NFL Blogging: Final Draft

Ah, the draft.

First, the good news. Jason Jones went in the second round, pick #54 overall. My mother reports that his mother has been scheduled to be off of work for the past few days. So no pulling up in a massive Cadillac and a fur coat to tell off the boss yet. But, hey, mother's day is right around the corner. From what I've read, it was a bit of a reach for the Titans who've been slammed for a poor draft (Oddly enough because they didn't pick a wide receiver.) so we'll have to see how that turns out.

Second, the bad news. The Lions, in accordance with league rules, were actually allowed to make their picks. Really, at this point, there needs to be an intervention. Taking draft picks away from Matt Millen is like taking a highball out of an alcoholic's hand.

I should say that any attempt at deciding what happened over the weekend will have to wait until months if not years down the road. Grading a draft of unproven players who've yet to take a snap at the pro level is about as stupid as trying to predict it. You have to see how these players pan out before you can tell how teams did yesterday.

That said, I didn't have high expectations heading in - because, you know, it's Millen - and I'm displeased to say the Lions lived down to them wonderfully. They missed out on a lot of the players they targeted in the late rounds - where scouts really make their bones. But reaching to take Cherilius is just a microcosm of everything the Lions have done wrong in the draft over the years.

I'm not sure I follow the logic that says they needed to take Mendenhall. The back they picked up in the third might be serviceable enough and it's not like they didn't have a lot of holes to fix. But I do follow the logic that says Cherilius was predicted to go a lot later and they could have traded even further down, pocketing a few more late picks, if they really wanted him. And even if they did, there were better linesmen out there - the guy's a right tackle and, in the NFL, the money's over at left.

And I'm not exactly sold on Dizon being the second coming of Chris Spielman, either.


All in all, I'm glad I watched the Wings game instead.