Detroit Showed Signs Of Improvement, But Still Face A Long Road

By Justin Worsley

Though many teams see a 2-14 season as a miserable campaign, the Detroit Lions see it as baby steps to progress.

The Lions, who spent the 2008 season without a single win, are remodeling their franchise, starting with last seasons draft. Under new head coach Jim Schwartz, the Lions used their first-overall pick on quarterback Matt Stafford, the new face of the franchise. The Lions also had the 20th overall pick, used on tight end Brandon Pettigrew.

With the second-overall pick in tonight's draft, there are plenty of options available for Detroit, but more than likely, the draft will be brought down to two players: offensive tackle Russell Okung and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.

The question is, which pick is better? Both players would fill a big need on both teams, as the Lions surrendered 43 sacks last season and had the league's worst defense.

Detroit has been busy this off-season, acquiring defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch and defensive tackle Corey Williams via free agency and trade.

If Okung is drafted, he would become a day-one starter, moving incumbent Jeff Backus into the guard position, where he would thrive as a run blocker. There have also been talks of the Lions trading with the Redskins to acquire All-Pro defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, a former teammate of Vanden Bosch while both were coach by Schwartz in Tennessee.