fishypete
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Lions will consider drafting Stanton
Sunday, April 22, 2007 By Tom Kowalski
ALLEN PARK -- NFL draft analysts kept getting it wrong.
When all of the mock drafts began appearing a couple of months ago, most analysts had the Detroit Lions taking a quarterback -- either Louisiana State's JaMarcus Russell or Notre Dame's Brady Quinn -- with the second overall pick. It didn't take a leap of logic to understand the reasoning.
Lions starter Jon Kitna is going to be 35 years old this season, backup Josh McCown has only one year left on his contract and Dan Orlovsky is an unproven commodity. It wasn't a stretch to believe the Lions would take advantage of their lofty draft status to grab a "franchise" quarterback.
There is one small detail, though, that has thrown a wrench into the works. Lions head coach Rod Marinelli is absolutely convinced the Lions can win with Kitna, not just this year but next season as well. Marinelli believes the team has more pressing needs on defense and that's the direction the Lions hope to take in the first few rounds of the draft.
The analysts have slowly come around to Marinelli's way of thinking -- they might not agree with it, but they accept it -- and that's why few mock drafts now have the Lions taking a quarterback with the second overall pick.
But the analysts can take a little solace because they didn't have it completely wrong. The Lions are in the market for a quarterback, just not in the first round. McCown won't be with the team next season and he might not even be around this year -- the Lions are continuing to talk about a possible trade with the Oakland Raiders.
At the NFL combine in February, Lions president Matt Millen was raving about the performance of Michigan State's Drew Stanton.
"He's one of those guys that, at the end of the day, this kid really helped himself," Millen said. "It's his athleticism, all the measurables, plus he can do things other kids can't do and it comes natural to him. I think he's going to do really well and that kid has a big future. Anything you can measure him on, he's going to come out with flying colors. And he loves to compete."
The Lions could have a shot at Stanton at the top of the second round but, again, it might come down to necessity and if there's an available middle linebacker or cornerback -- two big needs for the defense -- the Lions might reluctantly pass on Stanton.
In the next couple of rounds, there are two other quarterback candidates who have steadily climbed the draft boards: Trent Edwards of Stanford and John Beck of BYU.
Edwards has the intelligence to absorb the system of coordinator Mike Martz quickly and that's the first criteria. Edwards has a tendency to get into bad habits with his footwork and mechanics but that's something Martz believes he can correct rather quickly. Another issue is his accuracy and there are differing opinions on whether Edwards is good enough to be consistent at the pro level.
Beck is an interesting prospect because he'll enter the NFL as a 25-year-old rookie. He got a late start because he went on a church mission to Portugal before starting his college career. The knock on Beck is that he doesn't have ideal size (he's 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds), but he's like many of the Brigham Young quarterbacks of the past: excellent touch, accuracy and a quick release.
Unlike Edwards, Beck doesn't leave the pocket at the first sign of trouble but will hang in there until the last minute -- another thing Martz likes.
Sunday, April 22, 2007 By Tom Kowalski
ALLEN PARK -- NFL draft analysts kept getting it wrong.
When all of the mock drafts began appearing a couple of months ago, most analysts had the Detroit Lions taking a quarterback -- either Louisiana State's JaMarcus Russell or Notre Dame's Brady Quinn -- with the second overall pick. It didn't take a leap of logic to understand the reasoning.
Lions starter Jon Kitna is going to be 35 years old this season, backup Josh McCown has only one year left on his contract and Dan Orlovsky is an unproven commodity. It wasn't a stretch to believe the Lions would take advantage of their lofty draft status to grab a "franchise" quarterback.
There is one small detail, though, that has thrown a wrench into the works. Lions head coach Rod Marinelli is absolutely convinced the Lions can win with Kitna, not just this year but next season as well. Marinelli believes the team has more pressing needs on defense and that's the direction the Lions hope to take in the first few rounds of the draft.
The analysts have slowly come around to Marinelli's way of thinking -- they might not agree with it, but they accept it -- and that's why few mock drafts now have the Lions taking a quarterback with the second overall pick.
But the analysts can take a little solace because they didn't have it completely wrong. The Lions are in the market for a quarterback, just not in the first round. McCown won't be with the team next season and he might not even be around this year -- the Lions are continuing to talk about a possible trade with the Oakland Raiders.
At the NFL combine in February, Lions president Matt Millen was raving about the performance of Michigan State's Drew Stanton.
"He's one of those guys that, at the end of the day, this kid really helped himself," Millen said. "It's his athleticism, all the measurables, plus he can do things other kids can't do and it comes natural to him. I think he's going to do really well and that kid has a big future. Anything you can measure him on, he's going to come out with flying colors. And he loves to compete."
The Lions could have a shot at Stanton at the top of the second round but, again, it might come down to necessity and if there's an available middle linebacker or cornerback -- two big needs for the defense -- the Lions might reluctantly pass on Stanton.
In the next couple of rounds, there are two other quarterback candidates who have steadily climbed the draft boards: Trent Edwards of Stanford and John Beck of BYU.
Edwards has the intelligence to absorb the system of coordinator Mike Martz quickly and that's the first criteria. Edwards has a tendency to get into bad habits with his footwork and mechanics but that's something Martz believes he can correct rather quickly. Another issue is his accuracy and there are differing opinions on whether Edwards is good enough to be consistent at the pro level.
Beck is an interesting prospect because he'll enter the NFL as a 25-year-old rookie. He got a late start because he went on a church mission to Portugal before starting his college career. The knock on Beck is that he doesn't have ideal size (he's 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds), but he's like many of the Brigham Young quarterbacks of the past: excellent touch, accuracy and a quick release.
Unlike Edwards, Beck doesn't leave the pocket at the first sign of trouble but will hang in there until the last minute -- another thing Martz likes.
