The Detroit Lions Should Draft Jason Smith: Here's Two Reasons Why

With less than a week to go before the draft, Detroit Lions fans are anxious about who they will select. Many want quarterback Matthew Stafford. Others are smitten with linebacker Aaron Curry. I certainly like both of those guys, but I would go a different route. My choice is Baylor offensive lineman Jason Smith. Here are my two reasons: Joe Thomas and Jake Long. In the last two years, those guys started from day one as rookies and both made the Pro Bowl. More importantly, their teams went from dormant to winners. Clevleland finished 10-6 during Thomas's rookie year, and barely missed the playoffs. Miami went from one win to division champs. Do you see a correlation? I do. Now yes, there were other factors in both of these places, but the tackles were huge factors. Looking historically at offensive lineman taken within the first five picks, there has been a lot of success stories. Tony Boseli and Orlando Pace were high draft picks. Robert Gallery is really the only example I can immediately ... (link)