The NFL Network’s Jason LaCanfora is reporting that the Lions have been found guilty of tampering with the Kansas City Chiefs and will lose their seventh round draft pick as a result:
Lions found guilty of tampering with Chiefs. Detroit forfeits 7th-round pick (acquired from Denver) in 2011. KC and DET swap 5th-rnd picks.
The Lions are currently set to pick ninth in the fifth round of the 2011 draft, while the Chiefs are at pick 23. Detroit has the 30th selection in round seven. The Lions have until Feb. 28 to file an appeal.
It's easy to see the phrase "Lions lose draft pick" and have a mini-panic, but it's only a seventh round selection and the 30th one in the round at that. The Lions haven't exactly found a bunch of Tom Bradys late in the draft anyway. Here's their seventh round selections from the past five drafts:
2010: Willie Young, Tim Toone
2009: Lydon Murtha, Zack Follett, Dan Gronkowski
2008: Landon Cohen, Caleb Campbell
2006: Fred Matua, Anthony Cannon
2003: Ben Johnson, Blue Adams
Of those, only Follett has worked out and his career is in jeopardy after a neck injury forced him to miss most of last season.