The rookie class of 2011 for the Lions has a very nice upside as a whole but two of the five players they picked spent their rookie seasons on I.R.  This class might be looked upon in the future as a great bunch, but time will tell.  Here is a look at what the Lions’ draft picks did in their rookie years:

23-year old DT Nick Fairley had a rough rookie season as the first round pick was dogged by minor injuries that kept him off the field a lot.  He played in 10 games for the Lions last year and he had 15 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  The Lions expect big things out of Fairley in the near future.

22-year old WR Titus Young was picked in the 2nd round last April and he was easily the most productive player in this draft for the Lions in 2011.  Young played in all 16 games for the Lions last year and he caught 48 passes for 607 yards (12.6 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 15 yards (7.5 ypc) last year.

21-year old RB Mikel Leshoure was a 2nd round pick last April for the Lions.  He missed his entire rookie season due to an Achilles injury.  This was a blow to the Lions’ offense as they saw Leshoure as the thunder to Jahvid Best’s lightning.

22-year old OLB Douglas Hogue was a 5th round pick last April.  He played in 13 games and he had 6 tackles as he did most of his work on special teams.

23-year old OT Johnny Culbreath was a 7th round pick for the Lions.  He missed his entire rookie season due to an undisclosed illness.

GRADE FOR THE 2011 SEASON:  D

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B

The Detroit Lions didn’t have a lot of picks last April, but they made the ones they had count.  The Lions were shocked to see DT Nick Fairley fall to them at #13.  That had no choice but to take him and team him with last years Defensive Rookie of the Year Ndamukong Suh inside.  No one will run inside on the Lions for the forseeable future.  The Lions then turned to offense in the second round in nabbing WR Titus Young and RB Mikel Leshoure.  Both of those guys are going to be high impact players for the Lions’ offense starting in 2011.  OLB Doug Hogue and OL Johnny Culbreath came to the Lions late in the draft and they will need time to develop.

PROJECTED GRADE:  A

The Detroit Lions selected G/T Johnny Culbreath out of South Carolina State with the 209th overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  He is 6’5″, 322 pounds as he is a mammoth of a man.  Culbreath was a 4-year starter with South Carolina State and he was impressive at that level.  But the jump in competition is going to be huge, so look for the Lions to give him time to adjust to the speed and power of the game.  He is an impressive athlete for his size but the thinking here is that the Lions will try him out at guard instead of the outside.

UPDATE:  (9/4/2011) – The Lions have placed Johnny Culbreath on I.R. due to an illness.

The Detroit Lions picked 22-year old OLB Doug Hogue out of Syracuse with the 157th overall pick (5th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  He is 6’2″, 235 pounds and he runs a 4.62 40 as he’s a pretty good athlete.  Hogue played at RB his first two years at Syracuse, so he’s a work in progress at LB.  He will have to play on the outside where he will have the space he needs to operate and get to RBs and TEs.  He’s not too good in traffic at this point of his career because he has problem getting off linemen’s blocks.  Hogue played in 13 games (all starts) for Syracuse last season and he had 95 tackles, 10.5 tackles for a loss, has 3 sacks, he broke up 2 passes and he had 2 interceptions.  Hogue played in 25 games (all starts) in his last two years with the Orangemen and he had 167 tackles, 26.5 tackles for a loss, 12.5 sacks, he broke up 6 passes and he had 2 interceptions.  Hogue will likely help out on special teams right away for the Lions while being coach up on D.

The Lions have picked 21-year old RB Mikel Leshoure out of Illinois with the 57th overall pick (2nd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Leshoure is a big guy at 6’0″, 230 pounds and he runs a 4.55 40.  Leshoure plays a big man’s game as he is a power runner who also is a good pass blocker.  He is also a pretty solid receiver out of the backfield.  Leshoure played in 13 games (all starts) for Illinois last year and he carried the ball 281 times for 1,697 yards (6.0 ypc) with 17 TD grabs.  He also caught 17 passes for 196 yards (11.5 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Leshoure played in 33 games (17 starts) in his three years with the Illini in which he carried the ball 424 times for 2,557 yards (6.0 ypc) with 23 TD runs.  He also caught 37 passes for 439 yards (11.9 avg) with 5 TD grabs at Illinois.  Leshoure will team with last year’s first round pick Jahvid Best to give the Lions a Thunder and Lightning look at RB in 2011 and beyond.

The Lions picked 22-year old WR/KR Titus Young out of Boise State with the 44th overall pick (2nd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Young is tiny at 5’11″, 174 pounds and he runs a 4.43 40.  He is a homerun threat every time he touches the ball and he has an outstanding set of hands as well as a truckload of good moves to get down the field.  Young played in 13 games (11 starts) for Boise State last year and he caught 71 passes for 1,215 yards (17.1 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  He played in 43 games (26 starts) in his four years with the Broncos and he caught 204 passes for 3,063 yards (15.0 avg) with 25 TD grabs.  Young also is an electric return man.  In the last two years at Boise State, Young returned 57 kickoffs for 1,397 yards (25.9 avg) with 2 TD returns.  He also returned 4 punts for 43 yards (10.8 avg) as well.  This was a very solid pick for the Lions as Young is a gamebreaker on special teams and he gives Matt Stafford a burner.

The Detroit Lions took 23-year old DT Nick Fairley out of Auburn with the 13th overall pick of the NFL Draft last night.  Fairley is a big guy at 6’5″, 300 pounds and he can run a 4.9 40 which shows what kind of athlete he is.  Fairley played in 14 games (all starts) for Auburn last year and he had 60 tackles, 24 tackles for a loss, 11.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and he recovered 2 fumbles.  Fairley played in 27 games (16 starts) in his two years with the Tigers and he had 88 tackles, 27.5 tackles for a loss, 13 sacks, 2 forced fumbled and he recovered 3 fumbles.  Fairley has outstanding speed of the snap and he won’t likely see a lot of double teams playing next to Ndamukong Suh.  Nobody will be running on the Lions next year with Suh and Fairley clogging up the middle.  Oh, and they are very good inside pass rushers.  This was a OUTSTANDING pick for the Detroit Lions!

The Detroit Lions are going to look to build on the defensive side of the football this weekend.  Here is who is I saw the Lions picking in my mock draft:

1st round (#13 overall) – Da’Quan Bowers, DE, Clemson

2rd round (#44 overall) – Jimmy Smith, CB, Colorado

3rd round (#75 overall) – Brandon Burton, CB, Utah

4th round (#107 overall) – Colin McCarthy, ILB, Miami (FL)

5th round (#154 overall) – Mario Addison, OLB, Troy

7th round (#205 overall) – Brandon Fusco, C, Slippery Rock

The Lions would really improve the defense with this kind of draft.

The Detroit Lions did a good job last April in the NFL Draft.  They got at least three starters last April and here’s a look at how the rookies did in 2010:

Ndamukong Suh:  The Lions used the 2nd overall pick (1st round) on DT Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska.  Suh played in 16 games (all starts) for the Lions last year and he had 66 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, 10 sacks, 3 passes defensed, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble and a fumble recovery for a TD.  Suh was the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2010.  The scary thing for opposing teams is that Suh will likely just get better.

Jahvid Best:  The Lions traded back up into the bottom of the first round to take RB Jahvid Best out of California (#30 overall).  Best battled a case of turf toe on each foot which hampered his production.  Best played in 16 games (9 starts) for the Lions last year and he carried the ball 171 times for 555 yards (3.2 ypc) with 4 TD runs and he also caught 58 passes for 487 yards (8.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Best’s game is speed and it was hurt by his toe injuries.  I think he’s going to be an outstanding weapon for the Lions’ offense if he can just stay healthy.

Amari Spievey:  The Lions took CB Amari Spievey in the third round (#66 overall) out of Iowa.  He played in 15 games (9 starts) for the Lions last year and he had 51 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 3 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  Spievey proved to be a quick learner at CB as he was a safety in college.  He has a nice upside.

Jason Fox:  The Lions selected OT Jason Fox with the #128 overall pick (4th round) out of Miami (Fl).  He played in 4 games (0 starts) as a rookie for the Lions last year.  The Lions need Fox to get stronger before they give him a shot at a starting job.

Willie Young:  The Lions took DE Willie Young in the 7th round (#213 overall) out of North Carolina State.  Young played in 2 games (0 starts) for the Lions and he didn’t make any tackles.  The Lions like Young’s ability but he’s buried on the depth chart and he’s a little immature.

Tim Toone:  WR Tim Toone was Mr. Irrelevant last year as he was picked #255 overall (7th round) out of Weber State.  He didn’t get into any games for the Lions last year but they kept him around anyway, so they must like him at least a little bit.

GRADE FOR 2010:  A

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  A+

24-year old DT Ndamukong Suh has won the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and he deserved it.  He played in all 16 games for the Lions last season in which he had 66 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, 10 sacks, 3 passes defensed, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble and a fumble recovery that he returned for a TD!  He also missed an extra point attempt when the Lions’ kicker was injured.  Suh is as strong as an ox and he’s freakishly fast for a player his size.  That combination will serve both Suh and the Lions’ defense well over his career in Motown.