Kiper draft redo: Lions got it right picking Stafford

This is kind of anticlimactic.

Mel Kiper Jr. did one of those if-they-knew-what-they-know-now, six-years-later redos of the 2009 NFL draft, when the Detroit Lions made Matthew Stafford the No. 1 overall pick.

And he still has them taking Stafford.

Kiper writes at espn.com: "He's been a good QB with bouts of greatness, and while you can call modern passing stats inflated, Stafford is on a pace to eclipse 50,000 passing yards in his career. He's safely past 21,000 yards and is barely 27 years old, and my guess is his best football is in front of him. He isn't the star at his position that the No. 2 pick on this list (Clay Matthews) is, but Stafford could play another 10 good years."

But that's not all. The Lions had two first-round picks that year and took tight end Brandon Pettigrew at No. 20.

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And now it gets interesting.

In Kiper's scenario, he has them taking Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis, who was a second-round pick of the St. Louis Rams in real life.

Kiper writes: "One of the more recognizable defensive players in the 2009 draft, Laurinaitis has never been a star at the NFL level, but he's also never really come off the field, and durability is a big factor in how you're perceived in this league. He's started 96 of a possible 96 games — with no end in sight — and he has 593 total tackles; nobody else in the class has more than 438."

Pettigrew, meanwhile, slips six spots to the Green Bay Packers, who would draft him instead of linebacker Matthews. And why would the Packers do that? Because Kiper now has Matthews going No. 2 overall to the Rams, who took offensive tackle Jason Smith in the actual draft.

So all in all, Kiper's moves would have worked out quite nicely for both the Lions and Rams.

Contact Steve Schrader: sschrader@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @schradz.