Aaron Curry

The NFL draft is still a long way away but yesterday has set in place a foundation for how the draft will likely flow as we now know who will be available. Based on the players who decided to stay in college or turn pro, we have a better idea of depth and availability at all positions.

Though the Lions need a LOT of help, there seem to be two obvious glaring needs to address in the first round (Thanks Jerry Jones for another high pick!) - Linebacker and Left Tackle. It seemed to be a fairly deep draft at both positions, but now I am not so sure. With Brandon Spikes staying in school another year, the now only 4 game changing linebackers available are strongly projected to be gone by the time our second pick rolls around at #20.

So, what to do with the #1 pick? Assuming that we cannot trade the pick, what direction do the Lions want to go with this franchise in a year of change and rebuilding? I have said for a while now that Aaron Curry would be the most logical choice with the first pick and I feel even more strongly about this now. Defense wins championships - how did the Steelers, Ravens, Cardinals and Eagles get to their conference championships games? - so why not take a guy who has the ability to be Merriman like and change the culture of your defense?

New head coach Jim Schwartz is a defensive minded coach so lets start rebuilding this defense with the best player available. Look at some of the best linebackers who were steals in the last few drafts and only fell based on the position they play - Patrick Willis, Jon Beason, Jerod Mayo, David Harris just to name a few. Linebackers are the leaders on defense and are essential to building a strong defense. Some say it's not smart to take a linebacker with the first pick and I must ask why? Up until a few years ago nobody would draft a lineman that high either, now look at how the last few draft have played out...Aaron Curry is a game changer and would instantly make the defense exponentially better.

Yes, the Lions have 268 other need on their team, but you have to start somewhere. Luckily we do have 3 of the top 32 picks with which we can address a few of these needs. So lets suck it up and take the best available player in whom we can build our defense around for the next 10-15 years. Seems logical, which is probably why it won't happen.