Detroit & St. Louis Draft Update 4/20
With the clock ticking, the pressure ratchets up on the teams at the top of Saturday’s first round of the 2009 NFL Draft.
So we check in with the Lions and Rams five days out.
DETROIT
In the past five days, the Detroit Lions have met with the agents for three players that are under consideration as the first selection in the 2009 NFL Draft: QB Matt Stafford, OT Jason Smith and LB Aaron Curry.
But they gave none of those representatives any clue as to their direction with the choice. That will likely come in the next few days. If the Lions are serious about having an agreement in place with a player before they turn his name in at little bit after 3 p.m. CDT this Saturday, then they will have to get busy in the next four days to hammer out a deal.
As the Lions wrapped up a weekend veteran mini-camp, head coach Jim Schwartz was not interested in tipping the club’s hand.
“We’re still exploring all options,” Schwartz told the Michigan media. “You guys have seen the people that have been in here. We’re still exploring all options right now.”
Schwartz was asked when he would like the decision to be made on the top pick.
“I really haven’t put a timetable on that,” he said. “What time’s the draft start?”
ST. LOUIS
The Rams had Baylor OT Jason Smith into Sat. Louis for a visit. They had Virginia OT Eugene Monroe in the ‘Loo at the same time.
“I don’t know if they like me more than they like Monroe,” Smith told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I don’t know if they’re going to draft me or Monroe. I do know that they like me, and at the end of the day they need a tackle because they let Orlando Pace go. So who knows? They may draft Andre Smith.”
Jason Smith, Monroe and another OT with first round credentials Michael Oher of Mississippi were in St. Louis last week.
“I met all the coaches, the GM, I met all the player personnel guys,” Smith said. “I met all the scouts. There were a lot of other players there.”
The Post-Dispatch has asked readers to vote on what the Rams should do with the No. 2 pick. With 4,583 voters in the pool Monday morning, 52 percent felt St. Louis should pick a player an d 48 percent believe they should make a deal.
Way to blow your punch line, author!
Any one understand that last sentence?
i understoo
d it
LMAO, Ace.
Perfect!
Oh, I bet you did
I wish that the lions would sign someone by thursday so then we can decide who we want.
I wish that you could sign the top 5 picks before the draft started. Like if the first guy is signed, then the second team can sign the second guy and so on… this would prevent holdouts and let teams in the top 5 decide which player has best value..
I think it’s smart for detroit to bring in agents of all three top guys, because when i heard currys agents went to detroit i thought that meant he was the top pick..
If Stafford is passed up with the first pick is that good or bad for us?
Who cares when Stafford goes? When the Chiefs get to pick either Curry or Monroe will be there. They should take one of them. Plain and simple.
Chuck Diesel says:
“If Stafford is passed up with the first pick is that good or bad for us?”
I’d say that would be GREAT for us. That would mean that any number of QB hungry teams would be foaming at the mouth to trade for our #3 pick. If Stafford doesn’t go to Detroit, the Rams won’t take him…and everybody knows we won’t. But Seattle (at #4) will. We would be in an excellent position for the Jets, Tampa, Denver, etc. to have to bend over backward to get to Stafford.
I said it before and I’ll say it again, if Stafford is there and no one is making a decent offer for our number 3 pick, then I can totally see Pioli going ahead and drafting Stafford. When Eli Manning told the Chargers not to draft him 1st overall in 2004 because he refused to sign with them, the Chargers took him anyway. Then (if my memory serves me correctly) traded Eli and a 5th rounder to the Giants for Phillip Rivers (selected at pick 4) a 2nd rounder and a 1st the following year (2005).
If Pioli made a similar trade where he called a few teams bluffs and moved Stafford for a 1st, a 2nd, and a 1st in 2010, I think he’d prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was the brains of the operation in Foxboro.
Or, Stafford won’t be there and they’ll take an OT or Curry.
Best case scenario for Pioli would be for Detroit to take Curry and have both top QB’s on the board when it’s his turn to pick. BUT it could back fire if those teams looking for a QB have Stafford and Sanchez rated close to the same, as they may feel that they will get a shot at one or the other.
One never knows.
I still think it would be worth the risk, if only one is available to take him and force a hungry GM to negotiate with the Chiefs.
Or the Lions take Stafford at #1, and some qb hungry team panics to get Sanchez and gives us the same or near same deal.
I think our chances greatly increase in making a deal Saturday if Stafford is taken by the Lions. The Seahawks and Browns have both said they would take Sanchez at #4 or #5 respectively, if he were there. It could all be smokescreens, but it also forces those desperate teams to deal with devil so to speak. I’d love to get our 2nd rounder back and another 1st next year if someone were so desperate to make that kind of offer. Maybe unlikely, but hey, I can dream.
GO CHIEFS!!!
RedandGoldRice says:
“Or the Lions take Stafford at #1, and some qb hungry team panics to get Sanchez and gives us the same or near same deal.”
Yeah…I mentioned that before a time or two. And it’s far more likely to happen. I think Detroit is blowing BS, and has every intention of taking Stafford. They’re just trying to drive the price down a little. I think Sanchez is the real wild card here…and our biggest hope of unloading our #3 pick for more picks. My dream is Denver giving us their #12 & #18 for our #3. They did have Sanchez in for a workout just the other day…and I just can’t see him falling to them at #12. If they want him, they’ll have to move up…most likely up past Seattle, which is us.
I guess we’ll see.
This from the “rumors” page on ESPN. I know not everyone subscribes to “insider” so I thought I’d share this with you guys. SUPER EXCITING if it holds any water.
Intrigue surrounds Chiefs, Sanchez
Apparently we’re starting to see who will become the fulcrum upon which this year’s draft oscillates. It’s USC quarterback Mark Sanchez, and as teams vie to get into a solid position to draft him, the fate of franchises could hang in the balance.
Both the Seattle Seahawks, the team sitting at fourth in the first round, and the Cleveland Browns, sitting fifth, have been doing their due diligence on Sanchez, and some indications are that either team would be happy to take Sanchez if he were available at those positions. Michael Lombardi of the National Football Post reports that the Browns could be trading Brady Quinn sometime this week in order to make room for Sanchez on Saturday. As mentioned above, the Denver Broncos are holding a private workout with Sanchez on Tuesday, and they could possibly be looking to trade up to strengthen their chances. Lastly, in a scenario spelled out by Peter King in his Monday Morning Quarterback column today, the Washington Redskins are apparently very smitten with Sanchez, and could trade up to get him as well.
What all of this means is that Kansas City Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli is in an enviable position. The rumor is that Pioli was uncomfortable with the No. 3 pick to begin with, and this increasing wave of interest in Sanchez means that he could be deciding between multiple generous offers from teams looking to jump ahead of the Seahawks and Browns. As King noted in his column, from 2000 to 2008 while Pioli was with the New England Patriots, the team completed 28 draft weekend trades, 12 times moving up and 16 times moving down. In other words, this is not a man who will have cold feet when it comes time to pull the trigger on a swap.
Taking into account the possible ammunition that another team could offer, the Broncos are a more likely trading partner compared with the Redskins. However, given the need for help on the defensive side of the ball, the Broncos could stick with their two first-rounders and let the Redskins overpay for the No. 3 pick. In any case, with the third overall pick likely to earn a paycheck in the neighborhood of $11 million per year, and the Chiefs in possession of a solid if still somewhat green quarterback, a trade is likely before Saturday.
why before Saturday? Why not when the Chiefs are on the clock?
I’d be shocked if Denver deals with a division rival. I don’t think we should hold our breath for that scenario.