Detroit Lions fans need to understand patience is the key

Is a quarterback really a step backward?

The biggest misnomer I keep hearing as far as the draft goes is how many locally think drafting a quarterback is nothing more than a step backward.

The truth is that it is only a step backward if you pick the wrong one.

Quite frankly if we don’t trust Brad Holmes to make the right choice, then how can you be excited about any other selection?

There is absolutely no player that the Lions will use their first pick on who will make them champions this fall. None. So for those who think drafting a quarterback and sitting him behind Jared Goff is a step backward, what is that a step backward from?

Are you insinuating it is a step backward from that championship the Lions aren’t going to win this fall? Are you insinuating it is a step backward from finishing just under 500 with this new 17 game schedule? What a shame that would be, right?

If the Lions have a quarterback they are sold on still available when they are on the clock at number seven, then they select him. It’s that easy.

How much of a wasted pick would that be? Ask the Chiefs how things are going with Patrick Mahomes?

I’m not saying that anyone in this draft class will be the next Mahomes, but Mahomes after a stellar collegiate career was drafted to sit behind Alex Smith and not even see the field for a year.

Between that and having a top coach like Andy Reid working with Mahomes, something about that whole plan must have been right.

Jared Goff is a quarterback an NFL team can win with. However, he can’t carry a team the way the elite quarterbacks do when they are needed to the most.

As a matter of fact, the comparison to Alex Smith for Jared Goff is a good one. The Chiefs were a good team with Smith at quarterback. They didn’t become champions though until Mahomes took over.

Eventually, the Lions will need a franchise quarterback to take over for Goff. For the best results, like it or not, drafting one and sitting him for a year, at least, is in that quarterback’s best interest and the best interest of the Detroit Lions.

The Justin Herbert type of success right out of the gate is extremely uncommon. To expect that will be the case with a quarterback that is drafted after the Lions are talented enough to contend is very presumptuous.

Whoever will be that franchise quarterback that will take the Lions to the next level when Brad Holmes has built a winner needs to get some time on the bench to learn behind a professional like Jared Goff.

That type of training instead of just being thrown to the wolves of NFL defenses when a young quarterback’s confidence can be shattered is imperative to his maturing and success.

If the Lions select a quarterback with the number seven pick in this year’s draft will it keep them from winning a championship this fall? You can ‘yes’ if you want to, but no other selection is going to lead them to a championship next season either.

If the Lions aren’t sold on any of the quarterbacks available this year, then they should select another player or trade back if possible. But sooner or later they will need to start grooming their next franchise quarterback and having him watch from the bench while the team is still in transition works in everybody’s favor.