Draft Stafford If You Must Lions But...

I am of the belief that the Detroit Lions will take Mathew Stafford with the first overall pick in the upcoming draft. All sign points to Stafford, if he is not the pick I will give the new regime mad credit for the misinformation.

The thing that bothers me most with this, Stafford will more than likely not help the team this year. When a team goes winless it is obvious to the sane they need help right away.

For my "glass half full" way to look at this is, the Lions can draft Stafford with the first pick and essentially still have a full draft worth of picks. 

The Lions defense allowed the most rushing yards in the NFL last season. They allowed 200 more yards than the next team, and a pitiful 1,000 more than the Vikings.

This confirms for me that the defense is the reason that our Detroit Lions went winless. I feel that in several games they scored enough to win and the defense gave away long drives and too many points.

The run defense will continue to be a problem with the current roster. The holes on the defensive line and at middle linebacker are glaring needs.

The Lions should address these needs with early picks in an attempt to add starters. I hate to name picks because I usually think the players I like will be gone or someone drops and I change my mind during the draft.

With the 20th and 33rd pick, the Lions should draft LB and DL. I do not think it will be clear which order they should be picked until we see how the first round shakes out.

With the third round picks a safety and/or a corner would be helpful, but they should draft the best available player if there are not quality DB's to be had.

The remaining picks should be used on the most NFL ready players, to fill the many holes and to add depth to the roster. Other than kicker and quarterback, assuming Stafford is taken, the Lions can use help at every position.

My take on the draft: Take Stafford if you must, Lions. But you better take defense with most of the remaining picks.