By MIKE ECKERT
meckert@record-eagle.com
April 28, 2009 06:30 am I have to imagine Detroit Lions fans spent a whole lot of time puzzled, asking "who" or "what" while watching the NFL draft. It was a head-scratching weekend, no doubt about it. Instead of going for sure things, the Lions seemed to take a lot of risks, gambling on guys that could turn into something pretty great one day, or just as easily could be their next Joey Harrington, Mike Williams or Kalimba Edwards. Sure, taking risks is what the NFL draft is all about, but it seemed like Detroit -- an 0-16 team with needs at virtually every position -- took it to an extreme. For me, the only sure-fire selection Detroit made was Oklahoma State tight end Brandon Pettigrew. When the Lions selected him with the 20th pick in the first round, I didn't quite understand it. But upon further review, Detroit seems to have nailed a home run. While many tight ends excel at either blocking or receiving, Pettigrew can do both. He caught nine touchdowns and racked up more than 1,400 yards during his four-year career with the Cowboys. And at 6-foot-5, 263 pounds, he can certainly hold up an edge rusher. I know the thought was that Detroit needed to draft an offensive tackle in the first round, especially with new head coach Jim Schwartz committed to running the ball and the team shelling out more than $41 million guaranteed to quarterback Matthew Stafford. But drafting Pettigrew was even more effective in these areas than taking a tackle. With Jeff Backus and Gosder Cherilus already on the roster, another tackle would have created a logjam at the position, and an expensive one at that with all being first-round picks. Taking Pettigrew gives the Lions another blocker in the run game and takes pressure off of Backus. There wasn't much gamble with him, Pettigrew should be a sure thing for a long time to come.
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Mike Eckert