Lions Saw WR As A Big Need In The Draft

Leading up to the draft, it seemed as though the Detroit Lions would use their first-two picks on an offensive tackle and cornerback, considering that both positions seemed like obvious needs, but they instead wound up taking a receiver in the second-round.

Dam Pompei of the National Football Post writes that his sources have informed him that the Lions saw receiver as a pretty significant need for them despite their perceived depth.

“They had only three receivers they could count on in Calvin Johnson, Nate Burleson and Titus Young,” writes Pompei. “If the Lions wanted to be like the Packers and other teams with high powered offenses, they needed a fourth to go four wides. What’s more, the Lions top three receivers stayed healthy last year. If one of them went down, the offense would be in trouble without a fourth like Broyles.”

The main concern with Broyles is related to the ACL injury that he suffered last year. So far, Broyles has been an on-looker during the team’s early mini camp, but there’s still some optimism related to his rehab.

“There’s a lot of ground between now and then, but he’s on a good path,” Schwartz said, per Tim Twentyman. “He’s had a good rehab so far, he showed it in his pro day and he’s shown it here.”

There’s still a reasonable chance that he’ll start off the year on the PUP list.