The Detroit Lions draft day conundrum
By Robert Jones
So the real job Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia have, is maximizing their picks and getting the most bang for their buck.
This Should mean being ready to move back if the ‘right player’ isn’t there when they are on the clock. Buffalo could be a trade partner and they wouldn’t have to slide back too far either. Then they should still get a quality player and add another pick.
They also have to make the picks count. Their top three picks have to be starters come opening night against the New York Jets. If they can find a diamond in the rough or two extra that also break into the lineup, that would be the bonus and a running back doesn’t count because Patricia is going to platoon the position.
The running back will be expected to be the future of the Lions ground game, but he will need to contribute right away and quite frankly this team will need all their picks to at least contribute if they expect to chase the Vikings.
Obviously the more picks the Lions can acquire would help escalate the odds of meeting that criteria.
By this time next week we will know what the Lions did and will either being feeling optimistic or sick to our stomachs.
Clearly the Lions can’t compete without being much better on defense and the ability to run the ball on offense would really open up that passing game. Sure it sounds easy on paper (or internet to be more precise, I suppose), but the draft isn’t an easy game to win.
Many Lions teams have walked away from the draft touting how they have finally turned the franchise into winners, but then…
Take your pick of wide receiver’s outside of Calvin Johnson…
Look, the Lions haven’t botched all their picks and no other team is batting 1,000 on their selections either. But they clearly need to get this draft right and add as many impact players as they can.
Taking on the Minnesota Vikings will be somewhat akin to when David took on Goliath, except I’m not sure God has any rooting interest in this battle.
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Therefore Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia will have their hands full. They should be able to improve this team and hopefully put them on the path towards contention. However, they will need to hit a grand slam in order to have any real chance to battle Minnesota for the division title.