Detroit Lions 2011 NFL Draft Grade
 |  1|Detroit Lions |
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Best: Nick Fairley | Worst: John Culbreath | Sleeper: John Culbreath |
1.13 | Nick Fairley|DT |  |
| Fairley was easily the best available player on the board at 13, and the Lions wasted no time amplifying a strength by adding a near-Suh to the real Suh. If you can get to the QB straight up the gut, you’ll have a lot of success on defense. This was the right pick, and one of the best of the entire draft. | A |
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2.44 | Titus Young|WR |  |
| We’ve all spent at least a few minutes feeling sorry for Calvin Johnson. His QB can’t stay healthy, and he’s never really had a deep threat option on his team to take some heat. He does now. Young is a speedster who can slip press coverage and get on top of the secondary in a hurry. Helps on special teams, too. | B |
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2.57 | Mikel Leshoure|RB |  |
| I loved the Jahvid Best pick last year, but it’s clear that he needs a complementary back. Leshoure fills that role perfectly, and his inside power and vision should add another dimension to this offense. He shouldn’t have fallen this far. | A |
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5.157 | Doug Hogue|LB |  |
| Surprisingly, the Lions chose to address the need at OLB before the need at OT. That’s not a knock on Hogue, who is highly underrated and fits this defensive scheme perfectly, but I think there were tackles available here who could have helped. | B |
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7.209 | John Culbreath|OT |  |
| Hard to argue with adding Culbreath here. He’s very developmental, but he flashes Pro-Bowl potential if properly coached. He won’t have to play right away, which is good news, but waiting until Round 7 rarely satisfies a need. | C |
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FINAL ANALYSIS |
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| “I love the Detroit draft. I think they should have looked to shore up the offensive tackle spot a little earlier…” That’s my verbatim intro to the Lions draft recap from last season, and it works again this year. I love this draft, and there’s no reason not to. Adding Fairley next to Suh transforms the entire defense by easing the load on the defensive ends, which will ease the load on the secondary. Young could have been a first rounder and immediately forces defenses to keep at least one eye off of Megatron, and Leshoure was built to play in a backfield with Best. But with only five picks, and an impending need up front, as well as in the secondary, it’s hard to classify this class as perfect. Hogue is a cinch fit at OLB in this defense, and that was going to be a sore spot with Julian Peterson and Zack Follett likely done in Detroit, so getting him in the right range is admirable. He’ll be able to contribute early like other recent Lions LB draftees. And Culbreath makes sense in the seventh round, which is always a nice spot to take a chance on raw players with starting potential. Overall, this is a haul that 31 other teams would have loved to land. Young and Leshoure both could have gone in the first round without too many blinks, and they’re entering a situation tailor-made for their skill sets. Pairing Fairley with Suh, and doing it all the way down at Pick 13, was probably the best pick of the entire draft. Hogue can play earlier than advertised, and Culbreath at least gives the Lions another option and some depth on the O-line. May the Schwartz be with you, Detroit. Though with classes like this, it’s not like you’ll need it. |
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FINAL GRADE: A (3.20) |
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|ARI|ATL|BAL|BUF|CAR|CHI|CIN|CLE|DAL|DEN|DET|GB|HOU|IND
|JAX|KC|MIA|MIN|NE|NO|NYG|NYJ|OAK|PHI|PIT|SD|SF|SEA|STL
|TB|TEN|WAS|
