Lions keep Stafford but dump Pettigrew in PFF's 2009 first-round re-draft
Lions keep Stafford but dump Pettigrew in PFF's 2009 first-round re-draft
A popular exercise across NFL media is doing re-drafts. Usually, those re-drafts come the following year up to roughly a handful of years. How about one from 16 years ago for your enjoyment? That's what Pro Football Focus' Max Chadwick and Trevor Sikkema recently did, running through a re-draft of the 2009 NFL Draft, the one that brought Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Motor City.
Even before seeing the re-draft, you'd imagine it was a foregone conclusion the Lions would get Stafford again in a re-draft. What about their second pick? Let's dive into PFF's re-draft.
At No. 1, the Lions still take Stafford, as expected. Despite not having much playoff success in Detroit, Stafford is still regarded by Chadwick and Sikkema as the greatest quarterback in Lions' history. It makes all the sense in the world to stick with the original pick here.
"For the first time in this redraft series, we're sticking with the original top pick.
"Although Stafford won a Super Bowl with the Rams and is still their starting quarterback, he is easily the greatest quarterback in the Lions' history. He has earned a 90.3 career PFF overall grade and brought Detroit to the playoffs thrice in his career, its first three trips in the 21st century."
In 2009, the Lions took Oklahoma State tight end Brandon Pettigrew with the 20th pick. This time around, the Lions add to the defense with USC linebacker Brian Cushing, who originally went 15th overall to the Houston Texans.
"Cushing wasn't always consistent, but he earned PFF tackling grades above 81.0 in four of his first five seasons. He also garnered 77.0-plus PFF pass-rush grades in each of his first three NFL campaigns. The Lions needed a better presence at linebacker heading into the 2009 NFL Draft, and they get one here."
Cushing also became the heart and soul of the Texans' defense. An argument can easily be made that Cushing would have done the same thing in Detroit.
For the record, Pettigrew did not go in the first round in this re-draft. The tight end class, overall, wasn't too strong, though it did produce Jared Cook, who played 13 seasons and was a two-time Pro Bowl selection.
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