Stafford Leads Metroplex Draft Contingent
Former Highland Park golden boy NFL's top pick
By ADAM BOEDEKER
Updated 7:00 AM CST, Mon, Apr 27, 2009
How about this for a week?
Get made over by tennis star Maria Sharapova, which I saw on ESPN's news magazine-style show "E:60" this week, eat at a fancy midtown Manhattan restaurant the night before the draft with friends and family and get a phone call saying you've made more than $41 million GUARANTEED, and then capping off it off when the Detroit Lions make you the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. Pretty good week, eh?
That's what Matthew Stafford is probably thinking right now.
Stafford is not seen as a "Golden Boy" in Motown yet, in fact, there's been quite a few mixed feelings about the quarterback who led Highland Park to the Scots' first state championship in ages despite all of their great seasons. In fact, digging back in the archives, I found this lead-in to the 2005 Texas high school football playoffs that ran in The Dallas Morning News by my boy, Tim MacMahon.
The Lions, quite frankly, need more than Stafford. It's true, you can't expect to be a great franchise without a great franchise quarterback that all teams seek and few actually land, but Stafford alone, no matter his greatness, won't help the Lions win.
Detroit would've been well served drafting an offensive lineman like Jason Smith from Baylor and Dallas W.T. White HS, who was taken No. 2 by the Rams, or even a stud defender like Aaron Curry, the linebacker from Wake Forest.
Instead, Stafford will be put under immense pressure from Day 1 in Detroit, starting with rookie minicamp this week. I'm sure he'll end up starting early on in the 2009 season, though he probably won't be the Opening Day starter.
Ultimately, he'd probably like to end up like his childhood hero, Troy Aikman, who was the No. 1 pick by a terrible team and ended up leading a dynasty. Only time will tell.
Adam Boedeker is a sports writer/now award-winning blogger for the Denton Record-Chronicle. He needs home remedies for sunburn.
Copyright NBC Local Media
First Published: Apr 26, 2009 8:30 PM CST
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