How much do pre-draft visits matter for Lions?

The Detroit Lions hosted two more prospects on pre-draft visits today, Louisville receiver DeVante Parker and Arizona State defensive tackle Marcus Hardison, and with 17 of their 30 allotted pre-draft visits completed, the question many want to know is, what does it mean?

There's no stock answer for that, of course.

The Lions, like every team, bring prospects in for a myriad of reasons.

Some need medical exams. Some have off-field issues that need to be addressed. Some they hope to sign as undrafted free agents. Some are smokescreens or to gather intel for future use. And yes, there is legitimate interest in some of the players that visit Allen Park.

Over the last two years, the Lions have drafted seven of the 60 players they've hosted on pre-draft visits (30 per year) and signed a handful of others to free-agent deals.

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In 2013, draft picks Darius Slay (second round), Sam Martin (fifth) and Michael Williams (seventh) all visited Allen Park before the draft, and the Lions signed two more visitors, LaAdrian Waddle and Steven Miller, as undrafted free agents. Another rookie free agent, Cody Wilson, took part in the team's local workout day that year, as did George Winn, who signed with the Lions last year.

First-round pick Ziggy Ansah didn't travel to Allen Park before the draft, but he, Williams and third-round pick Larry Warford worked closely with Lions coaches at that year's Senior Bowl.

Last year, Eric Ebron (first), Kyle Van Noy (second), Larry Webster (fourth) and Nate Freese (seventh) all visited the Lions during the pre-draft process, as did safety Jerome Couplin, who signed as a rookie free agent.

While it's clear the Lions recent preference is to have some sense of familiarity with the prospects they draft, that hasn't always been the case.

In 2012, the Lions drafted just one of the 27 known players they brought in on official visits, sixth-round pick Jonte Green - fifth-rounder Chris Greenwood also took part in the team's local day workout - and hosted just two players that went in the first round (Dre Kirkpatrick and Whitney Mercilus).

Coincidentally, the Lions drafted 23rd in the first round that year, the same spot they pick in the first round later this month and a point in the draft where it may benefit teams to hide their preferences more because of the ease in which other teams can move up by trade.

Parker is the highest-rated prospect the Lions have hosted this year, a potential top-15 pick, but he's not the only likely first-rounder. Todd Gurley, Breshad Perriman, Cedric Ogbuehi and Jordan Phillips all could go in Round 1, and the Lions have a visit scheduled with another likely first-rounder, Florida State's Eddie Goldman.

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This year's draft visits so far (17)

RB - Todd Gurley, Georgia: Tevin Coleman, Indiana

WR - Breshad Perriman, UCF; J.J. Nelson, UAB; DeVante Parker, Louisville

OL - Antoine Everett, McNeese State; Donovan Smith, Penn State; Cedric Ogbuehi, Texas A&M

DL - Xavier Cooper, Washington State; Mario Edwards, Florida State; Jordan Phillips, Oklahoma; Angelo Blackson, Auburn, Marcus Hardison, Arizona State

CB - Alex Carter, Stanford; Steven Nelson, Oregon State; P.J. Williams, Florida State, Eric Rowe, Utah

2014 draft visits (30; picks in bold)

RB – Dri Archer, Kent State

WR – Martavis Bryant, Clemson; Sammy Watkins, Clemson; Cody Latimer, Indiana; John Brown, Pittsburg State; Marqise Lee, USC; Davante Adams, Fresno State; Erik Lora, Eastern Illinois

TE – Eric Ebron, North Carolina; Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Washington; C.J. Fiedorowicz, Iowa

OT – Taylor Lewan, Michigan; Marcus Martin, USC

DE – Larry Webster, Bloomsburg; Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina; Denico Autry, Mississippi State

LB – Kevin Pierre-Louis, Boston College; Khalil Mack, Buffalo; Khairi Fortt, Cal; Kyle Van Noy, BYU

CB – Kyle Fuller, Virginia Tech; Stanley Jean-Baptiste, Nebraska; Justin Gilbert, Oklahoma State; Bradley Roby, Ohio State; Dexter McDougle, Maryland

S - Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Alabama; Deone Bucannon, Washington State; Jerome Couplin, William and Mary

K – Nate Freese, Boston College

2013 draft visits (30; picks in bold)

RB – Onterio McCalebb, Auburn; Mike Cox, UMass; Latavius Murray, Central Florida; Steven Miller, Appalachian State

FB - Kyle Juszczyk, Harvard

WR – Justin Hunter, Tennessee; Cordarrelle Patterson, Tennessee; Robert Woods, USC; Tavon Austin, West Virginia

OL – Eric Fisher, Central Michigan; Chance Warmack, Alabama; Brian Winters, Kent State; Vinston Painter, Virginia Tech; Travis Frederick, Wisconsin; LaAdrian Waddle, Texas Tech

TE – Michael Williams, Alabama; Dion Sims, Michigan State; Travis Kelce, Cincinnati

DE – Dion Jordan, Oregon; Will Gholston, Michigan State

LB –Manti Te'o, Notre Dame; Jeremiah Green, Nevada; Vince Williams, Florida State

CB – Dee Milliner, Alabama; David Amerson, North Carolina State; Rashaan Melvin, Northern Illinois; Darius Slay, Mississippi State

S – Cody Davis, Texas Tech; Jonathan Meeks, Clemson

P – Sam Martin, Appalachian State

2012 draft visits (27)

RB - LaMichael James, Oregon; Bryce Brown, Kansas State; Lamar Miller, Miami; Derrick Coleman, UCLA

WR - David Douglas, Arizona; A.J. Jenkins, Illinois; Rishard Matthews, Nevada

OL - Brandon Brooks, Miami (Ohio); Kelechi Osemele, Iowa State; Mike Adams, Ohio State; Amini Silatolu, Midwestern State; Kevin Murphy, Harvard; J.C. Oram, Weber State; Dennis Kelly, Purdue

DL - Whitney Mercilus, Illinois; Braylon Broughton, TCU; Kaelin Burnett, Nevada; Andre Branch, Clemson, Vinny Curry, Marshall; Josh Kaddu, Oregon

LB - Zach Brown, North Carolina

CB - Josh Norman, Coastal Carolina; Dre Kirkpatrick, Alabama; Keith Tandy, West Virginia; Isaiah Frey, Nevada; Conroy Black, Utah; Jonte Green, New Mexico State

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.