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Stop me if you have heard this one before: The Detroit Lions need a pass-rusher. OK, you should have stopped me. The news that has been surrounding the Lions and the upcoming draft is that a team that was not very good at getting to the quarterback in 2012, has lost their top three pass-rushing defensive ends as it is. Therefore, it seems like a certain lock that Detroit will draft a defensive end at the top of the draft, unless of course, they don't.
While Cliff Avril has signed with the Seattle Seahawks, and veterans Kyle Vanden Bosch and Lawrence Jackson have also departed, the Lions certainly will have to address the issue of a pass-rusher at some point. Would they do it as soon as the fifth overall pick though? Many mock drafts have Detroit selecting cornerback Dee Milliner, but in this particular class, there is not even a guarantee that he will be available when the Lions pick.
There is a myriad of defensive end and outside linebacker prospects in the 2013 class, but in the SBNation collaborative blogger's mock draft, Sean Yuille of Pride of Detroit selected defensive end Ezekiel Ansah out of BYU with the fifth overall pick. Here was a part of his reasoning:
The Lions got to see him up close as the coaches of his team at the Senior Bowl, and he was one of the top performers in that game. He has only elevated his stock since then with an impressive showing at the NFL Combine, and while he may be a raw player, he’s got a lot of potential. Combine that with the Lions’ absolute lack of depth at defensive end and he’s a good match for them at No. 5. It’s a bit of a risk for sure, but the reward could be quite big for the Lions.
If it is not Ansah, then it could be some other pass-rusher. There's many to be had this year, but as we keep hearing, the Lions certainly will be looking seriously at all of them. They do need one.
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