The Oakland Raiders may be the team most likely to disrupt the Detroit Lions draft plans. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

It is anyone’s guess as to what the Detroit Lions will do with the fifth overall pick next week. At this point the heavy speculation has centered on the pick being an offensive tackle (most likely Eric Fisher) with Ezekiel Ansah and Dee Milliner being the popular alternatives.

The best case scenario involves the Lions getting on the clock with all three options available. With options comes leverage and the Lions could entertain anything from trade offers (the Falcons are apparently considering a big move up to take Milliner) to their pick of players rather than being cornered into a single decision.

The worst case scenario puts the Lions on the clock with Luke Joeckel, the presumed number one pick at the moment, and Eric Fisher already off the board. The rumblings of the day make that scenario a possibility.

FWIW… Lot of buzz about Oak taking a LT with #3 pick. Floyd could take a tumble if that happens.

— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) April 20, 2013

With Jared Veldheer at left tackle, it wouldn’t seem the Raiders have much of a need there but it is possible they want to plant the seed as a scare tactic. Previous transactions have left the Raiders without picks in the second and fourth rounds so it makes sense the Raiders would love to move out of the third pick to add additional picks at the expense of a team that feels the need to make it worth Oakland’s while to pass on a tackle and move down the board.

An Oakland trade would seem to increase the likelihood that a tackle is selected with the third overall pick and leave the Lions with fewer options that the ideal scenario. While mock drafts might sometimes feel like silly speculation and entertainment leading up to the draft, teams really do use them in their preparation so the Lions won’t be caught off guard no matter what plays out ahead of them.

August 25, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) stands in the huddle during a timeout against the Oakland Raiders in the first quarter at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-US PRESSWIRE

The Lions were lucky to escape Saturday night with only a handful of injuries to key players, but thank God none of the injuries seemed too serious. After the third quarter, I was saying to my television, “why are we even playing this game? Let’s just get on the plane now and get home without anyone else falling victim to a stupid injury.” Outside of injuries, there were five other things that I saw that were quite telling about the Detroit Lions. And with that, let’s go five wide…

• Last night Matthew Stafford did that thing he does every now and then during the regular season where he goes almost an entire game without even looking Calvin Johnson’s way. I hate that. I understand the magnitude of coverage that gets rolled CJ’s way, but sometimes Stafford just has to do his best Denard Robinson impersonation and throw it up there for the tallest man to grab the ball out of the sky (e.g. Johnson in the end zone against Dallas with three men on him in 2011). I don’t know if Stafford was trying to get the other receivers involved more, preserve Johnson’s health or just make me mad?
• Shaun Hill looked lost and out of sync. Hopefully, for the Detroit Lions, Hill only plays in garbage time this season, assuming the Lions are blowing out a team or, unfortunately, being blown out themselves. A lot of Hill’s passes were behind the guys he was trying to get the ball to, but, boy, did his running sure look good. I had to dust off the old 2010 Shaun Hill moniker I had once given him: Crazy Legs.” Crazy Legs was on fire last night. He looked better running the ball than Mikel Leshoure did.
• Speaking of Leshoure, he had a mediocre to average debut Saturday. His cutbacks were impressive for a guy recovering from an Achilles injury, but he just didn’t get down field as well as I thought he would. Let’s face it, he’s no longer facing Greg Robinson’s putrid Michigan defense of 2010 where he once bellied the ball outside all day for over 200-yards rushing. Leshoure now faces linebackers with better closing speed than those backers that he had once faced in the Big Ten. As soon as Leshoure can assimilate to the NFL style of running, I think he will be able to be a very productive back for the Lions.
• Kellen Moore will not be making the final 53-man roster. At this point, I don’t think Captain Check-down should even warrant the Lions’ brass using a practice squad shirt on him. Can he honestly, or even effectively, play scouting team quarterback against the starting defense in practice? I don’t think so. I do not think that he helps the Lions prepare for their regular season opponents because he doesn’t have a true NFL arm. I love the guy and I loved watching him on Saturday’s, but I think the only way I will love watching Moore on Sunday’s is if he grabs a headset and turns into a head coach, which most media members anticipate he will be great at doing.
• The refs really blew it last night. There were mucked up pass interference calls, encroachment calls that weren’t blown until after the ball was snapped and ran five yards, and, most importantly, turnovers. It is time to get that labor dispute solved pronto because the refs should not be deciding the outcome of a game by blowing turnover calls.

August 25, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Detroit Lions running back Mikel Leshoure (25) runs the ball against the Oakland Raiders in the first quarter at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-US PRESSWIRE

Oakland Raiders 31, Detroit Lions 20 (box score)

If you’re one that likes to put stock in preseason games, I hope you didn’t watch tonight’s game. The Lions were something less than in “mid-season form” to put it nicely. The third preseason game is regarded as the dress rehearsal and the Lions did not look ready for the show to open.

Sure, there were some nice moments, Ndamukong Suh‘s pressure of Carson Palmer resulting in an interception by Willie Young comes to mind, but the Lions had several issues and the injuries suffered during the game may further deplete the team’s depth.

Starting cornerbacks Chris Houston and Bill Bentley both had to leave the game, Ndamukong Suh was seen on the sideline with a fairly sizable wrap around a knee, Matthew Stafford‘s evening was cut short due to a left hand injury, Kevin Smith hurt the same ankle he battled last year and Mikel Leshore wandered the sidelines with an abdominal wrap.

Those are a lot of important players for which missed regular season games could spell serious trouble for the Detroit Lions. The severity of each was not immediately known following the game.

We got our first look at Mikel Leshoure tonight and while his performance left a lot to be desired, we can’t be too surprised. He’s finally getting game action after missing a lot of training camp reps and the missed time definitely showed. The offensive line didn’t do Leshoure any favors by opening up running lanes but Leshoure routinely looked hesitant in the backfield. Leshoure gained just one yard on five carries.

It would be unfair to single out Leshoure for being ineffective carrying the ball because the Lions averaged just 2.7 yards per carry on the evening. It was an average boosted by two carries for 13 yards by Shaun Hill. That’s not good.

All in all, it was a forgettable night for the Lions. They were out-gained 513 yards to 281. You can bet that Jim Schwartz will have an awful lot to say to his team and this week’s practice figures to be less than pleasant.