What You May Not Have Known About the Lions Draft

Let me start with the 76th pick of the draft, DeAndre Levy of Wisconsin. This was without question the harshest graded pick in all circles considering the Lions' draft. I believe it is because he was LISTED as an OLB. Probably the 1 position on the Detroit Lions where they NEED NO HELP. But here's the thing. The Lions coaching staff drafted Levy as a Middle Linebacker. They had no intentions of playing him outside. He is smallish, only 238, but he is 6'2. I would bet that come preseason, Levy will be up to 245. He then would be a 6'2 245 MLB who can run a 4.50 or under 40 yard dash. Levy has a history of lighting up the biggest backs in college football, and at Wisconsin actually played a lot of inside LB. I am not saying that this pick is now a "A" grade, but it's definitely not a D or F.

6th Round Pick Aaron Brown was the 3rd best KR in the NCAA last season amongst full time KR. He averaged 30 yards per return. 3rd rd pick Derrick Williams was one of the top PR in the nation over that past 4 years. He returned 6 kicks for TD in his career at PSU. The Lions best PR was ranked 35th in the league, and their best KR was ranked 48th. Obviously this was a huge need for the Lions. It is a need that gets overlooked by casual fans, but if you are giving up 5 yards on each KR/PR exchange, throughout the season that is going to catch up with you.

To me these topics have been overlooked when people in the area talk about the draft. They instantly say all 3 of these selections were wasted picks. I say lets wait and see. If starting the 2010 NFL season DeAndre Levy is the team's starting MLB, Derrick Williams is in the slot and returning punts, and Aaron Brown is taking back Kick Returns like Mel Gray. Then we will have some people wondering why they questioned these picks.