ALLEN PARK, Mich. – Martin Mayhew has been making selections for the Detroit Lions for six drafts, with the seventh coming up this week when the first round kicks off Thursday night.
His tenure as general manager has been interesting. He started with a rough roster coming off the first 0-16 season in NFL history and has constructed it into one that has made two playoff appearances, including one last season.
Along the way he’s made some smart selections, some terrible ones and a lot of obvious ones as well. On Monday, we looked at the offense. Today, we’ll look at Mayhew’s 23 defensive selections.
DEFENSIVE END (4)
Best pick: Willie Young (Pick 213, 2010)
Thoughts: Tough call here between Young and Ezekiel Ansah. I went with Young, mostly because as a seventh-rounder, production isn’t always expected. Young developed into a strong player who has made 111 tackles with 16 sacks in his career. Of course, his best season came in 2014 (10 sacks) with Chicago. Ansah is on a Pro Bowl track after his first two years as an edge rusher and should eventually overtake Young as Mayhew’s best defensive end pick.
Worst pick: Devin Taylor (Pick 132, 2013)
Thoughts: No real bad selections in the group, but if you have to go with one, it’s Taylor. So “worst” here is pretty relative, considering Taylor has been a rotational end and could blossom in his third season after 21 tackles and 3.5 sacks in his first two seasons. Larry Webster was drafted as a developmental player last season, so tough to put him here. This might be Mayhew’s best overall position group, draft-wise.
Other picks: Ansah (Pick 5, 2013); Webster (Pick 136, 2014)
DEFENSIVE TACKLE (4)
Best pick: Ndamukong Suh (Pick 2, 2010)
Thoughts: No thought necessary here. He’s the most dominant tackle in the game and was the focal point for every opposing offensive game plan the past two seasons. He was a game-wrecker when left with single blocks. He’s now the richest defensive player in NFL history – with Miami.
Worst pick: Nick Fairley (Pick 13, 2011)
Thoughts: He wasn’t a bad player, but Fairley was inconsistent and couldn’t stay healthy. He never played 16 games in a season and the Lions let him go to St. Louis this offseason. He’s a prodigious talent and a good player, but never provided the consistency and reliability a team needs out of a first-round pick.
Other picks: Sammie Lee Hill (Pick 115, 2009); Caraun Reid (Pick 158, 2014)
LINEBACKER (8)
Best pick: DeAndre Levy (Pick 76, 2009)
Thoughts: A former third-round pick, Levy has become the best player on Detroit’s defense now that Suh is in Miami. He’s an aggressive linebacker who might be the best coverage linebacker in the NFL. He’s a smart, instinctive player who has 12 career interceptions and led the NFL in solo tackles last season (117). In 2013, he tied for second in the NFL with six interceptions.
Worst pick: Ronnell Lewis (Pick 125, 2012)
Thoughts: Picked just ahead of Tahir Whitehead, Lewis played in eight games in 2012 and was gone from the Lions soon after. After his rookie season, he was arrested following a bar brawl in Norman, Oklahoma, and was arrested again following his release from the Lions on suspicion of DUI.
Other picks: Zack Follett (Pick 235, 2009); Doug Hogue (Pick 157, 2011); Whitehead (Pick 138, 2012); Travis Lewis (Pick 223, 2012); Brandon Hepburn (Pick 245, 2013); Kyle Van Noy (Pick 40, 2014).
CORNERBACK (5)
Best pick: Darius Slay (Pick 36, 2013)
Thoughts: After a rough rookie season, Slay turned into a good starting cornerback in his second season. Pro Football Focus had Slay as the 19th-best corner in the NFL last season and, according to PFF, opposing quarterbacks only completed 57.3 percent of passes against him in the regular season. That’s better than Brandon Browner or Aqib Talib. He could be one of Detroit’s corners for a long time.
Worst pick: Chris Greenwood (Pick 148, 2012)
Thoughts: The Lions took a chance on the small-school player from Michigan in 2012 but he never really produced. He played in three games for Detroit in 2013 after being on the practice squad his rookie year. He was with Baltimore last season but did not play in a game.
Other picks: Bill Bentley (Pick 85, 2012); Jonte Green (Pick 196, 2012); Nevin Lawson (Pick 133, 2014)
SAFETY (2)
Best pick: Louis Delmas (Pick 33, 2009)
Thoughts: He struggled with injuries and, sometimes, on-field discipline during his time with the Lions but he was a playmaking safety who has 391 career tackles and seven interceptions between Detroit and Miami. The Lions released him after the 2013 season.
Worst pick: Amari Spievey (Pick 66, 2010)
Thoughts: The former cornerback moved to safety and played in 35 games for the Lions and was the team’s starting safety in 2011. After the 2011 season, though, he ended up buried on the depth chart following a season-ending brain injury in 2012. He was cut before the 2013 season.
Other picks: None.
