Blogs > Lions Lowdown

One thing you can count on with the Detroit Lions is that they are never, ever boring. Follow the latest news including injuries, roster moves and more here daily from Oakland Press beat writer Paula Pasche. Plus you'll find regular commentary about the team.

1/21/2009

Mayock: 'Not sure' there's a top-10 quarterback

NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock, one of the best in the business, had a teleconference this afternoon from the Senior Bowl to talk draft prospects. With the first question he took, he addressed what the Lions might do with the No. 1 overall pick.

“The first thing the Lions have to address in my opinion is whether or not there's a franchise quarterback in this draft," Mayock said. "From the film work that I have done on the underclassmen, and it still needs to be more exhaustive, I think Matthew Stafford is an exciting talent that can make every throw in the book. I've seen him in person, I've seen him on tape. My two concerns are occasional accuracy issues and pocket awareness and presence.

"And please keep in mind that (Joe) Flacco and Matt Ryan were fifth-year players and stepped in with tremendous ability and mental toughness, but five years in college. And now you're looking at Matthew Stafford with three years, (Mark) Sanchez a one-year starter, (Josh) Freeman, wonderfully talented kid. That's a long way of saying I'm not sure we got a top-10 quarterback in this class."

Asked what defensive players might be worth taking 1-1, Mayock mentioned Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry.

"Aaron Curry is the quintessential safe pick," Mayock said. "Smart, tough, aggressive. He's a guy that's played at a high level in the ACC and is not going to cause you any problem. Worst-case scenario will be a very, very solid player, but with the No. 1 pick I wouldn't be surprised if they try to move down a little bit. Again it's way too early to be projecting this stuff, but if I'm the Lions I'd like to get as many picks as I can because I've got a lot of issues."

Labels: , , , , , , , ,

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

i disagree w/ maycock. we need to build from the inside out, period. smith, oher, raji, or curry would be the safest picks, IMO.

1:20 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'd be happy with Curry at No. 1 overall because it was a clear area of need and an OT can be obtained at either No. 20 or No. 33 overall.

5:11 PM 

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home