ALLEN PARK, Mich. — The Detroit Lions didn't get their much-needed cornerback in Thursday night's first round of the NFL Draft, but they did make a move to try to protect star quarterback Matthew Stafford well into the future.
For only the second time in the last 11 years, the Lions took an offensive lineman in the first round, even though the club has all five starters up front returning.
General manager Martin Mayhew and coach Jim Schwartz never expected Iowa offensive tackle Riley Reiff to be available when their 23rd pick overall came up.
Reiff didn't know what to expect. He wasn't even watching the draft. He was instead hanging out in a barn at his parents' home in Parkston, S.D.
Talk about fitting the "big ole uglies" stereotype of an offensive lineman.
The Lions think they got a good one.
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ALLEN PARK, Mich. — Riley Reiff could have been at Radio City Music Hall in New York Thursday night to hear NFL commissioner Roger Goodell make the announcement that Reiff had been selected by the Detroit Lions with the 23rd pick overall.
But that's not Reiff. That's so not Reiff.
He's a small-town guy who felt much more comfortable staying back home in Parkston, S.D.
"They (the NFL) tried getting me to go pretty hard, but I love South Dakota, I love Parkston, and I wanted to spend it with my family," Reiff said Friday during a news conference at the Lions' practice facility.
"I'm glad I did. I had a blast. It was a great time last night."
The Detroit Lions' website reported that by staying home, Reiff was able to spend some time after his big moment with his grandfather, Lloyd Reiff, 92, who is dying of cancer.
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ALLEN PARK, Mich. — One round after leaving their fans shaking their heads by drafting rehabbing receiver Ryan Broyles, the Detroit Lions selected a much-needed cornerback, Louisiana-Lafayette's Dwight "Bill" Bentley, in the third round Friday night.
"Well, we drafted a corner," Lions general manager Martin Mayhew, well aware of the public reaction, said with a smile. "Seems like everybody's a little happier now."
Bentley, the 85th pick overall, proved he could handle the big time when he made two interceptions last season against Oklahoma State's duo of quarterback Brandon Weedon and receiver Justin Blackmon, both first-round picks.
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ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Meet the Detroit Lions' fourth-round draft choice: His nickname is "The Hammer" and he rode bulls in a rodeo back in high school in his hometown of Dewar, Okla.
Ronnell Lewis, a linebacker/defensive end from Oklahoma, wasn't big on taking tests and going to classes. He missed the Sooners' bowl game last season because he was academically ineligible and decided to leave school after his junior year to enter the NFL Draft.
The Lions jumped at the opportunity to get him as a middle-round pick.
"I grew up in the country," said Lewis, one of six defensive players taken by Detroit in the final five rounds of the draft. "I've done a little bit of rodeo locally. Nothing big. It's just something I grew up into. My family was involved in it. It's something I like doing. Kind of one of my hobbies.
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ALLEN PARK, Mich. – Division III players are generally prohibitive long shots when it comes to getting to the NFL.
Chris Greenwood, a fifth-round draft pick by the Detroit Lions, doesn't look at himself that way.
"Not really," Greenwood said. "I feel like if I work hard and do the things I know I can do, I'll have a good shot."
Greenwood, a 6-foot-2, 193-pound cornerback from Albion (Mich.) College, is the first player from his conference – the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association – to be selected in the NFL Draft in 45 years.
The last MIAA draft pick was Albion defensive back Barry Siler in 1967, an eighth-rounder by New Orleans.
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The Detroit Lions may have found their third-string quarterback.
Boise State's Kellen Moore confirmed to the Idaho Statesman on Saturday night that he has agreed to join the club as an undrafted free agent.
Moore, not one of the 253 players selected over the last three days of the NFL Draft, is a classic case of an exceptional college player who doesn't necessarily project as favorably to the pros because of size, athleticism and arm strength.
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