The Detroit Lions are in an interesting position heading into the 2015 NFL Draft - while they had the league's most dominant defense last year, they'll be losing several key contributors to free agency, and they'll have to decide whether they want to bring in reinforcements or get Matthew Stafford some help on offense. While the Lions definitely need a new kicker as well, that's something they're more likely to look at in free agency than the draft.
Here are the three areas they'll need to look at first:
3. Cornerback
As good as Detroit's defense was, their comparatively weak corners were sometimes exposed in single coverage. We wouldn't be at all surprised to see the Lions take a corner early in the draft, with Stanford's Alex Carter, LSU's Jalen Collins, and Washington's Marcus Peters all in the mix in the early-middle rounds.
2. Defensive Tackle
Nick Fairley, C.J. Mosley and Ndamukong Suh will all be free agents, and while at least Fairley is probably coming back, Detroit will likely need to bring in some new depth at the position. Fortunately, there are quite a few excellent DT prospects in this draft, and several will be available into the middle rounds. Texas' Malcom Brown is the best-case scenario, but he'll likely be gone early in the second, so keep an eye on Auburn's Gabe Wright, Georgia's Ray Drew and Ohio State's Michael Bennett as possible targets.
1. Center
Dominic Raiola is done in Detroit, and the Lions need to figure out who replaces him going forward. There aren't many elite centers in this draft, so this is a position the Lions are likely to address in Free Agency, but Florida State's Cameron Erving and Oregon's Hroniss Grasu are both possibilities in the 2nd-3rd round.
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