No. 15

Pick by Pride of Detroit Chris Williams Offensive Tackle Vanderbilt

With the fifteenth overall selection in the 2008 SB Nation NFL Mock Draft, the Detroit Lions have made a bit of a surprise selection in taking Chris Williams, OT, Vanderbilt.  Sean Yuille, head blogger at Pride of Detroit and the man behind the pick, explains his thought process in making this decision:

  If there is a worst case scenario for the Lions with regards to the first round, then the SB Nation Mock Draft has provided it.  The three previous picks took my top three selections off the board, leaving me with no real idea of who I should draft.  As pick #15 approached, I had my draft board put together in a way that I assumed would leave the Lions with a great player.  I had Derrick Harvey at the top, and then Ryan Clady and Rashard Mendenhall occupying the second and third spots respectively.  All three would fill a need the Lions have, and I would have been perfectly happy drafting any of them.  Here's the problem: Harvey, Clady, and Mendenhall were drafted with the 12th, 13th, and 14th picks, putting my draft plans back to square one.

Looking at the players available for the Lions to draft, I went through a ton of names and was not ever fully set on anyone like I was with the three players mentioned above.  I was ready to draft Jonathan Stewart, Aqib Talib, or Mike Jenkins at one point or another, but finally decided on Vanderbilt offensive tackle Chris Williams.  My thought process that produced that pick was simple.  The Lions have a lot of needs, and basically the draft will have to fill almost all of them.  Running back and cornerback are two of the big ones, but they are also two of the deeper positions in this draft.  Offensive tackle has a solid group of talent as well, but I felt that having the chance to get someone like Chris Williams was better than settling on an OT in a later round.  Williams is a solid player and would probably be able to come in and compete for a starting job sometime next season if the Lions do actually draft him.  Plus, by drafting an offensive tackle in the first-round, the Lions' focus can turn towards drafting a running back or cornerback in round two, where there still will be a lot of talent on the board for both of those positions.

Matt Miller, host of this site as well as owner of New Era Scouting, provides his analysis below:

For 15 picks I've been preaching need and scheme, this pick does both if the GM doesn't believe in Jonathan Stewart's health, which is a valid concern. Williams is an athletic tackle who will be able to play on the right or left side of the offensive line. In looking at the needs of the Detroit Lions, it would be easy to pencil in the best available running back or even defensive lineman. Instead the Lions are looking ahead to possibly moving Jeff Backus to another position on the line or lining up Williams on the right side. Many running backs are found outside of the first round, but the chance to get a franchise tackle doesn't present itself very often. Look for Detroit to fill their need at running back early in round two and avoid overpaying at one position.

Grade: B  ::  Chris Williams Scouting Report - New Era Scouting :: Matt Miller's Top Five Prospects Remaining - 1.  CB Mike Jenkins, 2.  RB Jonathan Stewart, 3.  WR Limas Sweed, 4.  LB Dan Connor, 5.  CB Antoine Cason

The Arizona Cardinals will be the only other team to pick today, and they're now officially on the clock.  SB Nation is pleased to announce that a guest blogger, Jeff Gollin of The Big Red Sheet, will be handling the Cardinals selection for the second year in a row.