Lions Face Difficult Decision With 2nd Pick
Posted by jmw24 on April 20th, 2010
The Detroit Lions have the 2nd pick in Thursday’s NFL draft, and they face a difficult decision. Believe it or not, the Lions 2-14 record was actually a major improvent on their historical 2008 mark of 0-16. The Lions were actually competitive in a number of games and have something to build on with Matthew Stafford, who at times looked like a star and other times looked like a rookie, and Calvin Johnson who is an absoulte stud. The question for the Lions is who do they take with the #2 pick in the draft. I think you have to narrow it down to two guys, the best offensive lineman in the draft, Oklahoma State’s Russell Okung, and prehaps the best player in this years draft, Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. Like nearly every unit on a 2-14 team, the offensive and defensive lines need upgrades, but with Jeff Backus and 2008 first round pick Gosder Cherilus, the Lions are pretty solid at the offensive tackles. The defensive line however, is another story. The Lions ranked 26th in rush defense and 29th in sacks, so their defensive line neither plugged holes nor rushed the passer effectively. For those reasons, Ndamuknog Suh should be the selection. Suh was the most dominant player in college football last season, as he was often double and triple teamed, but was still very productive in one of the top two conferences in college football. Many believe that Suh has the ability to step into the NFL right away and help a team improve, which is something that the Lion’s defense sorely needs. If the Lions take Suh, it will be a big step forward for their defense, as he will be able to anchor that side of the ball for the next decade.
by Josh Weiner at the Sports Fan Blog Network
