I've been asked at least a hundred times over the past three days what I think of the Lions drafting Drew Stanton in the second round? Was it too high? Will he be successful? Why do they want to torment him? My thoughts ...

I personally think the Lions' best bet was to draft defense in Round 2, especially after grabbing Calvin Johnson to kick things off. But fact is Matt Millen liked Stanton a lot — he said so as far back as the combine — and the Lions were intent on taking their quarterback of the future sometime Saturday.

By getting Stanton early, the Lions gave themselves some trade flexibility. They weren't going to move Josh McCown (who they shipped to Oakland with Mike Williams for a fourth-round pick) until they had his replacement in house, and Stanton would have come off the board before the Lions' picked in Round 3. I know Trent Edwards slid to the end of Day 1, but Buffalo, Baltimore and Washington all had Stanton on their board and I'm convinced one of them would have nabbed him before the Lions got another chance.

As for Stanton's future, there's no doubt he's going to a good situation in Detroit. I know, the organization has been a graveyard for quarterbacks, but Stanton has the luxury of sitting for at least a year, watching Jon Kitna and learning from Mike Martz. Kitna is the consummate pro. He did wonders for Carson Palmer in Cincinnati and I'm sure his influence on Stanton will be the same. Chances are Martz will land a head coaching job somewhere else before Stanton gets his chance in Detroit, but a year of tutelage under Martz's discerning eye can never hurt.

None of that will guarantee Stanton success — nothing does — but at least the pieces are in place (including a weapon like Calvin Johnson) to give him a shot, which is more than you can say about his time at Michigan State.