Looking forward to 2009 draft...

With the trade of Roy Williams to the Dallas Cowboys, the Lions now look forward to the 2009 draft, where they will be in a great position to draft. Not only will they add the Dallas picks to their personal haul, but they should garner at least 3 compensatory picks from free agency in 2008. This would net them 13 picks, with five coming in the first three rounds. So far in my pre-draft studies, I have noticed that the strength of the draft will be on the offensive line, defensive linebacking, and QB is looking deeper if a talented group of Jr's/eligible sophomores like Matt Stafford and Chad Bradford come out. As far the top pick, whereever the Lions might fall; they're looking at a top 5 pick, and they need to find out if they have their QB of the future on the roster. If they don't, they need to look at the two young QB's, and groom them for the future. Otherwise, there are three top left tackles coming out this year that will probably take their attention. The best of the lot is Eugene Monroe of Virginia. Extremely fleet afoot, he reminds me of Lomas Brown when he came out of Florida. He might be a better run blocker, and is very similar also to Joe Thomas, minus the knee issues. Other top left bookends include Michael Oher of OlMiss, and Andre Smith of Alabama. Michael Oher's a nice story, but I'd be reticent to select him with that high of a pick. Smith might have weight issues, and might have to move to the right side in the NFL. He might have problems with speedier rushers.