Scouting Combine, Day Four (DB's)

I was looking forward to the Defensive Backs putting on a show, and they did not disappoint. The star of the show was Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who ran sensational times and looked fantastic in drills. Also looking fantastic among the corners were Aqib Talib, Leodis McKelvin, Justin King, and Mike Jenkins. Disappointments included Brandon Flowers and Chevis Jackson, who ran slow forties, and may be consideration to move to safety. As far as Safeties were concerned, Josh Barrett of ASU and Kenny Phillips were the top of the safety class. Barrett, in particular, has talent reminiscent of LaRon Landry from last year's class. In all, the DB's were the class of the combine, and most likely the strongest position well to draft from in April. This is as deep a class of corners I have ever seen.

Scouting Combine, Day Three (DL and LB's)

Vernon Gholston and Chris Long both put on a spectacular show at the combine, and showed why they are the cream of the crop for this upcoming draft. I was impressed with the pass rushers much more than the tackles and LB's. Hybrid types include Cliff Avril, Quentin Groves, Marcus Howard, and Shawn Crable all were impressive as all showed they are versatile, and can play different roles in different defenses. Larger End types also were impressing such as Jason Jones, Lawrence Jackson, Chris Harrington, and Jeremy Thompson. I was disappointed that Phillip Merling did not work out, as well as some tackles such as Kentwan Balmer and Glenn Dorsey. I wasn't really impressed with the tackle class as a whole, but some such as Dre Moore, DeMario Pressley, and Trevor Laws stuck out. Sedrick Ellis worked out, and disappointed a bit, but he's still an elite football player. He might have gained too much weight after dominating the Senior Bowl practices and game.

As far as OLB's are concerned, the best (Beau Bell, Keith Rivers) did not work out, and it showed. Some did impress with their speed, such as Wesley Woodyard (who had a great Sr Bowl), Gary Guyton, and Stanford Keglar. ILB's that stood out included personal favorite Jerod Mayo, Curtis Lofton, and Phillip Wheeler. Overall, today was dominated by pass rushers, ends, and versatile players.

Scouting Combine, Day Two (RB's, QB's, and WR's)

A lot will be made out of Darren McFadden's 4.27 today, but in his next run, he ran a 4.33, which was a little better than Rashard Mendenhall's 4.37 on his second run. Both are outstanding RB's, but not in the conversation when comparing to Adrian Peterson from last year. Both ran in spread offenses, which is very hard to grade RB's when moving to the next level. Speaking of spread offenses, what killed UM this year showed itself again today when Dexter Jackson of Appy State ran a 4.27, and looked OK in the drills. I've been high on him, and also on MSU's Devin Thomas, who lit up the combine with a 4.32 forty, and excellent work on the drills. He might be the #1 WR available, or close to it. Other skill position guys besides the obvious top couple of players that impressed me were WR's Andre Caldwell, Eddie Royal, Lavelle Hawkins, Will Franklin, and Jordy Nelson. RB's that impressed included Kevin Smith, Matt Forte, Tashard Choice, Chris Johnson, and Felix Jones. RB and WR both look to have pretty deep classes that will thin out around the fourth round or so.

As far as the QB's are concerned, Josh Johnson ran a 4.44, which goes along with his body of work to create a buzz upward that suggests he'll probably be drafted in the second round. Chad Henne still throws the most accurate passes to me, and is still my #1 QB. The only thing working against Josh Johnson is his level of competition, otherwise he could go even higher. Other QB's that caught my eye included Joe Flacco and Brian Brohm. Flacco is a natural ball thrower with a strong arm, and Brohm has an average arm, but has been a high output guy in college. There is good balance in the top echelon of QB's, but there are only about 10 draftable QB's in this draft.

Scouting Combine, Day One (OL and TE's)

Today is a day that Dustin Keller rose to the top of the fine TE class. He showed elite speed and explosion, running a 4.53 forty, jumped a 38 inch vertical, and showed off his fine hands. He's not an inline blocker at all, but he's in the conversation with the elite class of athletic pass catching TE's in the league, such as Kellen Winslow. Other TE's I really liked today included Kellen Davis of MSU, Brad Cottam of Tennessee, and Jacob Tamme of Kentucky. As much as Keller impressed, others such as John Carlson of Notre Dame did not. Carlson ran in the 4.9 range, and doesn't look physically gifted as the others. Fred Davis did not run, and looked to impress catching, which he did not do. Jeremichal Finley was impressive, and others did well. Overall, this is an outstanding Tight End class, with solid starters available after day one.

I was also pretty impressed with the overall athleticism of the offensive line group. Jake Long was by far the best OL prospect, and to me, he's a Pro Bowl Right Tackle who can play Left, but I'd play him at Right Tackle. Others that have caught my eye include Chris Williams of Vandy, who's a finesse Left Tackle type. Jeff Otah of Pitt sets up too high for my liking, but he's a brawler who must play the right side only. Other top tackles did not run or participate in drills due to injury including Ryan Clady and Sam Baker. Other tackles that caught my eyes included Gosder Cherilus of BC, Carl Nicks of Nebraska, and Kirk Barton of OSU. All three profile at Right Tackle, and are good prospects to start early at the next level. The guard/center class is a little down this year, but sprinkled with good players including Branden Albert of Virginia, and John Sullivan of Notre Dame.

The Lions are starting to "get it"....

The Lions are starting to figure the off-season out. You're either chasing after the top free agents, and leaving yourself vulnerable to the draft; or you're allowing your players to test the open market, leaving the possibilities for extra comp picks in the next draft. In Tom Kowalski's column in MLive, coach Rod Marinelli talks about not missing on players:

"The one thing we've been able to do well, or better, is we're not missing on that first day," Marinelli said. "You've got to have a guy starting for you. Those first-round and second-round picks need to be solid. And then, on the second day, we've just got to find guys who will make our team and eventually be starters for us.

"You understand you're going to miss on guys, but you've got to limit your misses."

Coach Marinelli talks about the UFA's in today's Detroit News...

Free-agent focus

The Lions won't try to re-sign any of their 13 players who will become unrestricted free agents before they go on the market, Marinelli said.

"I don't see it happening," Marinelli said. "I think guys want to go out and test the market. They should."

Damien Woody , who played right offensive tackle the last five games, should get the most attention.

"We'll have to see how the market looks at him," Marinelli said. "He had a real nice run there."

Linebacker Boss Bailey is the only full-time starter who will be a free agent. The others are linebacker Teddy Lehman , running backs T.J. Duckett , Aveion Cason and Tatum Bell , tight end John Owens , defensive backs Tony Beckham , Idris Bashir , Smith and Fisher, offensive tackle George Foster and wide receiver Troy Walters .

Four players will be restricted free agents -- quarterback Dan Orlovsky , guard Stephen Peterman , defensive tackle Langston Moore and Wilson.

Two teams that come to mind that have taken advantage of letting their free agents go and using comp picks wisely are the Packers and the Eagles, who consistently garner extra picks each year, and it allows them to stay away from free agency for the most part. Remember, the Lions are only replacing one starter, so this is a chance to start a roll, and keep it going down the road.

Team needs...

I think Great Blue North covered the Lion's team needs very well...

DETROIT: The Lions did make some strides in 2007, however, there still wasn’t much to celebrate in Detroit after a 1-7 collapse in the second half of the season. And if the Lions are going to continue to improve, they will have to shore up the NFL’s worst defense which allowed 378 yards and 28 points per game. In fact, the Lions need help just about everywhere on defense, but perhaps mostly in the secondary that routinely was picked on last fall. In particular, the Lions need a major upgrade on the corners where they could add 2-3 bodies either through the draft or free agency this winter. The secondary would also get a boost from an improved pass rush and the Lions could look to add another DE with some outside quickness. The Lions will also be looking for a new MLB with incumbent starter Paris Lenon expected to shift outside. The Lions also have to resolve the situation regarding DT Shaun Rogers, who is the team’s best player on defense, but too often has been a nonfactor because of a sometimes questionable motor, while he frequently has to come off the field because of conditioning issues or with an ailing knee. If Rogers is traded then the Lions clearly will need to try and fill the gap along the line, and may do so even if Rogers stays. On the other side of the all, the Lions have had a revolving door at RT, although former OG Damion Woody did a nice job there late in the season and could be the answer if he doesn’t leave as a free agent. The Lions could also make use of a pass-receiving TE, as well as some depth at RB with quickness. Primary needs: CB, OT, MLB, DE, TE, DT, RB

Scouting combine week...

Finally, the combines are here, and we can put times on the players, resulting in final grades. I love Jimmie Lake's comments on the type of corner he's looking for:

Lake: “I’m looking for body movement first. If they have the raw skills that I see on film – body movement-wise, good hips, good speed, good ball awareness – if they have all those little raw tools that I can work with – then I know I can mold them into a very good top-level player in the NFL. That’s all I’m looking for. If I see a guy that I can see right away that he’s limited athletically, then that’ll definitely be a guy that I mark off my list.”

I'm looking forward to the type of corners he's looking at in the draft. I also like what Marinelli says in the same article about who you draft in each round:

Head Coach Rod Marinelli on the difference between picking 15th and picking 2nd: “Well, you’ve got to look at more guys, obviously, but it’s the same thing. I think the temptation the farther you go down the draft is to reach up for somebody where (you compromise character because he is the best player available). I still think you have to keep a certain standard of what you want.”

Al Wilson visits Lions...

According to The Denver Post, the Lions are visiting with MLB Al Wilson today. This would be a nice sign, especially since Wilson is considered a "street" free agent. He wouldn't count in the free agent scoreboard for free agent compensation; which is a plus. He's 30 years old and coming off a neck injury in 2006, so he's had a full year to heal. The Lions have shown prior interest in him, so I'd expect it's very possible a deal could be had today. If the Lions signed Wilson, they'd most likely move Paris Lenon to the strong side, and Boss Bailey wouldn't be brought back. Bailey is as much a medical risk as Wilson, but Wilson is a better player.

Santana trade thoughts...

The incredible thing about the whole Johan Santana mess is that I think the Twins would have gotten more for their money if they had held onto Santana, and let him go as an A free agent. They were guaranteed a first round pick since his only market was New York and Boston. That coupled with a first round sandwich pick would have netted a bigger haul in my mind than what they got. As good as the A.J. Pierzinski trade was for them, this trade will set them back. They could have made some noise in the AL Central race with Santana, but now they're done. Another part of this equation is the contract, and how it will affect others. The Indians have to be worried that they'll have to unload C.C. Sabathia for a similar package.