Millen Goofed on Lions' Top Pick

Tom Kowalski, a Detroit Lions writer for Mlive.com, quotes Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden explaining the team's passing on wide receiver Mike Williams on draft day, "Mike Williams is a great player from Tampa who we liked tremendously. (But) we drafted a wide receiver in the first round the year before. We coached Carnell in the Senior Bowl and we felt this football team needed a guy who could make a significant contribution immediately at that position."

Now, I'm not suggesting the Lions should have selected "Cadillac", because they already have a pretty good running back in Kevin Jones. But perhaps Detroit GM Matt Millen should have subscribed to Gruden's theory and upgraded the club's defense with a player like Derrick Johnson or Demarcus Ware instead of taking a "luxury" pick at wide receiver when the team was nowhere close to being in a position where they could afford to make such a selection.

As of right now, Mike Williams has just one reception for three yards. And though he also scored a touchdown on the play, he hasn't had near the impact on his team that Johnson and Ware have. Someday he may be the impact player the Lions envision, but the club needed someone who could make an impact now.

The last thing the Lions needed, especially considering the inconsistent (at best) play of Joey Harrington, was another inexperienced wide receiver to play behind Roy Williams and Charles Rogers. Perhaps Mike Williams was the top-rated prospect available when their turn to pick rolled around, but unless the team was ready to give up (already) on one of their previous two top selections, they should have looked in another direction.

Now, they are too heavily invested in one position. And it will be interesting to see what happens when these guy's rookie contracts start running out and they all want big dollar deals. Will the Lions be able to afford to keep all three or will the economics of the game (assuming they all live up to expectations) dictate they watch at least one of their young weapons spend his prime years with another club?

And Matt Millen received that extension because... ?