Lions Must Pounce at Rare Opportunity

Detroit Should Act Quickly to Fill Needs

As usual, trade rumours are beginning to heat up as we approach the start of the NFL entry draft. Teams often create false rumours to generate smoke screens and effectively hide their true draft intentions from the other 31 teams. Of all the rumours, two players that appear to be on the trade block are, or should be of particular interest to the Detroit Lions. These players are Albert Haynesworth of the Washington Redskins and Jared Gaither of the Baltimore Ravens.


Haynesworth has fallen out of favour in Washington due to his lack of commitment and his reluctance to play nose tackle in the Redskins new 3-4 defence. Mike Shanahan voiced his concerns with Haynesworth and I truly believe he will lobby Bruce Allen to move him to control his locker room from the start. Because of Haynesworth insane contract, any deal will likely involve a second round pick and some sort of financial arrangement that allows the Redskins to recoup some of their lost investment (considering they recently paid him a $21 Million roster bonus).

Gaither and the Ravens have been locked in contract disputes to the point where it seems the Ravens are willing to part ways with their starting left tackle for an early second round pick. Gaither just turned 24 years old and is a franchise calibre left tackle. Need Proof? Here’s an excerpt from an article by ESPN’s KC Joyner:


Gaither has allowed only seven total sacks in 27 games and only one of these was a one-on-one sack (defined as when a defender beats a blocker in a one-on-one environment and tackles the quarterback in the pocket within three seconds of the snap). That illustrates Gaither's dominant pass blocking skills, but his run blocking numbers are also quite notable. Gaither was at the Point of Attack (POA) on 300 running plays the past two years and he won his block 255 times, or 85 percent of the time. That is a solid number on its own, but his 2009 POA win rate of 89.0 percent is even more noteworthy. To put that total into perspective, consider that in a typical NFL season, a little less than one out of ten offensive linemen will crack the 90 percent POA win mark.

Now back to the Lions. Detroit’s front office has done a great job working trades and free agency to try and fill the roster with more talent. Looking at the draft there has been lots of debate from football analysts as to whether the Lions should take Ndamukong Suh or Russell Okung with the second overall pick in the draft. Both DT and LT are positions of need for the Lions which has spurred much of this debate. The question seems to be what is more beneficial: upgrading the entire defence by selecting a force on the interior of the defensive line or protecting franchise quarterback Matt Stafford’s blindside. The trick is, by the time the #34 pick rolls around, the top offensive tackles and defensive tackles will be gone, essentially forcing the lions to choose between one need or the other. I think you see where this is going.


Jim Schwartz needs to decide which of these two player pairings he likes best: Haynesworth/Okung or Suh/Gaither. Haynesworth played his best football under Jim Schwartz, the head coach of the Lions, when he was the defensive coordinator for the Titans and Schwartz runs the 4-3 defence that Haynesworth prefers. The trick with Haynesworth will be the financial implications of this deal and how much the Lions are willing to compensate the Redskins. Acquiring Haynesworth for the #34 pick would allow the Lions to pick Okung at #2 and give them a stud LT to grow alongside Stafford. As I mentioned earlier, Gaither is a franchise calibre left tackle who would immediately upgrade the Lions offensive line by allowing current LT Jeff Backus to move to right tackle. Acquiring Gaither would allow the Lions to pick Suh who is widely regarded as the best prospect in the draft.

Trading for either Gaither or Haynesworth allows the Lions to address both the DT and LT position with high quality players. By keeping the #34 pick, this will not be the case. The decision between Gaither or Haynesworth, Suh or Okung, will likely come down to how Schwartz feels about Haynesworth and the financial implications of both moves. I would lean toward Gaither because he is a proven LT and I think it is prudent to pick a for sure talent to protect Stafford as opposed to risking Okung being a bust (although I don’t believe that will be the case). Either way, the Lions need to recognize that there exists an opportunity here to significantly upgrade their football team and must pull the trigger on one of these deals....soon.

-Jansen-