Detroit Lions general manager Martin Mayhew's recent draft told us one very important thing about the receiving corps.

Mayhew is very happy with the recovery of Ryan Broyles and Nate Burleson.

Many NFL observers believed Mayhew would select a receiver early in the 2013 NFL draft because of previous season-ending injuries to Broyles and Burleson. Broyles sustained an ACL injury last year, while Burleson had a tibial plateau fracture, and turns 32-years old in August. Burleson recently declared he was fully recovered, and Mayhew seemingly agreed.

Detroit did not select a receiver until the sixth-round of the recent NFL draft (Virginia Tech's Corey Fuller). The last time Detroit waited that long to draft a receiver was when Mayhew selected Tim Toone (seventh-round) in 2010. Prior to that, Detroit waited until the seventh-round to select Wyoming receiver Marcus Harris in 1997.

Mayhew avoided receivers USC receiver Robert Woods and California receiver Keenan Allen in the second-round and selected Mississippi State cornerback Darius Slay. He also selected Kentucky guard Larry Warford in the third-round, which showed a receiver was not high on his list of priorities.

While Broyles and Burleson's health likely influenced Mayhew, the offseason addition of running back Reggie Bush was another factor.

Bush has pass-catching ability, plus can line up as a receiver in offensive coordinator Scott Linehan's offense. With teams having to find ways to stop Calvin Johnson and Bush, picking up another receiver proved to be a luxury for Mayhew, not a necessity.

STILL ROOM FOR MOORE: Speaking of the draft, Mayhew considered drafting his first quarterback since Matthew Stafford in 2009.

Lions backup quarterback Shaun Hill is a free agent after this season, while Kellen Moore was heavily criticized for his performance during last year's training camp and preseason games.

Detroit could have drafted a quarterback in the late rounds to compete against Moore, but Mayhew went in another direction. He eventually signed Western Michigan quarterback Alex Carder as an undrafted free agent to compete against Moore.

"Yeah, I mean, you look at the board, you see guys with grades up there that you think highly of," Mayhew said. "That thought crosses your mind. We thought about that. There were guys up there that we graded very high who we considered drafting, and we didn't."

COMPLETE THIS SENTENCE: "As of now, I expected the Lions to finish with a .... record this season." Feel free to explain your answer.



MLIVE COMMENT OF THE WEEK

"I've seen just enough negative comments on Warford to make me smile. This is so typical. The Lions draft the player in the third round that was almost unanimously applauded...not my opinion, the MLive poll said 85% of us loved it.



"And now people are nit-picking the things he's got to work on. You ever have a job review where they pick apart your weaknesses, instead of focus on 97% of things you do right?



"Let this kid do what he does best. Enough with the weight, quickness, stunt/pulling crap, already. The boy is a mauler---let him maul."

- DenverLion