The Lions Will and Should Pick Stafford First

Here are the top reasons why the Lions will select Matthew Stafford with the first pick in the 2009 NFL Draft.

You Can't Trade Away the Pick

For the amount of picks you have to give up and the money you have to pay the No. 1 pick, no one wants to trade for it.

You have to give up a king's ransom, and with the economy the way it is now no one wants to pay a player that much. The only way they are able to trade away the pick is if they tade it for Matt Cassel, which would be idiotic because of the amount you would have to pay him and the fact he only started for one season.

People should stop bringing up the Jets because there is no possibility of that trade happening. 

No One Else Is Worth the Pick

First thing people say is draft offensive linemen but that's not the right choice this year.

This draft is deep in left tackles but none are Joe Thomas or Jake Long level. Andre Smith, while he is a dominant player in the run game, struggled against speed rushers (like against Florida).

Eugene Monroe and Jason Smith are better pass protectors but they might not be physical enough to be a franchise left tackle.

Then people say draft defense.

The problem with that is if you pick defense first, it has to be a dominant pass rusher, and there are few solid pass rushers like Orakpo and Brown.

There is Aaron Curry, who is the safest pick in the draft, but he is not the type of player to build your defense around. Even at his best he will be around the same level as the Lions' best defender, Ernie Sims.

You Don't Pass Up a Potential Franchise QB

Having a great QB makes you a contender every year.

No matter how good or bad the Colts defense is or how well they were running the ball or whether Tarik Glenn was his LT or Tony Ugoh, the Colts win 12 games every year because of Peyton Manning.

The Chargers, Saints and Broncos all had poor defenses (not that much better than the Lions) yet they were able to finish .500 because of their QB play.

The Lions May Not Have Another Chance To Draft a Franchise QB

There is no gurantee that Sanchez and Freeman fall to No. 20.

To get Freeman or Sanchez they might have to trade up to get him, since Sanchez won't fall past 10 and Freeman will go 15 to 19 range.

Stafford and Oher look a lot better than Andre Smith and Rhett Bomar. For everyone who says the Lions can draft a QB next year, there is no QB available better than him next year.

Actually, there is no QB in college football now who is a better prospect than Matthew Stafford.

Sam Bradford is the only guy next year that is worth a top five pick, and there is no gurantee he enters the draft or that he will be available for the Lions to take.

Matthew Stafford Is Really Good

When Stafford enters the league next year his arm will be one of the top five in the league. To go along with that he has great mechanics, accuracy, and a quick release.

He sometimes forces throws, but so does Jay Cutler.

A lot of the Stafford hate comes down to the fact Georgia was overated by the polls, which made people think Stafford had to be overated as well.

Also, because he doesn't play in the spread, his stats don't match up against the Big 12 quarterbacks and Tebow.

But look at his junior stats compared to three other pro-style offense SEC Quarterbacks

Peyton Manning 380 attempts 243 completions 63.9% 3287 yards 20 tds 12 ints

Eli Manning 480 attempts 279 completions 58.0% 3401 yards 21 tds 15 ints

Jay Cutler 241 attempts 147 completions 61.0% 1844 yards 10 tds 5 ints

Matt Stafford 383 attempts 235 completions 61.4% 3459 yards 25 tds 10 ints

I am not saying he is going to be Peyton Manning, but I think his ceiling is Eli or Cutler, so he is definitely worth the risk.

Whether Lions fans like it or not, Stafford will be their No. 1 pick.

Lions may not want Stafford to be the top pick but Falcons fans wanted Dorsey over Ryan. Quarterback is the most risky pick, but a great QB seperates the good from the great.