Detroit Lions Fun to Speculate: Mayhew & Schwatz Walk To Their Own Beat

The 2010 season was barely over when the multitude of articles came out on what the Lions should do in the draft, who they should trade, who they should release and who they should sign as free agents.

In past drafts, Mayhew pretty much did what was expected with first picks. Getting Stafford, despite his rocky start, was a great pick and I think he'll be just fine. 

The best move prior to the start of the season, so good that it caused me to get off the soapbox for awhile, was obtaining Rob Sims for DE Robert Henderson and a draft pick from Seattle. That move alone allowed Jeff Backus to have his best year ever.

But there have been some moves that made a lot of people go "Huh?'

Perhaps the most glaring one was taking Brandon Pettigrew when there was still a lot of talented left tackles available, especially Michael Oher. At the time the way Backus was flailing like a fish out of water, I was certain as anyone that Oher was going to be the pick.

Jahvid Best was kind of a surprise as well. Kevin Smith really hadn't established himself and he did have a leg injury that could have been the end of his career. But as with Pettigrew, I was certain that cornerback Patrick Robinson would have been the pick.  Mayhew decided to stick with offense in the early rounds. This despite cornerbacks such as Robinson, Kareem Jackson and Chris Cook were available as well as left tackle Roger Saffold..

Best has shown his explosiveness early in the year but turf-toe injuries on both feet had limited his abilities. I see next year that he could be one of the top rushers in the league. And if that happens, it will only open up the passing game even more.

A lot of people thought Best could have been available to the Lions with their second round pick.  Lions traded with the Vikings, giving up their 2010 2nd, 4th and 7th round picks which some had said was too much. 

Mayhew and head coach Jim Schwartz devised a plan and have stuck with it. In fact, it started during the disastrous 2008 season when Marinelli was still the head coach when Mayhew, who at the time was tagged with interim GM, pulled the trigger on trading WR Roy Williams and a 7th round pick for their 1st, 3rd and 6th picks.

Detroit then traded their first round pick to the Kansas City Chiefs for their 1st, 3rd and 5th round picks.

Once the dust settled, Detroit's 2008 drafted netted OT Gosder Cherilus, LB Jordan Dizon, RB Kevin Smith, OLB Cliff Avril (now a defensive end), DT Andre Fluellen, WR Kenneth Moore, FB Jerome Felton, DT Landon Cohen and S Caleb Campbell.  (As it has been pointed out, while Mayhew did trade Williams for Dallas draft picks, Mayhew did not draft in 2008.  This was Millen's last draft and perhaps his best.  Mayhew didn't start drafting until 2009.  My apologies for this glaring error.)

Of the nine players from the 2008 draft, seven are still on the team with Moore and Cohen eventually waived. Dizon will probably be waived this year and Cherilus is currently on IR but all made contributions to the Lions.

Lets not forget two significant free agent signings that occurred last year. 

Schwartz camped out and Kyle Vanden Bosch's residence to be the first one to talk with him when the free agent market opened last year. Before going down with a neck injury, Vanden Bosch stabilized a young defensive line and had a huge part in making them one of the better ones in the NFL. And even while on IR, he didn't stay home. He travelled with the team and helped out during practices, showing the young guys what they needed to do.

Lions have been looking for a reliable second WR to take pressure off of star WR Calvin Johnson. They hit pay dirt with WR Nate Burleson, a veteran of the NFL of seven years.  All he did in 2010 was catch 55 passes for 625 yards and scored six touchdowns. And he really stepped up when Calvin Johnson was on IR for the final game against the Vikings, a 20-13 victory.

So what does this off-season hold for Detroit Lions fans? No one can argue the Lions didn't significantly improve last season, especially in the second half. The Lions have been in the top ten of the NFL Draft eight times over the past ten years.

The Lions are drafting number 13 this year. With the Lions luck as it has been in the past, this could be a good omen instead of being unlucky.  There are many opportunities with this pick.

The Lions most important needs are cornerback and outside linebacker. If the Lions can make a strong push to sign free agent to be CB  Nnamdi Asomugha, that will give them the much needed shutdown corner for the first time in years. With the 13th pick, Lions could go after OLB Von Miller of Texas A&M. My only concern is that Miller may not be the best fit for the Lions 4-3 defensive scheme.

To give my two cents worth, and if the planets aligned just right, here is what my speculation is:

Lions sign Nnamdi Asomugha and with their first pick, take LT Joseph Barksdale from LSU.

With their second pick, take OLB Travis Lewis from Oklahoma.

And with three moves, the secondary, linebacker and offensive tackle positions are taken care of. Move Jeff Backus to right guard and get rid of Peterman and you improve the O-line tenfold.

But that's the fun of the offseason for us Lions fans, to act as a GM and speculate what we would like to do.

As for the real GM and head coach? I suspect they will have a couple of surprise moves up their sleeves...and once again, we all just might go "Huh?"