Ndamukong Suh: A Rare Consensus Between Fans and Management

In April 2009, the Detroit Lions unveiled their redesigned logo and uniforms, a mere couple of weeks before the NFL draft.

Lions fans in attendance took this opportunity to chant their wish that Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry be taken by the Lions first overall.

A couple of weeks later, Matthew Stafford held up a No. 1 jersey in Honolulu blue, and was welcomed to the league with a resounding boo.

Fast forward to last Thursday. After months of speculation, stat-crunching and salivation, the Detroit Lions drafted Ndamukong Suh from the University of Nebraska, after the fans had spent several ravenous months calling for… Ndamukong Suh from the University of Nebraska?

Yes, in an unusual turn of events, Lions fans and Lions management agreed on a top pick. Not since Calvin Johnson have the Lions picked the guy their fans wanted.

And hey, we were right that time.

So here it is. The Lions have their guy, the fans have their guy, and everyone is satisfied. Now comes the next step: Suh taking the pro-field.

With the quarter-year of speculation about the draft, I’m sure everybody already knows this, but college defensive tackles are difficult to project, and have an extremely high bust rate in the NFL.

No, I’m not saying Suh is going to bust. Calm down.

What I am saying is that if he does, we’re on the hook. We the fans.

Sure, it’s easy to call Matt Millen out for taking Mike Williams (a third consecutive first-round wide receiver) in 2005, when DeMarcus Ware, Shawne Merriman, and Jammal Brown (all Pro Bowlers) went in the next three picks.

Ernie Sims was considered a bad call when the team lacked a quarterback, and 'sure things' Matt Leinart and Jay Cutler were still on the board. Furthermore, Suh might never have been a discussion had the Lions taken Haloti Ngata (taken by the Ravens three picks after Sims).

In 2008, all of Detroit was on edge when Rashard Mendenhall fell to the Lions, even after a trade down to No. 17. Lions fans were subsequently rewarded with Gosder Cherlius.

And last year, a decidedly anti-Stafford crowd (of which I was a part) moaned and groaned when his contract was announced the day before the draft.

Stafford has changed a lot of minds since that day, but he’s not out of the woods yet. He could still bust, and if he does, I will point my finger directly at Martin Mayhew and Jim Schwartz.

However, Suh has yet to play an NFL snap. The raw speed and power that made him a star in the Big 12 Championship game may not be enough at the next level.

Regardless, we got what we wanted. Suh was our choice, and management concurred. Which means there’s no finger-pointing this time. He’s our man, and if he shocks us by being only average, we don’t have 'I told you so' rights.

But then, the opposite is true, too. If he truly is as dominant as he is projected to be, we own that, too. That’s when we do, in fact, have 'I told you so' rights.

So either way, enjoy this moment. Regardless of how you feel about Jahvid Best and the rest of the draft, we owned selection No. 2 this year. Give a warm welcome to the House of Spears, and let’s all hope we were right.

It worked with Calvin Johnson, right?