More Draft Gibberish: Brandon Pettigrew and Louis Delmas, Prepare to Cross the River Styx

So, with Matthew Stafford out of the way, let's get on with the rest of these poor damned souls. I'm sure after the excitement of getting drafted wore off, each of them had at least one moment, probably late at night, lying in bed next to their girlfriend or the stripper or hooker who they celebrated with, when they realized they were going to the Lions and had a mild panic attack. It's okay guys, I'm sure the dudes who stormed the beaches of Normandy got a little queasy when they heard where they were headed too. Of course, they were charging after Hitler, and so I don't know, maybe our coaches should draw little Hitler staches on a poster of Adrian Peterson or Jay Cutler or Aaron Rodgers, blow that fucker up and hang it on everyone's locker to motivate them. Just a thought.

Anyway, that is all weird bullshit and is only keeping me from getting on with this thing, so let's just do it, shall we? I will probably go over two or three picks per post, depending on how much extraneous gibberish there is and how much I feel like writing.

With their second pick of the first round, the 20th overall, the Detroit Lions selected Brandon Pettigrew, a tight end out of Oklahoma State. And Lions fans gnashed their teeth, ripped their shirts and beat their chests, weeping tears of anguish. Okay, maybe not, but still, people were, uh, not so happy with this pick. Initially, anyway. This was the perfect example of what I mentioned a couple of posts ago, when I said that people reacted based upon the hierarchy established in Mock Draft Land, a land which is ruled over by nerds like Todd McShay and Mel Kiper, and which tends to be ignored by actual, you know, professional football teams. You might better remember this as the section of that post where I made up a bunch of weird masturbation euphemisms. Anyway, the point is that the Lions probably didn't hold guys like Michael Oher or Rey Maualuga in the same esteem as the mock draft enthusiasts. Which isn't to say they didn't like them, just not as much as they liked Brandon Pettigrew. They made their pick based upon who they liked, even if that caused their fans to momentarily go apeshit and start flinging their poop around the room. But once that initial shock wore off, and all the poop was cleaned off the walls, it seems that many Lions fans started to warm up to Pettigrew.

Did I? Yeah, I guess so. I was a little bent out of shape at first. But again, my boy Adrian quickly helped me to see the light, and the idea of a dependable safety valve for Matthew Stafford and a strong in-line blocker started to be a comforting one. I was mostly upset that the Lions ignored other areas deemed by many to be of more pressing need, but as I said before, the Lions have needs everywhere on the field and so, the most talented player available, which the Lions apparently deemed Pettigrew to be, was a smart choice.

Now, what's so good about Pettigrew? Well, for starters, there is the fact that he can step in right away and be a dependable possession receiver for Matt Stafford to throw to. He reportedly has soft, dependable hands(By the way, I always cringe whenever I deal with scouting terms because it always comes across wrong. For instance, here. Soft, dependable hands? Christ, it reads like I'm assessing the guy's ability to give a good hand job. I don't know, maybe I just have a filthy, depraved mind.) He also was graded as the top blocking tight end in the draft, and when you have a line as porous as the Lions have had over the past decade or so, anything that can help there is a definite plus.

Pettigrew's downside? Well, he never really put up big numbers in college and he doesn't really have the instant playmaking ability to get deep down the seam. But for what the Lions want, he seems to fit perfectly. A guy who can make the catches on intermediate throws, can help Matt Stafford when everything breaks down - which it will, a lot, trust me - and can be an extra tackle in the running game.

What they could have done differently: Gone with Oher or Maualuga and filled those holes first. But they didn't, and it is what it is. Obviously, they liked Pettigrew better, and the guy was the top rated tight end in the draft so it's not like the Lions pulled an Al Davis here and just randomly pointed at some dude in the stands and said come on down.

What we can expect this season: For Pettigrew to start right away. The Lions already released last year's starter, Michael Gaines, and there's no one else to really challenge Pettigrew. The job is his.

Early Pick Grade: B+. It's hard to be upset whenever you instantly upgrade the starter at a position. Pettigrew was the best tight end in the draft and although he may not put up big stats, I think he'll be an important, steadying force on the Lions offense and, most importantly, on young Stafford. It's hard to quantify something like that. I'm not going to lie though and say that I wouldn't have felt better about solidifying a position like middle linebacker or left tackle. All in all, this is a good pick, and the more I think about it, the more I like it, which is always a good sign.


Up next is Louis Delmas, who the Lions drafted with the first pick of the second round. Again, there was some puzzlement and confusion on the part of Lions fans, as Rey Maualuga was still available at the spot. And when Delmas' name was called, the immediate reaction was WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE. But, as I said before, Lions fans have a tendency to see the glass not at half full, and really not even as half empty, but as shattered into a million pieces on the ground. But again, time caused the more reasonable amongst our abused fanbase to see this pick in a new light.

Delmas was considered by many to be the top safety on the board in this year's draft, meaning that the Lions hauled in the top rated quarterback, the top rated tight end, and the top rated safety. Not bad. What Delmas brings to the table is a ferocious hitter who still manages to have top notch ball skills. So, a safety who's a big hitter, can help against the run and can be a difference maker against the pass? Well, shit, sign me up.

The only knocks on Delmas are his lack of size, which some think will lead to an injury riddled career similar to Bob Sanders, and the fact that he played in the MAC and against inferior competition. Delmas is a bit bigger than Sanders, but he is a reckless hitter in the sense that he doesn't care about his own well being when he goes after a ball carrier or receiver. That will probably lead to a shorter career. But I'd rather have someone like that than a dude who hangs out back there afraid to hit somebody and manages to parlay that into a long, mediocre career. And I'm not worried about the competition thing. He was still playing in Division 1(or whatever the hell it's called now) against legit players. Western Michigan did whip up on Illinois last year, so it's not like he was showing off against some D-3 school and their stable of nice young future dentists.

Delmas is also supposedly a fantastic leader, and again, a calming influence both in the locker room and on the field can't really be quantified, but it's something that the Lions have lacked throughout this entire decade of pain and suffering.

What they could have done differently: Again, Maualuga was there. But again, they passed him up. They could also have taken an offensive lineman here, but they obviously were in love with Delmas and didn't think they could get him with the first pick of the third round. They were probably right too.

What we can expect this season: Delmas should start right away. Unlike Pettigrew though, he'll probably have some competition. Daniel Bullocks returns, as does Gerald Alexander. Both are talented and both have shown that they can be quality starters at the NFL level. All three are probably best suited for free safety, but both Bullocks and Delmas can hit and stuff the run well enough to stick at strong safety. If I had to guess, I would say that Delmas starts at free safety and Bullocks starts at strong safety. Kalvin Pearson is still hanging around but he's a Marinelli guy and I wouldn't be surprised if the Lions found a way to get by without him.

Early Pick Grade: A-. I was going to go somewhere in the B range, but in the course of looking at Delmas, I decided that holy shit, this guy is the dude. I think he'll be a great player in the NFL and a difference maker on defense for the Lions sooner or later with an emphasis on the sooner in that cliché. How do you argue against something like that? You don't. My only fear is that Maualuga turns out to be an All Pro animal at middle linebacker, but that is a quibbling thing and my fear is a byproduct of the horrors of the past. For now, and I hope for the future, I think the Lions made the right choice.