The Detroit Lions should have looking very closely at the NFL Scouting Combine figuring out who they can take with the No. 10 overall pick in the NFL Draft in May. The position that may be best for Detroit would be finding a secondary receiver to go on the opposite side of Calvin Johnson. The two names that pop out right away would be Clemson’s Sammy Watkins and Texas A&M’s Mike Evans.
If you want to go on pure speed alone, Watkins would be the pick after running a 4.43 40 at the combine. Evans is the taller of the two and would give the Lions twin towers at receiver. The question though that the Lions must ask themselves is whether or not height or speed is more important. Matthew Stafford has a very strong arm and can get the ball down the field with the best of them.
Do you take Watkins, if he is still available at No. 10 ever, so that Megatron has more room to work with in those immediate routes or take the taller Evans and know that Stafford can just throw it up for both of them? It is something that new coach Jim Caldwell and the staff in Detroit must figure out early on in the process. They shouldn’t be considering trading down at all because they have enough players on defense to make a difference and the offense could use one big kick in the pants.
Watkins should be the pick if he is still there but if he is not, Evans must be the guy. He played with Johnny Manziel this season and showed what he can do with he has a quarterback who likes to throw off his back foot for jump balls. It would appear that Detroit is fine in every other part of the game but just need to learn to close the deal at the end of the season.
This draft must be about finding help for Johnson and getting back to the playoffs in a very tough NFC North. Chicago has a great offense and so does Green Bay. It should be important to the Lions to have a way to put up points with those two teams even with the best defense the division has to offer. That’s why wide receiver is the way the team needs to turn on May 8 in the first round at No. 10 overall.