Tuesday, Sports Illustrated’s Peter King picked Miami tight end David Njoku for the Detroit Lions in his mock draft. Later that day, Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller said a Lions scout told him Njoku was “in play” at Detroit’s No. 21 overall pick.

Wednesday, King answered an email from an upset Lions fan who insisted there’s no way general manager Bob Quinn would blow a first-rounder on a pass-catching tight end when he could just pick up Eric Ebron’s fifth-year option.

“I disagree with you,” King replied. “And I am not so sure they pick up Ebron’s option.”

Hoo boy.

As I previously wrote here at Lions Wire, drafting Njoku effectively means giving up on Ebron. On the field, they’re very similar players who wouldn’t complement each other well. Off the field, the $8 million fifth-year option on Ebron’s big rookie deal, plus the guaranteed money involved in a No. 21 overall pick, means an unworkable amount of cash sunk into the tight end spot.

As many pointed out, Detroit tight ends coach Al Golden recruited Njoku to Miami. While Ebron’s progress and talent has been apparent to everyone paying attention, a No. 10 overall pick with supreme athleticism isn’t supposed to take three full seasons to become an above-average player.

Ebron is in Nick Fairley territory, where he’s proven he’s a viable player but still has a lot of question marks the team may not be comfortable with. And if the Lions are absolutely convinced Njoku is going to step on the field and be a star, so be it.

But really? Two first-rounders spent on effectively the same prospect four years apart is exactly the kind of mistake that haunted Detroit through the Millen years. Well-connected people, like Browns Wire editor Jeff Risdon and DetroitLions.com columnist Mike O’Hara, can’t believe it:

This makes the second prospect the normally tight-lipped Lions staff has been weirdly vocal about, the first being Oklahoma tailback Joe Mixon, whom many well-connected people are also very skeptical about.

Is Detroit setting up a smokescreen? Or are we all about to be very disappointed?