If it seems like the Lions are hosting their draft prospects earlier than usual this year it's because they are. But note entirely for the reasons you might think.

"As we looked at it, we have the league meetings coming up (next week) and then we have the NCAA tournament where we weren't able to get any hotel rooms," general manager Martin Mayhew said. "So that process of bringing guys in earlier didn't have anything to do with (starting) the negotiations (for the first pick). It was just we thought we were going to be limited as far as when guys are available to come in."

The Lions hosted two potential picks Wednesday in Boston College defensive tackle B.J. Raji and Oklahoma State tight end Brandon Pettigrew. Previously, they hosted Georgia quarterback Matt Stafford, Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry and Baylor offensive tackle Jason Smith. All but Pettigrew are candidates to go No. 1 overall.

Teams are allowed to host 30 prospects for on-site visits, and Lions coach Jim Schwartz said most are brought in for similar reasons, to update medical histories and double-check first-glance opinions.

"I think there's a lot of due diligence there because you never know what's going to happen," Schwartz said. "You better be prepared for a lot of different circumstances. You might bring a guy in that might not be a No. 1 pick, maybe he's a 10 to 15 pick. Well, you never know what's going to happen. Maybe someone blows your socks off with an offer and you say, 'Jeez, it doesn't make any sense not to do this.'

"When it comes to tipping hands, I think everybody's looking at the same guys and I think everybody has a lot of the same sort of follow-up questions."