Grade the Lions Draft

[Honalulufan20]

It would be interesting to see some of the grades of our draft this year, considering some of the picks were some what controversial. Now the real grade of this draft is more accurately assessed in 3 or 4 years but it's interesting to hear some of your initial reactions.

1- Riley Reiff OT Iowa
Grade- A
-While I would have rather had Decastro you cannot possibly argue that Reiff doesn't present an equal or greater value than the guard. A tackle that was widely considered a Top 10 to 15 prospect falling to 23 makes this pick a good one, especially considering that we need a bit of a youth movement on the O-line in order to protect Stafford for the coming decade.

2- Ryan Broyles WR Oklahoma
Grade- B
-I truly believe that Peter Konz was the right pick here, and may end up being the better player long term. Getting Konz and Reiff would have made this draft very good regardless of who the other picks were and I felt like Mayhew may have missed an opportunity to better this team for a long time. Regardless of that Broyles is a very productive, tough and quick possession receiver with good hands and presents Stafford with a very good target for years to come, assuming Broyles can return from a season ending ACL tear just six months ago.

3- Dwight Bentley CB Louisiana Lafayette
Grade- B+
-A good value with Bentley, who was considered to be a guy that would be taken in the late second early third range. Bentley is a little undersized but is a superb athlete who preformed well against premier competition such as the tandem of Justin Blackmon and Brandon Weeden. Could come in and immediately compete for the #2 cornerback position.

4- Ronnell Lewis OLB Oklahoma
Grade- A
-Great value pick. Lewis was supposed to be a second round pick that ended up sliding into the ladder half of the fourth. Lewis presents an intriguing prospect as he is a good pass rusher and displays the athleticism to play OLB in a pinch in a 4-3.

5- Tahir Whitehead LB Temple
Grade- C
-Was a mysterious pick to me, a linebacker who wasn't well known and doesn't really have a true position. Whitehead is a hard worker and an overachiever despite what he may lack athletically.

5- Chris Greenwood CB Albion
Grade- B+
-I don't really feel like we had to trade up to get Greenwood, but I'm glad we picked him. He has elite size and athleticism at 6-2 200 while running a 4.3 and jumping 42" vertically. Cunningham compared him to Brandon Carr, whom he had picked from Grand Valley State and developed into a corner worth a 5-year 50 million dollar contract from the cowboys.

6- Jonte Green CB NMSU
Grade- B-
-I really wanted Antonio Allen or Travis Lewis (whom we picked later) at this spot. That said this pick fills a need and brings in more camp competition for a spot at corner.

7- Travis Lewis LB Oklahoma
Grade- A+
-By far the best value pick of our draft. Lewis is an athletic linebacker that can play in any spot in the 4-3 and was super productive in his earlier collegiate years. At the very least he could push Houge and play special teams.

Overall Grade- B+/A-
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[FootballPhreak]

In the next couple days I think I am going to do a full draft layout so I will save my ratings for then
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[tippitover]

I would give it a bish grade but i think in a couple of years it could turn into an a + if our other picks pan out. i think some teams that have a "a" grade now may be a little disappointed down the road. I tell you now though i really like this draft even if when the picks were announced i was less than amused.
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If my mother put on a helmet and shoulder pads and a uniform that wasn't the same as the one I was wearing, I'd run over her if she was in my way. And I love my mother.
-Bo Jackson

[wackotae]

a c+ didn't draft any player to help there run game. should have got a guard or center. not 20 linebackers or corners. the broyles pick was stupid. not that he a receiver because they could have got a corner or guard instead. also the lions need more big receivers. beside cj all there receiver are barley 6'0. Chicago got two. how our we going to stop them. would have like decaustro instead of reiff but at least we got a tackle to replace Backus.

[detroitroar]

[1King]

[SuhPLEX]

[Laimbrane]

[diehardlionfan]

Reiff is a great pick. He may start at RT or perhaps they put him on the left side and move Backus to the right.

As Laimbrane indicated its to early to grade the draft due to circumstance.

At first glance everyone including the draft ncks on this site will be quick to give the Lions a low grade because some of the players are relative unknowns. Others don't have natural positions or under performed and fell.

I expect it will take three years to fully evaluate this draft and just like in years past with Mayhew drafting we will understand why he selected the players he did.
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Sig by LionsFTW

To know what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice.

[detroitroar]

[Sllim Pickens]

[SuhPLEX]

[MvpMattStafford]

Before you read my grades, I need to warn everyone I hit up the Mayhew Kool-aid hard! lol

Reiff - LTOTF at 23 = A+

Broyles - Getting the perfect slot guy to compliment CJ and Young while allowing a 2013 cap cut of 4.5 million in Burleson = A+

Bentley - Probably starting nickel corner with potential to become a solid number 2 in the 3rd round = A

R. Lewis - Getting an instant ST's "Hammer" and a future Solid DE(4-3) OLB (3-4 looks) in the 4th = A

Whitehead - (Don't know a ton about him)Seems like a project and I love we are planning for the future but the trade up makes this pick = B-

Greenwood - From what I have read he seems like he has the hips, speed and cover skills to become a future star with development and time. For where he was taken this is my favorite pick of the draft = A++++

Green - (Again don't know a ton about him) but appears to be an amazing athlete project that can become very good with time and coaching. For where he was taken the pick = B

T. Lewis - Not sure what happened his senior year (I understand injuries hurt him) but hopefully he didn't slide bc teams think his senior year is an accurate prediction of what's to come. Still a great 7th rd pick so = A
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[RyanFuller003]

Reiff - A. We needed an heir apparent to Jeff Backus, and we wound up getting the 2nd best tackle in the draft at the 23rd pick. Great value.

Broyles - D+. I'd be lying if I said it was the best pick we could have made. I understand we're not drafting solely for the player's 2012 impact, but even if this is Burleson's last year, we're pretty crowded at offensive skill positions to the point that Broyles is going to have a hard time getting and staying on the field. Even if he does, it minimizes the impact you get from Titus Young or Pettigrew. The ACL injury and the fact that he was projected mostly in the 3rd round also hurt my opinion of the pick. ACL injuries can have a detrimental effect on a player's long-term ability to make cuts, which is a crucial skill for a slot-type receiver like Broyles.

Bentley - A. I would have been okay with him in the second round. Getting him in third is nice.

Ronnell Lewis - B. Good value, I just don't know how the guy fits into the defense. He's a 'tweener type of OLB/DE hybrid that's too short for DE but not athletic enough for LB. He'll take a couple of years before he's probably able to make an impact outside of special teams. But for a fourth round pick, that's fine.

Whitehead - D. I don't know what's so attractive about him that the Lions decided they should trade a 4th round pick this year for him.

Greenwood - B+. He's a developmental prospect for sure, but he's about as athletic a cornerback as you're going to find in the NFL. He apparently has a 42 inch vertical jump and runs 4.33. He's 6'1 and 193 pounds, great size for a cornerback. It's hard not to like this pick, but I'm marking him down a little because division three prospects almost never stick in the NFL.

Green - C-. There's always weird stuff going on in the draft at this point and it's usually guys you never hear of, but this is the third CB we drafted and he's probably not going to make the roster unless we keep seven corners.

Travis Lewis - A. This guy was getting mocked in the 2nd round last year. I realize he's small and not particularly athletic, but he looks good on the field and that's what counts.

Overall - B-. I think we probably got two eventual starters (Reiff almost immediately, Bentley in a year or two) and another key contributor (Broyles, at some point, once we lose Burleson and he's had time to rehab) in this draft. Our later round picks feature a couple of nice upside guys (Greenwood and Ronnell Lewis) and potentially the next Zack Follett (Travis Lewis). Jonte Green and Tahir Whitehead are both pretty confusing picks, but we'll see what they can do.
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[Lionsfanforever]

I don't know if this is good or not but skip bayless said we had the best draft.
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