up to select Jahvid Best, and selecting Jason Fox over Ed Wang. However, the Detroit Lions’ haul from the 2010 NFL Draft looks an awful lot better when you factor in that they used their fifth, sixth, and seventh round selections to pick up Rob Sims, Chris Houston, and Ko Simpson. With those trades, and the acquisition of a once-in-a-generation talent in Suh, the Lions grade out with a B+.
Suh will be a force on the Detroit Lions defensive line.
Round 1 – Pick 2: Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska -
Ndamukong Suh is the best prospect in the 2010 NFL Draft class, making him a very obvious choice for the Detroit Lions with the second overall selection. Suh was absolutely dominant in his senior season for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, having one of the greatest individual seasons by a defensive player in college football history.
Throughout the season, Suh proved he was the best player in college football, and is the #1 overall prospect from the 2010 NFL Draft class. Suh has the ability to be an absolutely dominant defensive tackle in the National Football League, and is likely to become a perennial All-Pro player.
Given that the Lions needed to upgrade on the defensive line anyways, to pass up Suh for any other player would have been a huge mistake for Detroit. Fortunately, the Lions did not make that mistake, and have added a superstar for many years to come to their defense.
Round 1 – Pick 30: Jahvid Best, RB, California -
The Detroit Lions moved down 28 spots in the fourth round in order to move up four spots to select California running back Jahvid Best. Jahvid Best is certainly an explosive player whom can be both a rushing and receiving weapon for the Detroit Lions, but given the Lions’ bevy of needs, this was not the best move for them to make.
The Lions would have been better off staying put, or using this selection to address their need at left tackle by selecting Indiana’s Rodger Saffold. Best can certainly help the Lions, but contrary to his surname, he was not the Best selection for them here, and not one that was worth trading up for by any means.
Round 3 – Pick 66: Amari Spievey, CB, Iowa -
Amari Spievey is a long, athletic cornerback whom had a very good senior season for the Iowa Hawkeyes, and was a good choice in the third round to bolster the Lions’ shaky secondary.
While Spievey was certainly not the best cornerback available at the top of the third round, he is a good defensive back whom should be at least a solid contributor for the Lions’ defensive backfield, and was a sensible choice here.
Round 4 – Pick 128: Jason Fox, OT, Miami -
While Jason Fox is an experienced, strong lineman whom had a very good career for the Miami Hurricanes, he has very limited upside and has battled injuries throughout his career, and the Detroit Lions made a big mistake by selecting him over a much better offensive tackle prospect in Virginia Tech’s Ed Wang.
While Wang has the potential to develop into an effective left tackle in the National Football League, Fox is a right tackle only, where the Lions already have Gosder Cherilus. Fox is a more NFL-ready prospect than Wang, but the Lions should not have drafted a likely career backup over a player with high upside to play left tackle. Poor decision here from the Lions’ draft room.
The 133rd overall selection was traded to the Seattle Seahawks along with defensive end Robert Henderson in exchange for guard Rob Sims and the 213th overall selection. Rob Sims should start at left guard for the Detroit Lions, filling one of their needs on the offensive line, so he was well worth trading a fifth-round pick and a reserve defensive end for. This was a very good move for the Detroit Lions.
The 171st overall selection was traded to the Atlanta Falcons along with the Lions’ 2011 seventh-round selection in exchange for cornerback Chris Houston. Chris Houston is a very talented young cornerback, so it is puzzling that the Falcons would trade him away for so little. Either way, the Lions really needed to find a #1 cornerback, and they found a very talented young player with the potential to be that shutdown corner they need, and were able to acquire him for a couple of draft picks of little value. Brilliant acquisition for the Detroit Lions, as they got a first-round level talent for a sixth-round pick.
The 209th overall selection was traded to the Buffalo Bills in 2009 in exchange for safety Ko Simpson. Ko Simpson has had trouble off of the field, which is likely the Bills traded him away for only a seventh-round selection, but this was yet another effective acquisition of a talented young player for the price of only a draft pick of little value. Simpson spent his first year with the Lions on injured reserve, but should contend for the starting strong safety position this year. The Lions really did a good job of using their late draft picks in this year’s Draft to acquire talented young players from other teams.
Round 7 – Pick 213: Willie Young, DE, North Carolina State - This pick was acquired in the aforementioned trade for Rob Sims, and the Lions made good use of it by selecting North Carolina State defensive end Willie Young. Young has always been inconsistent, but he does have considerable upside, and it would not have been a surprise to see a team take a chance on him in the fourth or fifth round. He was good value in the seventh round, and while he may never make an impact for the Detroit Lions, he is a talented prospect worth taking a chance on in the seventh round.
,
Round 7 – Pick 255: Tim Toone, WR, Weber State - The Detroit Lions used the infamous final selection to make Weber State wide receiver Tim Toone the Mr. Irrelevant of the 2010 NFL Draft. There were certainly many players who went undrafted whom are much better prospects than Toone, including fellow wide receiver Jeremy Williams of Tulane, a legitimate third-round prospect whom was the best prospect to go completely undrafted. However, it really seems like overkill to criticize such an “Irrelevant” selection, and Toone was an FCS All-American, so even though he is unlikely to make the roster, who knows.
Overall Outlook: The Detroit Lions were lucky that the St. Louis Rams needed a franchise quarterback, which allowed the true superstar prospect of the 2010 NFL Draft, Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, to be their selection at #2 overall. Suh should be the centerpiece of the Lions’ defense for many years to come, so that was a fantastic start to their Draft. However, they made some very questionable selections after that, such as trading up to select Jahvid Best, and selecting Jason Fox over Ed Wang. However, the Detroit Lions’ haul from the 2010 NFL Draft looks an awful lot better when you factor in that they used their fifth, sixth, and seventh round selections to pick up Rob Sims, Chris Houston, and Ko Simpson. With those trades, and the acquisition of a once-in-a-generation talent in Suh, the Lions grade out with a B+.
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