After the first three round, the Lions have drafted two offensive players and one on defense.

To catch up the grabbed tight end Eric Ebron in the first round, outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy (photo) in the second and center/guard Travis Swanson in the third.

General manager Martin Mayhew always makes it clear he goes for the best player available. He’s not worried about the tally between offense and defense.

“As I said to you guys before, it’s not about what position that these guys play. We want to keep drafting good players. If we do that, we’ll have a talented football team,’’ Mayhew said late Friday night after the Swanson pick.

“Again, going back to last year, like I said to you guys before, we were 15th in points allowed, which is right in the middle of the pack. We were first on third-down defense. I think we were ranked first or second in red-zone defense, so I have confidence in our entire defense. We’re going to keep picking good players,'' Mayhew added.

Today in the fourth through seventh rounds, the Lions have four picks: Two in fourth (both are compensatory so can’t be traded), one in fifth and one in sixth. 

In 2013 four of the nine picks were defensive players with one defensive back drafted — Darius Slay in the second. In 2012 three cornerbacks were drafted — Bill Bentley, Chris Greenwood and Jonte Green. All three are still on the roster.

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