2013 NFL Draft

[brian]

The only thing that gives me hope about Ansah (other than his freakish measurables) is that the Lions do have a very simple playbook for DL. Gunther Cunningham half-jokingly has said the playbook for all of the DL is three words -- "Attack the quarterback." Ansah will be lined up in the 9 about 98 percent of the time his rookie year and just asked to get to the QB, though he'll obviously be going up against some great LTs. I still don't like the pick, but I do feel better about his long-term prospects. I just don't think they're going to get much of anything out of him in 2013. Maybe the next GM and coach will reap the rewards.

What do you think they should have done with that pick?

No, once Johnson was off the board they didn't have a lot of great options. I didn't like Milliner at #5 much and it was probably too early to take a guard. Personally...me? I probably would have done the "safe" thing and taken Warmack or the other guard from UNC (Cooper?)

[DC47]

Then try to get a DE with the second or third round pick. That would have been reasonable. So too with trading down to the 10-15 range, expecting a good OG or DE to still be there. But who knows if they got a fair trade offer for this?

In that context, I think the Ansah pick -- while easy to criticize as a big risk on an unproven player -- is very defensible. Great athlete at a position/scheme combination where that is very important. Apparently great work ethic, character, coachability -- and they had a week to assess this in person. And it's a weak draft at the top. This makes Ansah look bad. He might have gone in the 15-20 range last year. But that doesn't make it a bad pick; they weren't picking last year.

Most teams do not really have "good" or "bad" drafts. They have drafts of some quality, but then injury luck, team quality, and coaching ability play a significant role in how things work out. How a set of draft picks look a few years out is the result of all these things With Ansah, the injury factor is largely chance, but he is probably about as healthy as a college player gets as he didn't play much football. Team quality will likely be a positive factor as the Lions' good DTs are going to help him out, and he won't have strong competition for playing time. With Ansah, coaching ability is going to play a huge role in his outcome.

[brian]

Yeah, I'm certain the Lions (and lots of other teams in the top 12 tried to trade back, but the value wasn't really there to trade back. The Raiders didn't get a whole lot to move back from #3. And I'd rather they roll the dice on Ansah than receive only, say, a 3rd round pick (for example) to move back from #5 to say #10 or something like that.

[Gunpowder]

Yeah, I'm certain the Lions (and lots of other teams in the top 12 tried to trade back, but the value wasn't really there to trade back. The Raiders didn't get a whole lot to move back from #3. And I'd rather they roll the dice on Ansah than receive only, say, a 3rd round pick (for example) to move back from #5 to say #10 or something like that.

That's why I actually think it was a rare good move by the Fins. Cost a second rounder to move all the way up to three and get Jordan, who is kind of Von Miller-ish.

[brian]

Time to Monday morning quarterback a little. First of all, the Lions arguably had the best draft of any team in the NFL, especially if you factor in that they got two starters as undrafted free agents as well (TE Joe Fauria and RT LaAdrian Waddle).

I'm glad I was wrong about Ansah. He led the Lions in sacks (8.5) despite missing a couple of games with injuries and really improved drastically from the beginning of the season towards the end (with his lack of experience, probably not surprising). Towards the end of the season he was beating tackles with a variety of moves. With his freakish measurables he could be an absolute beast.

The biggest bright spot was third-round pick OG Larry Warford, who not only started but arguably should have been selected to the Pro Bowl team. He was the offensive rookie of the year from Pro Football Focus and graded out as the fourth-best guard in the league after giving up 0 sacks all season.

[A_B]

UK REPRESENT!

[brian]

UK REPRESENT!

Yeah, he was a beast. Absolute HR draft pick.

[Sabo]

Yeah, let's see how the Browns' draft picks stacked up:

1st Round (6): OLB Barkevious Mingo-LSU. Started off strong, really sucked in the middle of the season, and started to play better later on. He needs to put on some weight and study the play book every minute he's awake. Has the physical ability to be great, but he didn't put it all together in 2013. Hopefully he does in 2014.

2nd Round: None. Lost it when they got WR Josh Gordon in the 2012 Supplemental Draft (a move done by the old regime). Lots of people thought the Browns were stupid to wager a second rounder for Gordon, but it's turned out to be a fantastic move.

3rd Round (68): CB Leon McFadden-San Diego State. He was inactive for most of the season but played more late in the season. He was flagged for the pass interference call that gave the Patriots the win. He was expected to press for the starting corner back spot opposite Joe Haden but did nothing in training camp to wrest the job from Buster Skrine. The team is still high on him but he looked like crap this year.

6th Round (175): S Jamoris Slaughter-Notre Dame. He was cut at the end of training camp and signed to the practice squad. He never made the 53-man roster.

7th Round (217): DE Armonty Bryant-East Central Oklahoma. Did well in his limited playing time. Inactive for four games, he was used mostly as a sub for the defensive line. Had two sacks but put a lot of pressure on the quarterback. A nice late-round get for the Browns.

7th Round (227): OG Garrett Gilkey-Chadron State. Played six games, including one start.

Traded picks:

7th Round Pick (212) (Traded to PHI with David Sims for Dion Lewis). Philadelphia drafted DE Joe Kruger with the pick.

6th Round Pick (173) (Traded to SF with Colt McCoy). SF later traded the pick; the Broncos ended up with OT Vinston Painter.

5th Round Pick (164) (Traded to MIA in Davone Bess trade). Dolphins drafted RB Mike Gillislee. The Browns could've drafted a crippled goose instead of trading for Davone Bess and still come out ahead.

4th Round Pick (111) (Traded to PIT for 2014 3rd Round Pick). After the draft, a friend of mine said the only thing he hated about the Browns draft is that they made a trade with the Steelers. I remember his exact words. "You might as well start making a bust for him now because he'll end up in the Hall of Fame." No pressure on you, Shamarko Thomas, a strong safety.

5th Round Pick (139) (Traded to IND for 2014 4th Round Pick). The Colts picked DT Montori Hughes.

[Jerloma]

Gordon is the pick of the entire draft.

[Keg]

1st Round (6): OLB Barkevious Mingo-LSU. Started off strong, really sucked in the middle of the season, and started to play better later on. He needs to put on some weight and study the play book every minute he's awake. Has the physical ability to be great, but he didn't put it all together in 2013. Hopefully he does in 2014.

Lets hope he declines all sponsorship offers.

[sancarlos]

1st Round (6): OLB Barkevious Mingo-LSU. Started off strong, really sucked in the middle of the season, and started to play better later on. He needs to put on some weight and study the play book every minute he's awake. Has the physical ability to be great, but he didn't put it all together in 2013. Hopefully he does in 2014.

Lets hope he declines all sponsorship offers.

[Pruitt]

Gordon is the pick of the entire draft.

Trying to think of another receiver who had such an amazing season while having to catch passes from such brutal QBs.

Larry Fitzgerald comes to mind.

[Gunpowder]

A bunch of Cardinals probably run that category. Who were Boldin and Rob Moore catching passes from in their huge years?


On the subject of the draft, Jets appear to have a good one as well. Milliner was Dec. rookie of the month and Richardson will probably be DROY. No idea who else they drafted other than Geno, who sucks.

[Giff]

Andre Johnson - David Carr

[A_B]

Calvin Johnson.




;)

[Gunpowder]

Andre Johnson - David Carr

That's a good one, but he didn't really blow up statistically to Gordon levels until Schaub came in.

[DC47]

Time to Monday morning quarterback a little. First of all, the Lions arguably had the best draft of any team in the NFL, especially if you factor in that they got two starters as undrafted free agents as well (TE Joe Fauria and RT LaAdrian Waddle).

I'm glad I was wrong about Ansah. He led the Lions in sacks (8.5) despite missing a couple of games with injuries and really improved drastically from the beginning of the season towards the end (with his lack of experience, probably not surprising). Towards the end of the season he was beating tackles with a variety of moves. With his freakish measurables he could be an absolute beast.

The biggest bright spot was third-round pick OG Larry Warford, who not only started but arguably should have been selected to the Pro Bowl team. He was the offensive rookie of the year from Pro Football Focus and graded out as the fourth-best guard in the league after giving up 0 sacks all season.

The Lions had a great draft. The best that I can recall going back 20 years. Warford was great, and Ansah was good. Slay had an up-and-down season, but that's not unusual for rookie cornerbacks. I think he demonstrated enough potential to be seen as a good pick. Punter Sam Martin was well worth a fifth rounder.

I think you're a bit carried away on the undrafted free agent angle. Fauria started only one game, due to Pettigrew's injury. He's an acceptable back-up due to having one great skill (red zone receiving); he's well below average at everything else. And Waddle started a few games, and then only due to two injuries to the players initially ahead of him. Still, I'd say he was better than Fauria and has far more potential. Mayhew certainly did well on this front.

Although he was not a draft pick, but Jeremy Ross was a nice in-season pick-up from the waiver wire. He did well as a returner; we'll see if he has any value as a slot receiver.

Nabbing three legit starters and three major contributors from a single draft is outstanding. If Mayhew does this again, something unprecedented in Detroit's recent history is going on in the front office.

[DC47]

As good as Detroit's draft was, Cleveland's was just about as good. Josh Gordon is a monster. When has there been a second round pick (equivalent) that did this much in his rookie year?

[brian]

Time to Monday morning quarterback a little. First of all, the Lions arguably had the best draft of any team in the NFL, especially if you factor in that they got two starters as undrafted free agents as well (TE Joe Fauria and RT LaAdrian Waddle).

I'm glad I was wrong about Ansah. He led the Lions in sacks (8.5) despite missing a couple of games with injuries and really improved drastically from the beginning of the season towards the end (with his lack of experience, probably not surprising). Towards the end of the season he was beating tackles with a variety of moves. With his freakish measurables he could be an absolute beast.

The biggest bright spot was third-round pick OG Larry Warford, who not only started but arguably should have been selected to the Pro Bowl team. He was the offensive rookie of the year from Pro Football Focus and graded out as the fourth-best guard in the league after giving up 0 sacks all season.

The Lions had a great draft. The best that I can recall going back 20 years. Warford was great, and Ansah was good. Slay had an up-and-down season, but that's not unusual for rookie cornerbacks. I think he demonstrated enough potential to be seen as a good pick. Punter Sam Martin was well worth a fifth rounder.

I think you're a bit carried away on the undrafted free agent angle. Fauria started only one game, due to Pettigrew's injury. He's an acceptable back-up due to having one great skill (red zone receiving); he's well below average at everything else. And Waddle started a few games, and then only due to two injuries to the players initially ahead of him. Still, I'd say he was better than Fauria and has far more potential. Mayhew certainly did well on this front.

Although he was not a draft pick, but Jeremy Ross was a nice in-season pick-up from the waiver wire. He did well as a returner; we'll see if he has any value as a slot receiver.

Nabbing three legit starters and three major contributors from a single draft is outstanding. If Mayhew does this again, something unprecedented in Detroit's recent history is going on in the front office.

Waddle's already been penciled in as the starter at RT going into camp next season, so I think you're underselling his impact.

[DC47]

Waddle's already been penciled in as the starter at RT going into camp next season, so I think you're underselling his impact.

Perhaps so. However, I imagine there will be some competition though if Fox is still on the team. He beat him out in camp this year. And then Hilliard started when Fox went down. Still, I thought Waddle was impressive in his games at the end of the year. If they had acquired him with a third round pick I would have thought it was a good outcome.

In what sense of the word do you consider Fauria an NFL starter? As I recall, he played less than Waddle and showed much less talent. Except in the red zone. And dancing after touchdowns. Pettigrew doesn't have good hands, and I thought he was far superior to Fauria.

[brian]

You're right that he obviously wasn't the "#1 TE", but I meant it in that he supplanted all of the other TEs and ended up with a decent amount of snaps per game as primary or second TE depending on the different packages. It looks like he got on the field for between 20 to 35 percent of the offensive snaps most games which isn't bad in a single TE offense.

[A_B]

As good as Detroit's draft was, Cleveland's was just about as good. Josh Gordon is a monster. When has there been a second round pick (equivalent) that did this much in his rookie year?

Gordon wasnt a rookie this year. He had 50 catches last year.

[DC47]

I missed that. Did he cost them their 2013 second round pick?

[Giff]

Sic 'em!

[A_B]

I missed that. Did he cost them their 2013 second round pick?

Right. They grabbed him in 2012 in the supplemental draft, and bid a second round pick for his rights.