| Carl Setterlund. 17th May, 2006 - 3:58 am
 Picks:
1st Round: Ernie Sims, OLB, Florida State (9)
2nd Round: Daniel Bullocks, S, Nebraska (40)
3rd Round: Brian Calhoun, RB, Wisconsin (74)
4th Round: none
5th Round: Jonathan Scott, OT, Texas (141)
6th Round: Alton McCann, CB, West Virginia (179)
7th Round: Fred Matua, OG, USC (217); Anthony Cannon, OLB, Tulane (247)
If not overwhelming, I think what Detroit did this year, in the dawn of the Rod Marinelli era, was smart. Marinelli finally got Matt Millen to look at it differently, that swinging for a home run and missing all the time isn’t nearly as good as picking good, hard working players that add up eventually and turn your team not only into a pretty talented one, but a good one as well. Sims really rose at the end and I’ve never been sure he was a top ten pick kind of guy, but like Buffalo with Whitner, you can’t fault the Lions for finding the guy the liked and grabbing him. Ernie Sims probably isn’t a young Derrick Brooks but Marinelli is much more qualified than I to make that kind of assessment.
I had Bullocks as a sleeper to move up into the late first round with such a demand on safeties and I really like getting him at forty. Daniel Bullocks to me is one of those guys that you see in advance has the tools, the work ethic, the ability, everything and you know that while he’s probably not a star he’s almost a lock to be a really nice player in this defense.
In the third round, I don’t think Detroit was expecting to get an every-down back in Brian Calhoun and they honestly didn’t. He’s a nice player, though a little small, and he’s going to help spell Kevin Jones who always seems to need it. This pick was probably worth it to the running game in the grand scheme of things.
If you need to pick out one thing the Lions did right on the second day, it was the offensive linemen they drafted. Cornerback Alton McCann probably isn’t anything and I’ve honestly never heard of linebacker Anthony Cannon (sorry Tulane).
But the linemen salvaged things to an extent. Both Jonathan Scott and Fred Matua were supposed to be first day picks but slid for some reason. Matua is a guy who’s going to make the locker room loads of fun and on the field he’s got that fire you look for to be burning in a lineman. Scott is more of an underachiever but has a much higher ceiling.
Marinelli seems like one of those guys who gets the most out of his players and this could be an early test for him. If Scott responds well, it changes the whole way you look at this draft.
Detroit made a good move addressing defense early and another good move looking at the offensive line later in the draft. In a year with a good talent level, the Lions come out of this thing with a solid group of players.
Grade - B |
