MSU Red Cedar Message Board

and....

Mine would be:

1. Jenkins
2. Claiborne
3. Gilmore
4. Kirkpatrick

Even though I usually disagree with you, alamo, I appreciate your role as an antagonist, better than just everybody agreeing with each other. And, you might not be far off with your CB rankings. Having Jenkins ahead of Claiborne seems a little extreme, I mean, if he were that good, off the field stuff wouldn't matter and he'd be a top 10 draft pick easy. But, it's not crazy to think he's better than Gilmore and Kirkpatrick, who I'm not totally sold on to begin with. There was some talk on another thread about taking another position at 23 and then trading up in the 2nd round to get Jenkins, I would love that. But, the Lions have been so hush hush about Jenkins, and they've drafted people who they haven't brought in to work out, at this point it wouldn't be a shock. This time of the year, it's important to remember that all of these mocks are usually horribly wrong, we don't really know what teams think about Gilmore and Kirkpatrick - it's not outside the realm of possibility that they are both there when we pick.

No RB for first 2-3 rounds plz!

I think we just need to see what value is there at 23. If they take a DT, WR, QB or TE; I'll be unhappy. Every other position could use a little bit of help. I don't see any standout linebackers at the moment so I'd probably grumble about a pick there. We could use upgrades at DE (more of an upcoming problem for 2013), RB (does anyone really trust our current group), OL (Backus and Raiola getting old, Gosder being Gosder, and Peterman being Peterman), and DB's (I really don't want to see Aaron Berry or Amari Spievey starting in another playoff game). That gives four positions where I see possible value. Jenkins has the most upside of any player in that spot but also the most red flags. If they take him, we just need to hold our breaths.

I agree wholeheartedly with your post. The DT, QB, WR and TE positions are probably the only ones off limits at #23. There could be some great values at the other slots. I would not complain if they chose any other position, and it is going to be interesting to see which players they have to choose from.

We could concievably see any of the following players that most project in the 1st round available at #23:

RB - Doug Martin
OL - Cordy Glenn/Amini Silatolu
DE - Whitney Mercilus/Chandler Jones
LB - Dont'a Hightower/Courtney Upshaw
CB - Janoris Jenkins/Stephon Gilmore/Dre Kirkpatrick

I would probably rank them the following:

1) Stephon Gilmore - have to take him if he's there. Starts right away, and doesn't come with the baggage of other CBs.
2) Doug Martin - I think there is a large drop off at RB after this, though LaMichael James would be a good find in the 2nd/3rd.
3) Cordy Glenn - probably starts at RG from day 1, and has versatility to move to OT. I couldn't argue if they favored him more than Martin.
4) Dre Kirkpatrick - solid CB, would start right away, but does he fit the scheme well?
5) Courtney Upshaw - versatile rush LB/DE who could see time at multiple positions.
6) Whitney Mercilus - Frees up Avril as trade bait, and bolsters the DEs.
7) Chandler Jones - Same idea as Mercilus, but who does Detroit like better of the two?
8) Amini Silatolu - Might be reaching at 23 a bit, but they may like him more than Cordy Glenn.
9) Janoris Jenkins - I really like him, and he may be the most talented CB in the draft, but I'd much rather take him with the 2nd rounder.
10) Dont'a Hightower - I might be underrating him, but though he is talented, I don't know that he fills a need right now, and likely wouldn't start over our current LBs.

Thoughts?

Also the Lions brought in for visits: CB- 6 players, DE- 6, WR- 6, RB- 6, G- 5, T- 5, S- 2, TE- 2, LB- 1, C- 1. So I'd look for their draft shape up similar to that.

Because unless there is a serious issue with Leshoure (long suspension) they don't need one and what they need on offense is young lineman.

RBs are becoming less and less important in the NFL.

Waste of a pick if they take one in the 1st or 2nd round

That's why I said serious issue. Players fully recover from blown Achilles all the time. If it's found that he is not fully recovered and will never be 100% (doubtful) that's a different story but either way overall the Lions even without a number one back can score like there's no tomorrow but can't stop other teams. It's a no brainer to go defense with your first pick.

Jenkins has 4 kids and was a big enough thug to get thrown out of the dumpster fire that was UF at the end of the Meyer regime and you would take him over a kid who the LSU coaches say was a better cover corner than PP7, had no issues off the field and was productive his entire career?

Not sure where to start with that.

Just remember, anytime a player "blows up" or starts to "head down" in dramatic fashion right before the draft, that is the work of clubs "leaking" info anonymously to multiple sources to better position themselves to get the player they want...

I'm not a big Doug Martin fan or a fan of taking a RB early, in a perfect world we'd get a CB who is BPA, but if Doug Martin happens to be the BPA then I'd take him.