The Lions have placed rookie WR Tim Toone on the Injured Reserve List ending his season after he broke his right leg in practice on Wednesday.  This was very unluckly for Toone who was on the practice squad for the Lions.  He was picked in the 7th round (#255 overall) out of Weber State last April.  He joined the legendary “Mr. Irrelevant” Club as the last player picked in the draft.  The Lions will give him another shot next year.

Rookie RB Jahvid Best is off to a very fast start to his NFL career for the Lions.  In his first two games with the Lions, Best has carried the ball 31 times for 98 yards (3.2 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He has also caught 14 passes for 170 yards (12.1 avg) with 1 TD grab this year.  Best is averaging 22.5 touches and 134.0 yards from scrimmage so far this season.  He is super fast and he makes moves that look like they came right off playstation.  The Lions have found their best running back since Barry Sanders so they need him to stay healthy.  He has had concussion problems in college.

The Lions have picked WR Tim Toone with the 255th overall pick (7th round) of the NFL Draft.  Toone was the last pick in the NFL Draft as he is now known as Mr. Irrelevant.  Toone is a 5’10″, 165 pound WR out of Weber State.  He caught 83 passes for 1,104 yards (13.3 avg) with 10 TD grabs last season.  Toone has caught 206 passes in his time at Weber State for 3,602 yards (17.5 avg) with 29 TD grabs.  Lions’ coaches appear to like Toone a lot so don’t bet against him making the opening day roster this season.

The Lions have picked DE Willie Young with the 213rd overall pick (7th round) of the NFL Draft.  Young is 6’4″, 251 pounds but he plays faster than his timed speed of a 4.89 40.  Young is often pushed around when the opposition decides to run the ball.  He is a good enough athlete though to get into opposing backfields and make things happen.  Young played in 12 games (all starts) at North Carolina State last season in which he had 54 tackles, 14 tackles for a loss, he had 8 sacks, batted down 3 passes and he forced 2 fumbles.  Young played in 49 games (36 starts) in his four years at North Carolina State and he finished up with 200 tackles, 47.5 tackles for a loss, he had 20.5 sacks, batted down 13 passes, he forced 3 fumbles and he recovered 2 fumbles.  He could wind up being a steal of the Lions as most draft experts had him going in the 4th or 5th round.

The Lions have picked OT Jason Fox with the 128th overall pick (4th round) of the NFL Draft.  Fox is 6’6″, 300 pounds and he is a converted TE.  He is great at leading sweeps as he is very athletic and he is a solid pass blocker.  But, he is not especially strong at the point of attack.  Fox played in 11 games (all starts) for the Miami (Fl) Hurricanes last season and he started 47 games in his four years there.  This was a solid pick for the Lions as Fox could be a starter in the near future for them.

The Lions have selected CB Amari Spievey out of Iowa with the 63rd pick overall (2nd round) of the NFL Draft.  Spievey is a cover 2 type corner meaning that he ususally needs a little help over the top.  Luckily for him that is just the type of D the Lions will be playing in 2010.  He brings the wood when defending the run as he tries to drive through the running back.  Spievey played in 13 games for the Hawkeyes last season (all starts) in which he finished up with 56 tackles, he broke up 8 passes and he had 2 interceptions.  Spievey played in 26 games (all starts) in his two years at Iowa and he finished up with 124 tackles, broke up 14 passes, he had 6 interceptions and he forced 1 fumble.  This was a good pick for the Lions as they needed help at corner.

The Lions traded back into the first round in a deal with the Vikings which allowed them to draft RB Jahvid Best out of California with the 30th pick of the first round of the NFL Draft.  Running back was a huge need for the Lions and they think they filled it with one of the most dynamic backs in the draft.  Best is on the small side at 5’9″, 190 pounds but he’s lightning fast running 4.4 40 yard dashes all the time.  He just needs a little daylight to go the distance which he can do on any play.  Best played in 9 games (8 starts) for Cal last season and he carried the ball 141 times for 867 yards (6.1 ypc) with 12 TD runs and he also caught 22 passes for 213 yards (9.7 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  The Lions will likely attempt to keep both Kevin Smith and Jahvid Best healthy by letting them share the carries in 2010.  Best played in 31 games (18 starts) in his three years at Cal in which he carried the ball 364 times for 2,668 yards (7.3 ypc) with 29 TD carries and he also caught 62 passes for 533 yards (8.6 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  Best can also return kicks if the Lions need him to.  It was smart to trade up into the first round to nab Best who will be a asset for years to come for the Lions.

The Lions have picked DT Ndamukong Suh with the second pick of the first round of the NFL Draft.  Suh gives the Lions big time help on the D-Line.  Suh played in 14 games (all starts) for Nebraska last season in which he made 85 tackles, 24 tackle for a loss, he had 12 sacks, batted down 10 passes and he forced 1 fumble.  Suh will demand a double team because of his ability to get off the line and into opposing backfields wreaking havoc.  That will make the Lions’ linebackers better defensing the run which was a big problem for the Lions last season.  Suh played in 55 games (38 starts) in his career at Nebraska in which he made 189 tackles, 53 tackles for a loss, he had 24 sacks, batted down 15 passes, he forced 3 fumbles and he recovered one of them.  This was a outstanding pick for a Lions’ team that is rebuilding the defense.

Lions’ GM Martin Mayhew drafted great last season and this off-season he has been loading up the roster through free agency and the trade market.  Look for the Lions to stay aggressive starting tonight in the NFL Draft as they look to fill a few of the remaining holes on the roster for 2010.  The Lions have 3 of the top 60 picks in the draft and they have 8 overall picks over the weekend.  The biggest needs for the Lions are DT, RB and CB heading into the weekend.  The Lions are still deciding between which DT they want to pick in the first round…..Ndamukong Suh or Gerald McCoy.

PROJECTED FIRST ROUND PICK:  DT, Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska

GM Martin Mayhew definately is a HUGE upgrade over Matt Millen and it showed last April.  QB Matt Stafford out of Georgia was the 1st pick of the entire draft last April.  He played in 10 games for the Lions and he completed 201 of 377 passes (53.3%) for 2,267 yards with 13 TD passes and 20 INTs (61.0 QB Rating).  He also carried  the ball 20 times for 108 yards (5.4 ypc) with 2 TD runs last season.  Stafford showed a lot of potential last season and the Lions will try to continue to build a offense around him.  TE Brandon Pettigrew out of Oklahoma State was the Lions’ other first round pick last April (#20 overall).  He played in 11 games for the Lions last season and he caught 30 passes for 346 yards (11.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Pettigrew’s season ended early due to injury but he showed a lot of potential for the Lions last year.  In the 2nd round (#33 overall) the Lions selected safety Louis Delmas  out of Western Michigan and he was quite a impact player for them.  He played in 15 games for the Lions last season and he made 94 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, he had 1 sack, defensed 8 passes and he picked off two passes (130 yards in returns) with one that he returned 101 yards for a TD.  The sky is the limit for him.  Linebacker DeAndre Levy was the Lions’ first selection of the third round (#76 overall) out of Wisconsin.  He played in all 16 games for the Lions last season and he made 85 tackles, 8 tackles for a loss, he forced 1 fumble, defensed 5 passes and he had 1 interception.  Levy also has a huge upside giving the Lions four really solid players to build around but they still picked more players that helped them.  WR/KR Derrick Williams came to the Lions in the third round (#82 overall) out of Penn State.  He played in 11 games for the Lions last season in which he carried the ball 1 time for 4 yards and he caught 6 passes for 52 yards (8.7 avg).  Williams also returned 42 kickoffs for 931 yards (22.2 avg) last season.  DT Sammie Lee Hill was taken in the 4th round (#115 overall) out of tiny Stillman College.  He played in 13 games (12 starts) for the Lions and he made 26 tackles.  RB Aaron Brown of TCU was the Lions’ 6th round pick (#192 overall).  He played in 15 games for the Lions in which he carried the ball 27 times for 131 yards (4.9 ypc) and he also caught 9 passes for 84 yards (9.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Brown also returned 42 kickoffs for 951 yards (22.6 avg) last year.  Linebacker Zack Follett was selected in the 7th round (#228 overall) out of California.  He played in 12 games and he made 10 tackles.  He also returned 2 kickoffs for 12 yards (6.0 avg) as almost all of his P.T. came on special teams.  TE Dan Gronkowski was also picked in the 7th round (#255 overall) out of Maryland.  He played in 2 games for the Lions last season and he caught 1 pass for 4 yards.  The Lions picked OT Lydon Murtha (7th round, #228 overall) out of Nebraska but they cut him before the season started.  He played in 1 game (0 starts) for the Dolphins before ended his season on I.R.

GRADE FOR 2009:  A

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  A+