2015 NFL Draft Grades: NFC North
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Detroit Lions
NFL Draft season is a nerve wracking time of year if you’re a Detroit Lions fan. That can be directly related to the years of poor selection after poor selection under former general manager, Matt Millen.
The current man at the helm, Martin Mayhew, has also received some scrutiny of his own despite the team being fresh off an 11-5 season that seen the team make the playoffs for just the second time this century.
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Now, I’ll be the first to admit, Mayhew may not be a “great” general manager, but he also isn’t as bad as many lead on. Hopefully the 2015 NFL Draft has silenced some of the skeptics — for now anyways.
A majority of Lions fans were dead set on an interior defensive lineman in round one, to help ease the concerns of the void left by the departed Ndamukong Suh in free agency. Likewise, others were all in on selecting and offensive lineman following a season that seen quarterback Matthew Stafford get sacked a career-high 45 times in 2014.
In the end, Detroit wound up trading back from pick No. 23 to No. 28 overall with the Denver Broncos. The trade locked up two additional fifth round picks, one in 2015 and one in 2016, as well as former Lion, guard/center Manny Ramirez. When Detroit went back on the clock, they chose Duke University offensive guard, Laken Tomlinson.
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Tomlinson was labeled a “people mover” by NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock while on stage, and is also known for not allowing a single sack in his two years as a starter at Duke.
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The star of this class for Detroit however, could be running back Ameer Abdullah. Abdullah will provide some home run capabilities as well as being an ideal compliment to current tailback, Joique Bell.
Round three seen the Lions trade up for the big corner, Alex Carter, and round four saw the Lions trade up once again, selecting defensive tackle, Gabe Wright out of Auburn.
Fullback Michael Burton, defensive back Quandre Diggs, and offensive tackle Corey Robinson were the selections of the later rounds.
Overall, most were pleasantly surprised by the draft strategy of Martin Mayhew and Tom Lewand. The talented selected, along with the additional picks gained were all positives for the organization.
Grade: B+