The Lions Could Have Hit The Lottery But Gave Away The Winning Ticket

Imagine for one moment that Mel Kiper or Todd McShay is breaking down day 1 of the draft. 

Mel says the unthinkable.  The Lions did so well that he does not know how they did it.

McShay goes further and actually tells us how it happened.

The Lions were stuck taking Stafford, we all know it.  It's just how it is.  They feel as if Stafford needs help and they want to help him succeed.  It's called protecting your investment and it's a large one.

Enter Michael Oher. The Lions are on the board at No. 20 and they have a decision to make.  It's really a nice problem. There are two players on the board that absolutely should not be there according to the experts. They are Michael Oher and Rey Maualuga. 

What to do.  Either way you address a major need.  You have holes everywhere and these two players are high quality players that will impact this team positively from day one. 

What you do is take the tackle as he is a top left tackle prospect that has no business being available here. You pass on the linebacker and hope you can fill that need at pick No. 33.

Here is where it all goes wrong, even bizarre.  The Lions select Brandon Pettigrew, a tight end. Granted, he is a top TE prospect, but is that really a need for a roster as empty as the Lions' roster? 

The experts tell us it's a good pick, he's a productive tight end and he will help Stafford in multiple ways.  Sadly, the numbers do not lie and they are not good.

Pettigrew caught 112 passes for 1450 yards and 9 touchdowns in his 4 years at Oklahoma State. These numbers are not the numbers of an elite pass catching tight end who is to become an offensive threat in the NFL. 

I suspect the Lions selected him to help out Jeff Backus and Gosder Cherilus, their left and right tackles. And they used the No. 20 pick to do this.

In taking Pettigrew, they passed on Oher who would have really helped at tackle and they passed on defense entirely. The Lions ranked at the bottom in nearly every defensive category possible in 2008. This pick makes no sense and is very confusing.

The Lions followed that up by passing on middle linebacker again at pick No. 33.  Rey Maualuga and James Laurinaitas were both available.  Either player represents a huge improvement.  Yet again, the Lions pass and take a safety from a small school.  At least he plays on the defensive side of the ball.

This scenario was available to them and they could have it right now.

1) select Stafford at No. 1

2) select Oher at No. 20

3) select Maualuga at No. 33

I think the experts would be anointing Martin Mayhew with that start.  Prior to the draft, this scenario was not possible with the exception of multiple trades. There is no way that all three could be there. 

Well, they were and the Lions passed. One has to wonder if anything has changed.  I know tonight in Detroit there is a sense of dismay, disappointment and thoughts of what could have been.