20. Detroit Lions

04/17/09- Malcolm Jenkins CB. I'm now projecting Ayers to go in the first half of the draft, partly because of fallout from the Jason Peters trade, partly because his stock has been rising as rapidly as any other player as we get within one week of the draft. Jenkins has, I believe, been surpassed by Vontae Davis as the top CB in the draft. But he's still a quality player who seems to have the flexibility to play safety if needed. Do the Lions need help at cornerback? Or safety? Uh, yes. Over the course of the 0-fer season last year, the Detroit secondary intercepted...drum roll, please...one pass. Yeah, one interception. To make matters worse (is that really possible?), the player that made the secondary's sole interception, CB Leigh Bodden, was released by the team. So the defensive secondary is as needy as any other area on the team. In addition, Jenkins is roundly considered to be a better prospect than left tackle Eben Britton, just as Ayers is. Detroit will have plenty of opportunity to go after Britton or Beatty with their first pick of the second round.

04/15/09- Robert Ayers DE. I give Ayers the nod over OT Eben Britton despite the fact I truly believe what I said during the discussion over the first pick: There is no way Detroit can afford not the spend a high pick on the offensive line. The problem for me is that I am convinced that Ayers is a better prospect than Britton and therefore represents much greater value at this point in the draft. Ayers is the way to go, especially when there’s a decent chance that Britton will still be there when the Lions pick again at the top of round two (and when there’s almost no chance Ayers would still be there). Schwartz will rebuild this Detroit team the right way, starting from the front and then moving towards the back.