2.04 Carolina Convicts — WR Ryan Broyles

In the real world: Mel Kiper on the 5'11", 179 lb. Broyles: "Very good hands, elusive in open field after catch, productive regardless of who's throwing the ball." Todd McShay said last November, "Broyles doesn't have elite size or top-end speed, but he shows an uncanny knack for finding soft spots in zone coverage, is a savvy route-runner versus man-to-man coverage and has very strong hands in traffic." Prolific production at Oklahoma, including 131 catches, 1,622 yards and 14 TDs in 2010. Now with the Lions, long-term, Broyles is likely to replace Nate Burleson. In their wild-card loss to the New Orleans Saints, Calvin Johnson and Titus Young saw a combined 25 targets; Burleson, just 5. Burleson turns 31 in August, and his salary shoots up in 2013, so it's possible the Lions could cut him after 2012 to clear room under the salary cap. Sigmund Bloom of footballguys.com raves about this job situation: "Let's see... quality receiver that a team with a 5,000-yard pass offense liked enough to take in the second round. Broyles is a better wide receiver than Titus Young, who went in the second to Detroit last year more on his big play and return ability. Sign me up."

In the TUFF world: It's a good pick for Carolina once you consider his 2013 job situation, especially if the Lions' offense becomes The New Greatest Show On Turf. And he's been going around this spot in most rookie drafts. But my response to Mr. Bloom is this: "Let's see, coming off a torn ACL, didn't have a lot of speed in the first place, not very big, and even if Burleson is out of the equation, Broyles still has to compete with Johnson, Young, Brandon Pettigrew, Tony Scheffler, and any pass-catching running backs the Lions may have. Go ahead and sign up; I won't stop you and I'll just agree to disagree with Mr. Mayhew."