Late Draft Thoughts

The 2009 NFL Draft came to a close a week ago, and I watched a lot of it, knocking back beers and wearing my Lions t-shirt (sans the new logo) that I got for Christmas. I watched the entire first round, as I try to do every year, and an hour or two of the second round, which I try to watch but usually end up sleeping through rounds 3-5.
Here follows my analysis of some of the more noted of Detroit's picks, and my opinions of them. I'm just doing the first two rounds, as I didn't watch any of the other picks.

Round 1, Pick 1: Matthew Stafford: Quarterback, Georgia
Not a surprise pick, considering they agreed to a contract the night beforehand. Stafford was one of the three players I would have been satisfied with the Lions drafting, the others being Jason Smith, the offensive lineman out of Baylor or Aaron Curry, the linebacker from Wake Forest. I actually would have preferred Smith given that a quarterback, no matter how good he is, can't not throw off of his back and sacks and lack of protection have been a problem in recent seasons, going so far as to cause quarterbacks to run out of the back of their own endzone on their own volition, an act that will go down in infamy.
I didn't think Curry was an ideal first pick either due to his playing out of position, going from a outside linebacker to a middle linebacker spot.
Stafford and Sanchez were the two top quarterbacks vying for this spot. I thought Stafford was right for it due to his howitzer of a throwing arm, his pocket-presence, and the simple fact that while Sanchez was a great QB for USC, no Southern California quarterback in recent memory has been that productive in the NFL.
I'm sure there's plenty of position-jockeying to be waged yet, but I don't think Stafford should start right away. Barring injury, Daunte Culpepper is a serviceable filler for the position, and the Lions shouldn't look at Stafford unless they haven't won by week nine or ten, then they should feel free to throw his butt in there, if only to just win ONE GAME.

Round 1, Pick 20: Brandon Pettigrew, Tight End, Oklahoma State
This picked really irked me when it was announced, and still does only less so. At this point in the draft we still had gaping holes in the offensive line and the middle linebacker positions and darn good prospects with which to fill them in Michael "Blind Side" Oher of Old Miss and Rey "Beluga" Maualugaof USC, respectively. While we did need a tight end, the importance of the TE position pales in comparison to that of a good offensive lineman or middle linebacker.
Still, Pettigrew was the best TE available, has great blocking ability, and should provide another option in the passing game, and shows a marked divergence from the offensive schemes of Mike Martz's regime two years ago.

Round 2, Pick 1: Louis Delma: Safety, Western Michigan
Another time I was half tempted to chuck something heavy at my TV. Rey Maualugawas still on the board, and while we needed to more secondary support, the safety position wasn't exactly a top priority. However, all I've seen and read states that he's a dynamic playmaker in the secondary and should be a good fit in the system.