Generally speaking the sports media arrives at a consensus about the first five to ten picks in every NFL draft. For the most part those picks are usually right on, unless there are trades which unfortunately are nearly impossible to predict. Even in a draft where the Detroit Lions could go any number of ways, a consensus pick is starting to emerge. Granted we are a long way out from draft day, and this consensus is very likely to change once guys start having pre draft work outs.
Writers from NFL.com, CBS Sports, Rotoworld, and the National Football Post are all talking up the Lions picking the DE out of BYU Ezekiel Ansah. In the interest of full disclosure this writer has also had the Lions taking Ansah in his mock draft.
To be fair Mlive.com is reporting that writers from walterfootball.com have the Lions taking OT Eric Fisher from Central Michigan. And of the 13 writers cited in the Mlive story only one of the writers has the Lions taking Alabama CB Dee Milliner, although two of these writers do have the Lions taking LSU OLB Barkevious Mingo.
In the end the Lions could go any number of ways with the fifth overall pick, but what they must do is find a guy that will make an impact on this team immediately. They cannot afford to do what they did last year with the 23rd overall pick in round one. That was to take a guy who may be something of a project or a guy whose role on the team is not clearly defined. The Lions need to add a difference maker, and that difference maker should really be on the defensive side of the ball.
Let us not forget this is an offense that had the third highest offensive yards per game (408.8 ypg) on a team that was only able to win four games. That seems to be a clear indication that the defense is where the fifth overall pick should be spent. However, which impactful defenseman the Lions should select is still very much open for debate.
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