Lions Fill Some of Many Holes

Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.

Let's face reality. The Detroit Lions could have had ten picks in the first round and still not addressed every hole they had on their team. Instead, they had to make due with two first-rounders, then do the best they could to fill holes over the course of the draft.

This draft will always be measured by the success or failure of top pick Matthew Stafford. Besides the money the Lions had to give him, he is the top pick of the draft by a team that went 0-16 last year, and has been the laughingstock of the NFC for many years.

(I'd say "laughingstock of the NFL", but we all know the Raiders own that.)

Stafford has a big arm, a big personality, and appears to be embracing this challenge in Detroit. You could argue that anyone could embrace the Lions if they offer up $40 million-plus, but Stafford is saying all the right things publicly. That's a big deal for his new teammates. Part of his job leading up to training camp will be giving the fans something and someone to believe in. The Lions haven't had a good quarterback for so many years that even long-time Lions supporters don't know what it feels like to have one.

More notable for the Lions may have been the decision to pick up Oklahoma State tight end Brandon Pettigrew with the 20th pick in the first round. The Lions could have justifiably taken offensive tackle Michael Oher with that selection, but it also made sense to give Stafford a young, dynamic playmaker at a position underutilized by many NFL teams. Pettigrew will be Stafford's safety blanket, a reliable short- and medium-range target who will catch the football and also provide good blocking when needed.

Did the Lions address defensive issues adequately? Probably not. Instead, they decided to attack the offensive problems, and they did a pretty good job of that in the first round. The rest of the draft is a hodgepodge of offensive guys, with just a couple of defensive players thrown in.

Yes, the Lions had a horrible defense a year ago, but the offense was bad, too. Once you get deep in the draft, it's wise to trust the board, and not worry about needs, especially when you have this many.

As a result, Detroit likely needs to find a couple street veterans to help out on the defensive side of the ball.

Draft picks

1 (1) Stafford, QB, Georgia
1 (20) Pettigrew, TE, Oklahoma State
2 (33) Louis Delmas, S, Western Michigan
3 (76) DeAndre Levy, LB, Wisconsin
3 (82) Derrick Williams, WR, Penn State
4 (115) Sammie Lee Hill, DT, Stillman
6 (192) Aaron Brown, RB, TCU
7 (228) Lydon Murtha, OT, Nebraska
7 (235) Zach Follett, LB, California
7 (255) Dan Gronkowski, TE, Maryland

GRADE: B. Outside of Stafford and Pettigrew, this is a decent haul of players. Delmas and Levy should be able to help immediately with their athleticism.

Brown provides depth at the troublesome running back position, and Gronkowski is a tough kid who can block.

The Lions could have done just about anything here and helped their team. They have put themselves in a position to start the long process of recovering from last year's embarrassment.