First pick impressing in minicamp

The praise for Detroit's Matthew Stafford, the first overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, is beginning to roll in. New Lions head coach Jim Schwartz has been praising Stafford lately as the the finishes up minicamp.

"We've got two criteria for when Matthew will play,'' Schwartz told Peter King of Sports Illustrated. "One is he'll play when he's ready. The second is when he's the best quarterback for us. But so far, whatever the opposite of buyers' remorse is, that's what we have. We knew he had the terrific NFL arm. But we've found out his release is just textbook classic.''

Stafford has reportedly been placing the ball perfectly on tough passes and displaying a picture-perfect motion.

The Lions won't name a starting quarterback until training camp. For now, though, it appears Stafford has the lead on incumbent Daunte Culpepper.