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.
“It’s not very often that the second offensive lineman off the board goes off No. 23,” Schwartz said. “There’s usually about four off the board by then. We were very fortunate.”
The Lions’ undisputable No. 1 need is to add a cornerback, especially after losing starter Eric Wright in free agency to Tampa Bay.
Most draft analysts projected three corners to be selected in the first round, and none of those was available when the Lions picked.
LSU’s Morris Claiborne went No. 6 to Dallas, South Carolina’s Stephon Gilmore No. 10 to Buffalo and Alabama’s Dre Kirkpatrick No. 17 to Cincinnati.
There were reports earlier in the day that the Lions were trying hard to trade up to improve their secondary, but nothing materialized in the end.
“We looked at all of our options,” Mayhew said. “We tried to go up. At one point, we were talking about moving back. We ended up staying put and taking a really good player.
“I’m a little bit surprised he was even available. He’s going to help our football team a lot. We came into this draft thinking we needed to add some young players (to the offensive line).”
The only other Detroit offensive lineman to be taken in the first round over the last decade is Gosder Cherilus, who starts at right tackle.
Reiff, who is 6-foot-5, 313 pounds, is capable of playing both guard and both tackle positions, which will help him try to break into the lineup sooner rather than later.
In college, he started 29 games at left tackle, seven at left guard and one at right tackle.
“Wherever I can help the team out, that’s me,” Reiff said.
At the very least, he gives the Lions a player to develop in anticipation of left tackle Jeff Backus’ likely retirement within the next couple years. Backus, who is coming off elbow surgery, turns 35 in September.
“Jeff Backus has been incredibly consistent for us,” Schwartz said. “He’s been extremely durable over the course of his career. We still think he has more left.”
But, as Schwartz pointed out, “We need to get young guys in the pipeline.”
Schwartz said it was “way too early” to speculate on exactly how Reiff, 23, will be used during his rookie year, but the coach didn’t hesitate to identify him as a future left tackle.
“He fits the criteria that you have for that position,” Schwartz said. “He’s a good run blocker and he’s a good pass blocker. We’re not drafting a guy that’s a developmental player. He’s a very experienced player. He’s played at a high level in the Big Ten. We were very fortunate to get him where we were.
“He’s smart. He’s a good athlete. He’s big. That goes a lot way.”
Reiff played tight end in high school and scored nine touchdowns as a senior. He moved to defensive line when he first got to Iowa and then finally settled in on the offensive line.
Many projections had Reiff going in the top 15. The only offensive lineman selected ahead of him was USC tackle Matt Kalil, who went No. 4 to Minnesota.
Reiff said he wasn’t even aware that he was sliding down.
“I was just sitting outside in our barn, just hanging out,” he said. “I didn’t really care to watch the TV.
“That doesn’t matter to me (to be drafted later than expected). I’m super excited to be a Detroit Lion.”
Reiff’s college career got off to a bad start. He pleaded guilty to public intoxication after taking his clothes off in an alley before leading eight police officers on a 20-minute foot chase in downtown Iowa City.
He was a freshman, 19 years old at the time.
“It was a real embarrassing incident,” Reiff said. “I moved on, been a great citizen ever since. I put it behind me.”
Schwartz said the Lions were convinced it was an “isolated incident.”
“There really hasn’t been anything else,” Schwartz said.
Reiff was the first Big Ten player selected in the draft. It was the longest the conference had waited to have a player taken since 1977.
Rounds 2 and 3 of the draft are Friday night. The Lions, presumably, will try to address that cornerback need with one of the numerous second-tier prospects at the position.
Janoris Jenkins, a talented but troubled cornerback from North Alabama, was not taken among the 32 first-round picks.
EXTRA POINT
Schwartz, on star receiver Calvin Johnson being selected for the cover of the Madden NFL 13 video game and the perceived ‘Madden Curse’ that goes with the honor: “Calvin was on the cover of Sports Illustrated last year. I think Bobby Layne’s, that curse has sort of run its course also. We can hopefully put another one down.”
