Scout.com: Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions - NFC North

Georgia QB Matthew Stafford

By Staff

CollegeFootballNews.com
Posted Apr 27, 2009

Detroit Lions - NFC North, 2009 Draft Selections & Prospects

Detroit Lions

#	Pick
1	1	1st Round Matthew Stafford, QB Georgia 6-2, 225 (Jr.) Everyone knew he was going to be a pro out of high school, and he didn’t disappoint. While he failed to lead Georgia to a national title, and didn’t even get the Dawgs to the SEC championship game, Stafford showed off the arm strength and the talent from day one to make everyone assume he was going to become a NFL starter in the very near future. While he’s not the biggest passer around, NFL types tend to like the tall, 6-4ish bombers, he has an arm that can throw a pea through a brick wall. He can make all the throws and he has the character and makeup to handle the pressure of being a franchise savior. Extremely smart, he’ll be ahead of the curve when it comes to reading defenses after a little bit of time. Now he needs to be more consistent and he’ll need elite coaching to work on his accuracy. His problems are fixable, but the big issue hanging out there is why Georgia didn’t do more with Stafford under center. The Dawgs were fine, but Stafford didn’t take the program to another level. While he won’t have a Matt Ryan-like first season, he’ll end up being the better player over time. *CFN Value Rank:* First Round, First Pick Overall CFN Position Rank:* 1*
20	20	1st Round Brandon Pettigrew, TE Oklahoma State 6-5, 260 While he looks like a prototype NFL tight end, there are big red flags. He’s huge, a big, willing blocker, and he’s a strong receiver with soft hands and good enough skills to dominate for a passing game. However, he’s slow. Really, really slow. Totally underwhelming at the Combine, he didn’t look anything like a potential Pro Bowl tight end who deserves to be taken in the first round. His route running needs work and while he’ll work hard to be better, he could need a lot of NFL coaching before he’s close to being polished. *CFN Value Rank:* First Round CFN Position Rank: 1
1	33	2nd Round Louis Delmas, FS Western Michigan 5-11, 202 For good and bad, he’s a major-league hitter, often going for the kill shot and missing when he should simply be wrapping up. However, he’s an intimidating force who’ll spend plenty of time featured on the Jacked Up highlight reel. He’ll do whatever is needed against the run, but he has to get stronger after only coming up with 12 reps on the bench at the Combine. Given time, he could be the leader and the sheriff of the secondary, and he should be a fan favorite as long as he can stay on the field. With the way he plays, he might have a short shelf life. *CFN Value Rank:* Second Round CFN Position Rank: 3
12	76	3rd Round (New Orleans through NY Jets) DeAndre Levy, LB Wisconsin 6-2, 235 He’s not all that big and he has to get a lot stronger, but he’s a speedy defender who gets to the ball from anywhere on the field and keeps good gains from being big backbreakers. He’s never going to hold up and stuff the run at the line and he’ll get erased when a blocker is able to lock on, but he moves well and could be a major producer if he’s surrounded by tough linebackers in a 3-4. If nothing else, he could be a great special teamer and he should be able to grow into a pass rushing specialist. *CFN Value Rank:* Sixth Round CFN Position Rank: 12
18	82	3rd Round (from Dallas) Derrick Williams, WR Penn State 5-11, 195 He’ll go on the cheap compared to Jeremy Maclin and Percy Harvin, similar players who have a better buzz. No, Williams isn’t as fast as some of the top prospects and he was a disappointment as a receiver considering he was considered the nation’s top high school prospect. However, he’s a versatile playmaker who’ll be used as a returner and can get a few carries per game. While he might not be a special NFL receiver, he’ll likely hang around the league for a decade and be very, very solid as a dirty work, inside target. *CFN Value Rank:* Second Round CFN Position Rank: 7
15	115	4th Round (from Washington through NY Jets) Sammie Lee Hill, DT Stillman 6-4, 335 Really big and really strong, as long as he doesn’t have to move anywhere he’ll be fine. Lack of big-time competition is an issue, and it’s not like he did anything to show he could handle the top-shelf players in post-season workouts. He’ll need to be handled with kid gloves while at the same time he has to have a fire lit under him. Not exactly a go-getter, he has to hit the weights harder and he’ll have to learn how to go full-tilt all the time. Until then he could be a situational run stuffer who takes up space. *CFN Value Rank:* Fourth Round CFN Position Rank: 14
19	192	6th Round (from Dallas) Aaron Brown, TCU 6-0, 195 Always a tease, Brown showed just enough explosiveness and production to make Horned Frog fans think he could be a special star who could carry the offense, but he couldn’t stay healthy with a variety of leg injuries. While he’s not a blazer, he has good speed and quickness with a shifty running style that could make him a good complementary back. He’s not going to bring any power and he can’t carry the ball on a regular basis, but he was strong in off-season workouts and has great upside with the right coaching. *CFN Value Rank:* Seventh Round CFN Position Rank: 25
19	228	7th Round (from New York Jets) Lydon Murtha, OT Nebraska 6-7, 305 He was supposed to be a superstar coming out of high school and it never happened. He’s on the map because he’s very big, very long, and shockingly fast and athletic. After a great Combine, he’s worthy of getting a harder look, but he’s always going to have health issues and he’s never going to be powerful enough to be a good run blocker. However, if it all comes together, he could be a rare left tackle prospect found late in the draft. *CFN Value Rank:* Sixth Round CFN Position Rank: 19
26	235	7th Round (from Denver through Atlanta) Zack Follett, LB California 6-2, 235 A football meathead, but in a good way (sort of), he’s an ultra-aggressive hitter who fights to make every play. Strictly a strongside linebacker, he plays bigger than his size by taking on any blockers and tossing them aside. He showed decent athleticism in off-season workouts and he jumped 37” up, tying Aaron Curry for the best among the linebackers at the Combine. The downside to his physical play was his injury issues. He’ll always be dinged up, but that’s how he plays. *CFN Value Rank:* Fifth Round CFN Position Rank: 14
46	255	7th Round Dan Gronkowski, TE Maryland 6-5, 255 If he’s asked to be just a blocker, he’ll be a big producer for a power offense. If he’s asked to be a receiver, forget about it. He’s a good guy who’ll work his tail off to become a better route runner and a receiver, but he’s not a natural pass catcher. Freakishly strong, he could stick by shoving some people around and by doing everything asked of him. He’ll be worth the flier. *CFN Value Rank:* Sixth Round CFN Position Rank: 15

2008

The Draft Was ... Good on straight-up football players. LB Jordon Dizon, RB Kevin Smith, and WR Kenneth Moore aren't going to have the prototype measurables, but they can play. Things fell off the track late, but the Lions nailed their first six picks when it comes to value.
Best Value Pick: Kenneth Moore, WR Wake Forest. 5th round. Tremendously productive, he should blow up as a third receiver and an inside target. He'll kill teams who have to focus on Calvin Johnson and Roy Williams.
Biggest Reach: Caleb Campbell, S Army. 7th round. While he's a great story, he probably wouldn't have been drafted if he didn't go to Army.
They Should've ... Taken some corner fliers late. Landon Cohen isn't going to make the team and Campbell will only stick if he becomes too good a story to cut. The Lions should've used their last two picks on out-of-the-box corner prospects to hope one could come through.

#	Pick
17	17	1st Round (from Kansas City) Gosder Cherilus, OT Boston College One of the high risers after a good off-season, he's a 6-7, 315-pound athlete who destroys defenders when he gets the chance. He'll bust his tail to get better and will be coachable. The concern will be how well he handles a No. 1 pass rusher if he plays on the left side. More than fine if he spends his career on the right, there are concerns that the Virginia Tech games might have shown the real player he is. *CFN Value Rank:* First Round CFN Position Rank: 6

2nd Round Jordon Dizon, LB Colorado
An undersized, ultra-productive tackler who came up with a whopping 297 stops, most of them solo, over the last two seasons. He's always working, has a tremendous motor, and finds his way to the ball over and over again. He's a good athlete, but he's not an elite one and it'll be asking a lot to hold up in a 16-game schedule at just 5-11 and 229 pounds. He plays through everything, including dehydration issues, and he'll have to prove he can handle the duties on the outside, but he'll be a major-league producer in the right system.
CFN Value Rank: Third to Fourth Round CFN Position Rank: 8

3rd Round (from Miami) Kevin Smith, RB UCF
Would Smith be considered a first rounder if he was Kevin Smith, Florida instead of Kevin Smith, UCF? While his competition will be questioned, playing in Conference USA, he produced against everyone including NC State (217 yards and two touchdowns), Texas (149 yards and two touchdowns), and Mississippi State (119 yards, but on 35 carries). George O'Leary and the Knights weren't afraid to overuse their star getting him a whopping 450 carries and 24 catches last season, and he cranked out 2,567 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns despite having all 11 defenders and the waterboy focused on stopping him. He's a producer, but he'll have a short shelf life if he's asked to be a No. 1 back.
CFN Value Rank: Late Second To Early Third Round CFN Position Rank: 7

3rd Round Andre Fluellen, DT Florida State
He's not going to be your star tackle, but he'll be great at the third man in or next to a star. Extremely quick and with the athleticism to grow into a top interior pass rusher, if he gets the right coaching, he has a ton of upside. However, he'll get shoved around with anyone with any strength. He's not huge and he can't stay healthy, and he's not the playmaker he should be for a player with his athleticism.
CFN Value Rank: Third Round CFN Position Rank: 8

3rd Round (from Dallas) Cliff Avril, OLB/DE Purdue
What do you want to do with him? A huge linebacker at close to 6-3, 253 pounds, he can be used on the end and can be an ideal outside player in the 3-4. Big enough to be moved inside if needed, his versatility will keep him on a team for a long time. Strong, not just big, he can handle himself well against the more physical teams. However, he needs to be tougher against the run. He's not quite a good enough athlete to dominate on the outside; he'll be a jack-of-all-trades, master of none.
CFN Value Rank: Late Fourth Round To Early Fifth CFN Position Rank: 9 (as a LB)

136

5th Round (from trade) Kenneth Moore, WR Wake Forest
The former running back turned into an ultra-productive receiver in a non-passing offense. Despite being the focus of every secondary, he still caught 98 passes for 1,101 yards and five touchdowns with a few monster games when he caught everything in sight. He still needs some work to be a pro level route runner and he could use some overall fine-tuning, but he could become a very nice possession receiver who keeps the chains moving.
CFN Value Rank: Fourth Round CFN Position Rank: 19

146

5th Round (from trade) Jerome Felton, FB Furman
A good big-sized running back at 240 pounds, he can thump a little bit in short-yardage situations. While he's not fast, he's quick enough to get through the hole and crank out a few big runs. The problem is his blocking. He's not an NFL runner and he has to prove he can be physical enough to make a difference.
CFN Value Rank: Sixth Round CFN Position Rank: NR

216

7th Round Landon Cohen, DT Ohio
Too small at around six-feet and 280 pounds, he's a good athlete who was a solid producer at the MAC level. He's just not big enough to be a regular pro tackle. He's not enough of an interior pass rusher to be a regular in a rotation, but he could be worth developing.
CFN Value Rank: Free Agent CFN Position Rank: 31

218

7th Round (from trade) Caleb Campbell, SS Army
A superior tackling machine, he was the Army defense for the last few years and a tough defender who did a little of everything well. More like a smallish linebacker at 6-2 and 229 pounds, he hits like it. Not the best athlete, he struggles in coverage and missed a lot of plays by trying to do everything. He's a leader and a hard worker, but he'll have to show something special right away to stay on a team.
CFN Value Rank: Free Agent CFN Position Rank: 25

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