Just yesterday, I was writing about what the Lions might do in free agency this offseason on offense. In that piece, I discussed long time Detroit Lions left tackle Jeff Backus, who is a free agent this offseason. I presumed the Lions will re-sign him, and I still do, and that would be that. I was more concerned with the right side fo Detroit's offensive line, particularly at right guard. Then, I read this piece by Mel Kiper Jr. in which he discusses teams replacing aging players. He rated the urgency of replacing the listed players on a scale of one to five, with one being the most urgent. Only one player was given a one rating, and that player was Backus.
That then got me putting a little more thought into Backus and this offseason. He is 34 now, and he is turnign 35 in September. I don't think replacing Backus is as urgent as Kiper suggests, but it is definitely something to consider this offseason. However, if you are looking for your future at left tackle, you likely aren't going to find it in free agency. Instead, you have to draft such players. Which brings us to the 2012 NFL Draft.
In previous seasons, selecting a potential future left tackle would have been easier for Detroit. This season, on the other hand, the Lions draft 23rd overall, and offensive tackles tend to get drafted early due to the importance of the position. As such, Detroit is in a predicament if they do want to try and find Backus' replacement.
There are three offensive tackles that are considered the clear top three: Matt Kalil, Riley Reiff, and Jonathan Martin. Kalil and Reiff are going to get drafted in the top 10. Martin, meanwhile, may last a bit longer than that. He is currently ranked 17th on Todd McShay's board, and in his latest mock draft he has him going 18th. So, there is a chance the Lions could trade up a few spots to get Martin. Given the fact they don't have many pressing needs this season, that wouldn't be unreasonable. Trading up four or five spots would probably only cost them a second round pick at that point in the first round. It is definitely worth considering.
Or, there is one more possibility. Ohio State's Mike Adams saw his stock soar during the Senior Bowl, and he is now considered a first round pick. He's currently 27th on McShay's board, and like I said tackles tend to go earlier than their rankings suggest. He's got good size, and he definitely is a potential future left tackle. He was one of the Ohio State players suspended for giving their stuff to that tattoo parlor, but the fact any of those players got suspended was idiotic so there is no reason to care about that nonsense.
So, maybe instead of taking guard Cordy Glenn, maybe the Lions can take Adams instead. Then, they have a couple of options. They could either make Adams the left tackle, move Backus to right tackle, and move Cherilus to right guard. Or, they could keep Backus at left tackle, start Adams at right tackle, and more Cherilus to right guard. Then, in a season or two, they can move Adams over to left tackle. Or, if he doesn't seem ready, they can leave him at right tackle and try somebody else at left tackle. As long as Adams is better than Cherilus, it would still be a nice move.
Backus has been around Detroit for a long time, but he won't be around much longer. Given the fact the Lions don't have any major needs to address in the 2012 NFL Draft, maybe now is the time to make a move for the future.
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