Draft 2009 Lions grade

I have to say this is a failure of drafting. I am pretty sure the Lions will grade out as one of the worst 5 in terms of their picks. At least the Raiders seemed to have been a bit more boneheaded.

1. Matthew StafFORD: Didn't want it to begin with even though we all saw it coming at least 2 to 3 weeks ago. This is drafting to put butts in the seats. Could he be Chuck Long, Andre Ware, or Joey Harrington?
2. Brandon Pettigrew: A TE? TE? Oh no. With so many other glaring needs and good players you can't do thing. I know there are teams that love to draft purely on their board. Highest rated no matter what. But what if he is graded at a 87 while there is a 85 linebacker and you need linebacker? Or a 83 OT and you could use some help on oline?
3. Louis Delmar: Love the fact he is from Western. Doesn't mean that this is something that we need. How many safeties have we drafted the last few years? Aren't any good enough to start? Again, there were a lot of great players still sitting on the board in places of needs.
4. DeAndre Levy: Finally a need . . . wait a second, we need middle linebacker as will and sam are well covered. Ok, maybe a depth pick? Maybe can slide him in at middle? This one isn't so bad. First pick I am not angry about.
5. Derrick Williams: A WR/KR/PR. Probably won't be high in the receiver core that could use a solid second, or a slot receiver that could be second with some growth. But this could work out. Ok, not angry here, but still not happy.
6. Sammie Lee Hill: Big, beefy, strong, raw D-lineman. I am happy here. Don't know if it will pan out but we are starting to add some folks that are a better bet.
7. Aaron Brown: RB/WR/KR/PR? Seems to be a special teams pick in the 6th round. Not sold at all on this pick. Not sure what the need is or what they are trying to do with this.
8. Lydon Murtha: Happy day. I think this is a great place to pick up this offensive lineman. I think he has a lot of the tools to be productive in the rotation right away and maybe earn a spot over time in the starting of a position. Big and strong.
9. Zack Follett: Again, happy with this pick. Was productive in college and will be able to contribute to the Lions. Starter? Not so sure, but I am sure he will provide a boost to special teams.
10. Dan Gronkowski: I don't get this at all. But this is the second to last pick.

So there we have it. I would give this a D+ grade. Addressed needs late. Picked questionable talent early. Feel worse about this draft than the last 5, so maybe it is a good one, or just exceptionally bad. I do look forward to seeing if they can get their hands on some good undrafted free agents or maybe grab Leroy Hill but who really wants to play for the Lions if they can help it. I wish this team would win, cause each year hurts. My current wish is for them to win a game early so we don't have to hear about the increasing number of consecutive losses they are piling on the record. Great free agency, poor draft. Let's see how this pans out.

Go Lions.