Lions & Rams Draft Update #2
In the days of shadows and light before the 2009 NFL Draft, there is nothing concrete beyond the Detroit Lions and St. Louis Rams own the first two selections.
Is Matt Stafford going to be the guy in the first chair? Various media outlets have reported the Lions have made up their mind and will take the Georgia quarterback. It’s also been reported that the Rams will go with Baylor tackle Jason Smith in the second position.
But the facts as we know them don’t match up. It’s time to update.
DETROIT
Lions President Tom Lewand spoke this week and tried to say as little as possible about his team and its plans for the No. 1 pick.
“I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but I don’t think it does us a whole lot of good to discuss publicly what kinds of negotiations we’ve had or parameters we’ve been outlining with representatives for different players,” Lewand said, as quoted by the Detroit News. “I think what’s important for us to do is make sure all components involving particularly the No. 1 overall draft choice are in place before we make that selection.
“That’s a very dynamic process right now, particularly with where our system is. It’s not just the player and his ability on the field, although that’s obviously the bulk of it. But it’s the player off the field, and it’s the contract, and how that fits into things.”
When asked if Stafford was the choice, or whether they were undecided, Lewand said only that the team continues to gather information on all prospects and all discussions remain internal.
Lewand also said that it wasn’t imperative that the Lions have a signed contract with the choice before the draft, only that it was a pre-draft goal to have a deal done to eliminate possible distractions, meaning a lengthy holdout.
“It is certainly a goal of ours,” Lewand said, as quoted by the Detroit Free-Press. “I think the teams that have been able to sign their player prior to the draft have seen a better measure of success by and large. Now is that because there’s a contract in place? I don’t know if there’s a causal effect or not.”
ST. LOUIS
Rams GM Billy Devaney talked about the problem of a team like his, sitting in the second spot in the first round, trying to deal away the pick.
“Teams picking at the top — the first two, three picks of the draft — as a rule aren’t very good,” Devaney told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “There’s a reason why they’re picking there. And one player’s not going to make an immediate difference. Those teams would love to trade back, get more players. They need better players on their roster.”
League economics have made it riskier for teams to move up. The Rams are looking at a potential overall contract of $50 million with guaranteed money in excess of $20 million if they keep the second pick. “That’s a big part of it — committing that much money to one person,” Devaney said.
Former Rams GM Charley Armey spoke this week and cautioned the team about moving out of the second position.
“The No. 1 cardinal rule for me absolutely, without question, is do not trade out of an impact position because there’s only a few impact players,” Armey told the Post-Dispatch. “Some years I’ve been in the draft, it was only around six impact players. The year Orlando Pace was in the draft (1997), there was only about six. The year we took Torry Holt (1999), there were about 13.”
The Post-Dispatch has identified 22 of the 30 visits potential draft picks can make to the Rams are allowed to have to their offices:
QUARTERBACK: Thomas Brandstater, Fresno State; Josh Freeman, Kansas State; Mark Sanchez, Southern California. WIDE RECEIVER: Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech; Darrius Heyward-Bey, Maryland Jeremy Maclin, Missouri; Hakeem Nicks, North Carolina; Brandon Tate, North Carolina. OFFENSIVE TACKLE: William Beatty, Connecticut; Eugene Monroe, Virginia; Michael Oher, Mississippi; Jason Smith, Baylor.
DEFENSIVE LINE: Ziggy Hood (DT), Missouri; Peria Jerry (DT), Mississippi; Tyson Jackson (DE/DT), Louisiana St.; Lawrence Sidbury (DE), Richmond. LINEBACKER: Connor Barwin, Cincinnati; Aaron Curry, Wake Forest; Rey Maualuga, Southern California; Larry English (LB/DE), N. Illinois. CORNERBACK: Darius Butler, Connecticut; Mike Mickens, Cincinnati.
I completely agree with Charley Armey’s theory. Get a great football player up there in the top 5, if you can. Why would you trade down for inferior talent?
^^^ Let me add to that: I think trading down for lesser talent is short term thinking. People think you can fill a couple of needs with the extra pick or two– fills a short term need.
Give me a chance on a superstar, who will play in the league for 10 years, over a guy you’ll be looking to upgrade in three years, any time!
To me, Detroit will take Stafford, and the Rams will lock up left tackle, with Monroe or Smith…I think KC tries to trade back, but teams behind them will deal back as well and since kc poses no threat at taking a QB, they end up stuck and take Curry. I love this scenario, but it would feel better if we got that 2nd for Tony G…would really make a difference to have that 2nd to spend on a guy like Loadholt
If you trade down you could make your team better faster. Say we trade down with Philly, we get Everette Brown and Eben Britten as our OLB and RT and they do a great job and start for us for years. We could also get a second round pick and we could get DE Jarron Gilbert. Those three players start for us for the next few years and we would have a better team now and in the future than if you only have one choice and get Curry. Curry doesnt solve the pass rush situation because he isnt a great pass rusher. He doesnt help out on offense like Britten would do. Even if Curry did a great job you have to have a Dline to keep the olinemen off of the LBs.
As much as I like Curry, we have a lot of wholes to fill. The problem is that noone thinks that we will take a QB at #3 making it hard to find a trade partner to trade down. Why not start shopping Thiggy, make everyone think that we might take a QB at 3. If that doesn’t work, take Stafford/Sanchez and look to trade him immediately. Worst case scenario we get stuck with a high priced rookie carrying a clipboard for a year or 2, best case scenario, we get our trade partner and are able to get a couple of good D front 7 instead of just one.
No one thinks we will take a QB but Seattle might and so they will want to get in front of Seattle to KCs spot at 3. I think we should keep thigpen, we finally get to hold onto.
I’d rather hold on to Thiggy too, and you may be right about someone trading up to get ahead of Seattle, but I think they need to explore every option to trade out of the #3 spot. Too many holes, not enough picks