So you think you can Draft...

It's amazing how much one event can force an individual to run a gauntlet of emotions.  It's not often I'll write in this blog from my perspective as a fan, but the opening round of the 2010 NFL Draft provided me with the ability to talk to my team and to a general perspective at the same time.

As a Lions fan (I'll pause and let you to get the laughter out of your system)...the day was incredibly long.  The new draft format didn't allow me to just roll out of bed on a Saturday morning and get started, instead I had the pleasure of sitting at work all day with Sports Radio listening to every rumor that popped up about how the Rams were falling out of love with Bradford.  By the time 6:30 rolled around I just wanted the Rams to run up there and get the pick out of the way so I could take a breath and let the real worrying begin.  As soon as ESPN decided to wreck any anticipation once the pick had been placed and showed Bradford on the phone smiling I knew the boy named Suh was within the Lions grasp.

I had counted on the Lions sitting in the war room using up most of their allocated time waiting for a possible trade and was aware I'd be waiting a little bit longer.  Then ESPN decided to play killjoy yet again and show Ndamukong on the phone.  Instantly, I became giddy and started yelling at the screen to make the pic already because, unlike most people, and I'm not trying to toot my own horn here just explaining my excitement, I was not only aware of Suh before the Big 12 Title game (pictured below), I had actually told a lot of my friends at the start of last college season there are only two players I even want the Lions to consider with their first pick, Suh and Okung.

 
Well, the pick came, I was elated and had already made the pre-order for my #90 Jersey.  I had come off my high and was content watching the rest of the round to see who could fall to the Lions at number 34.  My mood then leveled as four of the big five Corner Back's went racing off the board.  Then it hit, mid-way through the Vikings pic at Number 30, I saw the logo change and up popped Bubbles on Steroids.  I wasn't intrigued as much as I was slightly disappointed because I felt the Lions were reaching for Patrick Robinson (I'd much rather see Javier Arenas in Rd. 3).  Then the choice was in and with the 30th Pick of the 2010 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions select......Jahvid Best?

I went from disappointed to furious.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Best and look forward to him tearing up the league in Honolulu blue for years to come.  The man has an amazing skill set that has to be planned for.  I'm also not worried about his concussion (pictured in the play above) because I believe that not even Matt Millen would have been dumb enough to not make sure Best has a clean bill of health before investing such a high pick in him.  I was furious because Minnesota wasn't going to just swap picks without any kind of compensation and I didn't expect them to settle for a bevy of 7th rounders either.

Running Back was a need, but was it addressed at too high of a cost?  Initial reports suggested the Lions gave up their fourth rounder, a pick that they would more than likely find an immediate starter with given their lack of overall talent.  I didn't expect the Lions to fill every hole in this draft but by trading away their fourth rounder they could only find their CB instead of finding their CB as well as either their S, WLB, future LT or DE.  You can't forgo two starters for one guy unless that one guy is named Barry Sanders.

But calmer heads prevailed, I was convinced Mayhew (above) has been far to shrewd to make a trade like that without getting something else back in return.  A little more digging and boom, there it is, instead of giving up a fourth they swapped fourths with Minnesota.  So now the Lions potentially have a game changing RB and can still potentially add two more starters if the scouting is there, I'm ok with this and am willing to avoid chastising the move.  Instantly I begin to think about the possibilities of a trading up in the fourth for a package of our 7th's or maybe even a move down in the third for an extra pick in the fourth if Schwartz & Crew is positive their guy will fall.  Amazingly, I go from furious to intrigued and anxious for Day 2 of the draft to see what comes next.

It's the power of the NFL and the Draft, more specifically, the power of sports.  People have asked me how I can care and invest so much of myself into something I have no actual involvement in.  I can never really come up with a good acceptable answer to that question; but when moments like Round 1 happen, you know why.  Sports is Reality TV at it's finest.