The Lions' Real Draft vs. My Dream Draft, Part One: Picks 1-5

First pick: Both of us agree. QB.

My pick: Mark Sanchez

My logic: He's mobile, more marketable, and more enthusiastic.

Lions pick: Matthew Stafford

Their logic: He's got the stronger and more accurate arm.

Note of interest: Thus far, the Lions haven't drafted any offensive linemen. So regardless of whom they picked, you still got a QB running around like a chicken with his head cut off.

The better pick: Because there are no drafted offensive linemen yet, I call it a draw.

Second pick: Disagreement.

My Pick: Rey Maulauga, MLB, USC

My Logic: An 0-16 team should have no problem in saying, "Tear it all down and start from scratch." The defense needed an aggressive, new leader, a new "face" for the fans to recognize.

Their Pick: Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Oklahoma State

Their Logic: If Stafford can evade the pass rush and scramble fast enough to avoid being sacked, he'll have someone to dump the ball off to in Pettigrew.

Note: With no significant changes happening on the offensive line, the QB may still have problems avoiding numerous sacks and hits after the throw.

Better pick: Me. A quality TE will always be available, anytime. Three of the top five TEs were still on the board for day two; why so early? Where's the fire?

It wasn't a wasted pick in terms of talent; it was a wasted pick in terms of wants versus needs. We WANTED a talented TE, but we NEEDED a middle linebacker.

Third Pick: Disagreement

My pick: Eric Wood, Offensive Guard, Louisville.

My logic: With a new QB comes new protection. Because Eric Wood has some experience at playing guard, the Lions could move him there, should Dominic Raiola hold him off at center. That was a win/win situation.

Their pick: Louis Delmas, CB, Western Michigan

Their logic: Same as mine; we could use a taller CB. However, it's only by a half an inch. We could work with that.

Note: Wood actually left before the 33rd pick. However, the reason why I keep Wood in this argument was because linebackers James Laurinaitis, Rey Maualuga, and his fellow Trojan linebacker Clay Matthews were still in the draft at the 20th pick. That, I didn't anticipate.

Had I been in the war room, my adviser would have told me to roll the dice and take Wood at 20. So I could arguably say that I would have gotten my top three picks.

Better Pick: Me. What's the use of drafting a QB if you're not going to protect him? Great defensive backs have been known for coming out of the third and fourth rounds. Once again, we could have waited.

Fourth Pick: Disagreement

My pick: Keenan Lewis, Cornerback, Oregon State.

My logic: As stated before, I intended to work mostly on the defense in this draft. With this pick, I now have size and speed at the corners.

Lions pick: DeAndre Levy, OLB, Wisconsin

Lions logic: They'd figured that this must be a linebacker heavy draft, so they decided to wait this late to get a linebacker.

With that being said, Levy was the best linebacker available at that point; had they waited one more pick, the Lions would have been scraping the bottom of the barrel for a linebacker.

Note: Levy is an outside linebacker; we needed an inside linebacker in a leadership role first.

Better Pick: Lions. Levy has the better potential when compared to Lewis, but is he a better linebacker than Maualuga? Hmmm...

Fifth pick: Disagreement

My pick: Paul Kruger, LB/DE, Utah

My logic: With this pick, I could sit back and relax knowing that I got a solid DE, CB, and LB. I can see myself using the next pick on offense.

The Lions picked: Derrick Williams, WR, Penn State

Their logic: Same as mine; we needed somebody opposite of Calvin Johnson. Good choice.

Better pick: Lions by default. Kruger never made it to my "fantasy" 68th pick. However, with that pick, I would had stuck to my guns and pick a DE. That pick would had been Michael Johnson out of Georgia Tech.

Well, so far it's nip and tuck.

Score: I have the score tied at 2-2, with one draw (Stafford vs Sanchez). This tells me that the Lions are doing pretty good thus far in this draft.

Positions filled: I started to notice that with the exception of the "tight end vs an offensive lineman" issue, we pretty much agree with the positions that needed to be filled first; it was just all out of order.

Initial Analysis: Could they had done better? Of course, they could have; my first five picks were definitely aimed at both leadership and marketability. We could have easily picked up about $10 million in sales of Sanchez and Maualuga jerseys and memorabilia.

In terms of marketability, I'm definitely well ahead of the Lions' front office.

Well, you won't see my final analysis until tomorrow; until then, stay tuned.

If you want to see my original article, the "dream draft," click here:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/160482-detroit-lions-my-pre-drafts-nights-dream-humor#page/1