Does Gurley's ACL Tear Take Him Off Lions' Draft Board? Not Necessarily, Mayhew Says
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
CBS DETROIT - The Detroit Lions have a number of needs they could address in the upcoming NFL draft, most notably offensive line, defensive tackle, cornerback and running back.
The Lions might get the most immediate benefit from bringing in an offensive lineman or a defensive tackle. The team lost four defensive tackles in free agency, and while Detroit has acquired two, it still needs to build depth at that spot. As far as the offensive line, Detroit does not currently have a left guard, with free agent Rob Sims mulling an offer to return. The right tackle spot is also a question, with LaAdrian Waddle coming back from an ACL tear.
Looking ahead, drafting a cornerback early would make sense, too, because the ageless Rashean Mathis will leave the game eventually. The Lions do have a pair of young cornerbacks coming back from injury this season, Nevin Lawson and Bill Bentley, whom safety Glover Quin has pegged for bounce-back years, but throwing a first-rounder into the mix could not hurt.
Another area the Lions could address, however, is running back. The team released veteran Reggie Bush after an injury-plagued 2014 season in which he struggled to produce, so now a run game that already ranked 28th in the NFL will have only Joique Bell and Theo Riddick to carry it.
The past two seasons, a running back has not gone in the first round, but that is expected to change this year because of the presence of Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon and Georgia's Todd Gurley.
Gordon racked up 2,587 yards and 29 touchdowns on 343 attempts last season. Gurley's season was limited to six games because of a suspension and an ACL tear, but he still recorded 911 yards and nine touchdowns on 123 carries.
The NFL has become such a passing league that running backs have seen their value decline in recent years, but NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock sees Gordon and Gurley as exceptions to the rule.
"The outlier is defined as the person that is a difference-maker," Mayock said in a teleconference Thursday. "With Gurley, I think you've got tremendous ability, talent, and speed, you have to worry a little bit about the durability and the ACL. He's had a couple of injuries in college, in only a three-year career. And you've got to look at Melvin Gordon, who reminds me of Jamaal Charles. He doesn't have the breakaway speed as Charles, but he has everything else. I think he's a difference-maker.
"So if you're a team that wants to run the football with really good balance, you look at Baltimore, for instance, you look at all the teams that Seattle has gotten to a Super Bowl, San Francisco, went to three consecutive NFC Championships, and the formula is run the football, play great defense [and] special teams, and don't make mistakes," Mayock continued. "So I think this year is the first time we're going to see a running back taken in the first round in several years, and we probably get there."
It is uncertain whether either player will still be available when the Lions pick at the No. 23 spot, but it is more likely to be Gurley than Gordon.
The injury question about Gurley, Lions general manager Martin Mayhew said, would not necessarily preclude the team from choosing him.
"To me, injury, I will sort of equate it to the character situation in that every individual player should be evaluated on his own merits," Mayhew said Friday in his pre-draft press conference. "I wouldn't just say, 'This guy had an Achilles tear so he's off our board.' Where is he in that process? How long ago was that? How did he perform last year? Who was his surgeon? Who did his surgery? How is he in the rehab process? Where is he right now? So every single guy is evaluated on his own merits and what his situation is specifically."
The Lions had Gurley in for a visit earlier this month, and Mayhew seemed to have a favorable impression of him. Not surprisingly, the general manager hinted the injury situation is the x-factor and would not share anything about how comfortable the Lions feel about it.
"From a talent standpoint he's an outstanding prospect, without question," Mayhew said. "I spent some time with him. I know people down in Georgia who have done a lot of research on him. He's a great kid. Obviously, had an unfortunate situation with the NCAA violation last year, but a great kid, great talent. Obviously, he has an injury that we have to evaluate."
Mayock, who likes Gordon better than Gurley, still spoke highly of the former Georgia back.
"Todd Gurley is a home-run hitter," Mayock said. "He's a difference-maker. That's why there's so much intrigue. When you talk about height, weight, speed, I mean this is the guy that was on the U.S. under-19 hurdle team that went to France when he was 18 years old. So at 222 pounds, he's a world-class sprinter. And when you look at the big plays he made in the SEC and the high level he played, it's easy to see how teams would say, 'Hey, that's a difference maker for us.'"
Mayhew said the team will adhere, as usual, to the strategy of taking the best player available according to its painstakingly prepared draft board.
Mayhew said Friday the team's board was 95 percent set, and he was scheduled to meet this week with head coach Jim Caldwell, director of college scouting Scott McEwen, assistant director of college scouting Lance Newmark, and Lions ownership to finalize the team's plan.
Mayock could not offer too much insight into whether the Lions will take Gordon or Gurley instead of a lineman or cornerback if either of the backs are still available at No. 23.
"I've got running back as a significant need," Mayock said. "And they're game-changers. But you've got to kind of balance what kind of team you want to be. You look at [the Lions], and they were I think 28th or 29th in the league last year in run game, and they throw the ball a lot, and they throw it well. Are they going to change their balance to accommodate that guy or not? I love those two tailbacks, but really comes down to that same evaluation.
"If one of those guys are there, you've got to decide up front," Mayock continued. "If one of those guys are there, you're taking them. If not, you're going the other direction. To be honest with you, they're difference-makers. One of those guys would be really hard for me to pass up."
