The Detroit Lions have a huge dilemma on their hands. Coming of off an embarrassing 0-16 season, the Lions have the No. 1 pick overall in Saturday's NFL draft. The sexy pick is Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford. However, the Lions know that picking Stafford will cost the teambig-time money. To top it off, there's no guarantee Stafford will make the transition to pro football as quickly as Matt Ryan or Joe Flacco did last year.
The sure thing is Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry. Not only does he have the talent to become a starting linebacker for the Lions right away, he comes with a much cheaper price tag that Stafford. In the NFL's rookie salary structure, linebackers and offensive tackles get less money than a quarterback if they are chosen first. So Curry can start right away, and he'll cost the Lions a lot less money than Stafford. If you were a team like the Lions based in an economically-depressed city like Detroit, Curry is awfully tough to pass up.
Whatever G.M. Martin Mayhew and the Lions decide to do, it will create a massive domino effect on the remainder of the first round. If Detroit decides to take Curry, don't be surprised to see a number of teams make some monster deals to move up in the draft to get Stafford or USC stud quarterback Mark Sanchez. Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree might be the most talented player available in the first round. However, he could be taken has high as third or as low as eighth in the opening round.
I still feel the Bills made the right move when they dealt offensive tackle Jason Peters to the Eagles. In the wake of that deal, the Bills now have the 11th and the 28th picks in the first round. The bottom line is Peters wasn't happy in Buffalo and no matter what the coaching staff and management did, he was always going to find some excuse to leave Buffalo.
The Bills have some interesting options in the first round. They could draft the best offensive tackle still available with its 11th pick. Say, someone like Michael Oher from Ole Miss. Then with the 28th pick, select the best defensive end left on the board. Or, they could select a stud defensive end with the 11th pick. Say, a guy like Aaron Maybin of Penn State or Everett Brown of Florida State. Then with the 28th pick, hope a guy like offensive tackle Eben Britton from Arizona is still available.
Flying under the radar, is Oklahoma State tight end Brandon Pettigrew. His size and strength are enough to make any scout drool. Pettigrew is six feet, six inches tall, and weigh 260 pounds. He runs a 4.8 in the 40 and benched 225 pounds an impressive 22 times at the Combine. Ranked as top tight end by many scouts, Pettigrew would be a welcome addition to any team's offensive scheme.
Players like these are one of the reasons there are so many heated battles in an NFL team's 'war rooms' on draft day. Coaches, scouts, management and player personnel staff all have strong opinions on who they should take when a team is on the clock. The debate will rage on right up until the moment Roger Goodell walks up onto the stage at Radio City Music Hall and announces their selection. That's why the NFL draft is the best draft of any league in professional sports. Where else but in the NFL would have fans tailgating before the freaking draft?
