APOklahoma wide receiver Ryan Broyles looked like a potential first-round draft pick last season before he suffered a torn ACL in November. As it turned out, that serious knee injury dropped him to the second round, where the Lions selected him 54th overall.
For Detroit, wide receiver isn’t a big need, and that may be why they felt comfortable selecting a wide receiver who will likely be at less than 100 percent at the start of training camp. The Lions can bring Broyles along slowly as a rookie and hope he develops into a player who can make a big impact in his second year.
Still, this is a surprising pick: The Lions have big needs on defense that they still haven’t addressed. Most people thought Detroit would want to come away from this draft with a new starter in their secondary, and that doesn’t look likely to happen now. Broyles may give the Lions more depth at receiver in the future, but he does nothing for their needs on defense in the present.
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Another injury prone player with acl problems did we really need another WR ? Konz and Adams and rb james were still on board while they were at it the lions should have kept upgrading the o-line or added to running game instead of going for the BPA .unless burleson is getting traded .
Bad pick. They have 3 solid receivers. Who will cover the NFC North receivers? Chris Houston?
Interesting.
Trust Mayhew.
Go Lions! Go Badgers!
They should have moved into position to draft one of those CBs. Now they are all gone
I totally understand best player available, but the offense threw for 5,000 yards last year while the defense gave up that in the last two games.
I keed, I keed…..
But seriously, Mayhew better frickin hope he has something lined up because we REALLY cant leave day 2 without at least ONE fricking defensive back.
I’ve been pretty trusting, but this makes me just a TEENSY (ok a WHOLE F’NG LOT) nervous
they must feel comfortable with what they got. Eric Wright was the one getting touched alot last year.
Another wasted 2rd pick. Well, at least fantasy players will be delighted when their stars play the Lions, since their defense can’t stop anyone. How much do you think Aaron Rogers and Jay Cutler are laughing right now?
Don’t get why everyone is so upset. If this were Millen I’d be worried. But saying it’s “another wasted 2nd round pick.” Who was wasted so far? Delmas? Yeah he sucks, Titus Young? Garbage I could see Leshoure, but come on.
And its a torn ACL. Come on, everyone comes back from a torn ACL now-a-days. Just look at Welker, he really sucked when he came back from a torn ACL right?
I have faith in Mayhew and I fully support this pick. Rather take a sure talent in Broyles than reach for a Corner.
Total bulls**t pick. This draft is a bust. Mayhew has passed on too many good/great players to try to find his diamond in the rough. You are not Bill Belichick. Only Bill Belichick, is Bill Belichick. We would be 1000% better if they would just look at who Kuyper is recommending at POSITION OF NEED, and draft him. And that’s not saying much, because Kuyper is pretty freaking inaccurate.
Typical Lions pick. No need and no help. Perrineal loser just keeps on and on.
I am soooooooo pissed right now we neeeeeed offensive linemen we desperately neeeeeeeeed CB’s we def do NOT need another WR when Trumaine Johnson, Brandon Boykin, Jayron Hosley just to name a few are still there but won’t b the next time we pic! Man I really like what the upper management has done in the past few years but right now I am SMGDH!! Did we hire back Millen or something!! Only thing I can think of is mayhew is close to working out a deal for mike Jenkins boy I sure hope so or we won’t even b able to stop Blain Gabbert this season!!!!!!!!!
Obviously, any db that was on the board would have been a reach, otherwise Mayhew would have drafted one. Mayhew is daring anyone to try and match his team point for point. He has always been about best player available, this should not surprise anyone.
Lol…everyones an expert.
Didnt see a wide receiver getting picked by the lions but especially not a injurrd one. Lamichael james was staring them in the faxe and they picked a wr……..i am flabbergasted and p!ssed off by this. Wr realle i mean t. Young burleson and MEGATRON they didnt draft a need they drsfted the dumbest pick ever. Mike valenti is laughing somewhere right now
This is a pick for next year. Obviously the Lions think they got good value here. Look for this to mean Burleson will be a cap cut next year and the Lions wont miss a beat with the 3 good WRs they still have under contract.
I can just puke! Between trading up for injury prone running backs two years in a row, now this? Mayhew, just start trading out of the 2nd.
Adams or Konz should’ve been the pick! I agree with some of the above, the cb’s would’ve been reaches, at least solidify the OL. There is nothing the brass or analysts can say that will change my opinion, wasted pick and looks like we come away with only one starter this draft. Last two drafts = 3 potheads that are all injury prone a starting T in Reiff and another injured wr thus far? How about some depth on D??! Poor
You people (most of you) represent what I hate, freaking hate, about Lions fans.
Go Lions! Go Badgers!
This pick really puts the Lions draft philosophy to the ultimate test. Even if Broyles was a guy they really liked I think he would have still been there in the 4th or 5th round. I honestly don’t think they needed use their 2nd round pick to get him. You can’t tell me this kid was the best available player at 54. There were alot of guys still sitting there that would have given them an immediate upgrade in the secondary. I have alot of faith in Martin Mayhew but after watching Matt Flynn and Drew Brees torch the Lions secondary last year I just don’t get this pick?
well looks like Im one of the very few people that like this pick. This guy is a straight up beast. If it wasnt for his acl injury he would have been a top 20 pick. Him, Calvin, and Titus are going to be the best WR trio in the NFL.
This pick makes sense bc Nate has a high contract and is getting up there in age. Bring Broyles along slow and watch him turn into one of the best WRs in the league.
I initially hated the pick, but now that I read more about it it makes sense. This guy is the NCAA all time leader in catches and could be lethal in the slot. Imagine Titus and Calvin on the outside, and Broyles, Burleson or Pettigrew. They can also mix in Best and Stafford will have his pick to throw to.
Lions got a corner in the third and will probably get more secondary help as the draft moves on. They also may sign Otagwe from the Rams.
Not happy!… I thought we fired Millen (sarcastic remark)? Don’t give me that, he would’ve been drafted earlier but he got hurt so we lucked out crap… How about getting someone that will help us on Defense right away… I wasn’t thrilled with the 1st pick (oh ya he’s gonna be trusted as a rookie to start over backus.. ya.. ok??….) at least it makes sense in the fact we are old on the line but we have young capable recievers… Another reason mayhew should also be fired… yes fired… I want a GM thats not just gonna take who falls into his lap but the guy that he wants… Unless this guy, if healthy is ready to start over the Nate he’s not the guy… The next time we give up 500 yards to a backup I’ll be getting out my pitch fork… How about you?
Mayhew is definitely going to have to get serious about hunting for DBs amongst the available free agents. We drafted an undersized DB in the 3rd (Bentley), but we need some serious attention paid to getting a starting CB who can really cover.
Setting that aside, I totally agree with briansethness.
Initially I was scratching my head and hated this pick. But after listening to Mayhew and Schwartz sell Broyles … I like it. I think his upside potential is huge.
This is a guy is a stud. He would have gone in the top half of the first round if he hadn’t gotten injured. Brandon Pettigrew came back from this same injury without a problem. Supposedly Broyles is ahead of schedule in his rehab, and we have no pressing need to rush his recovery.
And we need a kick returner (assuming the NFL doesn’t outlaw both punts and kickoffs).
Guy ran a 4.57 5 months after surgery at his pro day. Having a FREAK and Megatron isn’t such a bad thing.
I don’t like the pick but we can’t do anything about it, so instead of crying about the only thing we can hope for is Broyles to become the next Steve Smith
At first I was pretty pissed about this pick, I mean Konz and David were still available! But the Lions front office has a plan: they make up a draft board and they stick to it, they always take the top player on their board. Period. End of story. No this is not the best way to draft for next year, but the Lions front office and coaching staff isn’t worried about next year they’re worried about 4-5 years from now, they’re building for the long term and drafting the right way.
Most front offices wish they could build this way, however too many coaches/GMs know that to keep their jobs they need to produce NOW or they’ll be fired. Mayhew and Schwartz have the trust of their fanbase and owner and so they have the luxury to be able to build slowly and build what could become a powerhouse for years to come. Read Mayhew’s answers to questions, they take BPA every time, they don’t even take long to think about it, their picks are always in right away. http://www.prideofdetroit.com/2012/4/28/2983199/2012-nfl-draft-ryan-broyles-lions-martin-mayhew-jim-schwartz
In Mayhew we trust.
In Schwartz we trust.
Butkus——you really think this guy would have been available in the 4th or 5th round?!?? Really? Wow, I sure am glad mayhew doesn’t take advice from you, lol!
Great job!!! Don’t care what any of you armchair, Lions fans think.
We have WR, O-line (almost), QB, TE, RB (If LeShoure is the beast they think), D-line (remember the FA signing), LB’s completely taken care of for the next 5 years. Don’t reach for a CB. Take the guy that shut down WR’s against Luck, RG3, etc in the 3rd round and now CB’s are fine too.
The Lions office knows what they’re doing. You people need to learn that this isn’t the Millen years. They know a bit more than any of you do.
Lions have done little to improve their team this off-season.
SIGH whats next maybe another qb or dt that will help superbowl here we come haha what a mess .we dont even have a starting right corner. i guess a seventh round pick was to much for asante!!!! just a joke trust the board ya if i threw poop on a chalk board and gave it to them and said “trust me” would they? wtf
maybe we can pass for 600 yards a game so WHEN we give up 550 yards we will be ok haha what a effing joke!
nflfollower … ouch that hurts , but your right. I think it was the shock talking. Broyles is a great pick but I wasn’t thinking WR in round 2 after getting Reiff with their 1st pic. I thought Mayhew would be looking at an edge rusher or help in the secondary early in the draft. I have a lot of faith in him and I make a point of saying that in any comment I make on this site. This team is quickly becoming a legitimate contender in the league and that’s in large part because of what he’s doing.
This is the same situation as last year when we were already deep at Dline, yet took Fairly because he was BPA. And good thing we did, not only is he going to be a phenomenal player, his depth was much needed halfway through the season.
dude was the all time NCAA leader in catches and had 45 TDs in his time at OU. i saw the sooners ALOT on saturday night over the past few years and broyles was always the one sooner who impressed the hell out of me, catching everything in sight…i mean the dude has glue-hands, exactly what we need, especially with pettigrew still dropping alot of passes……everyone doubting this pick right now with be singing a different tune in a year or so (maybe less) all i can say is welcome to the D ryan.
Drafting a WR at any point in this draft is indefensible, not to mention 2nd round.
Short of Broyles becoming Larry Fitzgerald 2.0, I think it will be hard to justify going forward. And even if he does, will it win more games than having an improved defense?
I am happy all of their 3rd-7th Rd. picks were defense, but later round picks pan-out at a much lower rate.