Lions add depth on 'D' with every pick on 3rd day

"  ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) The Detroit Lions insist they didn't plan on adding defensivedepth with every pick on the final day of the NFL draft.It just worked out that way.Coincidence?''Pretty much, yeah,'' Detroit coach Jim Schwartz said.The Lions started off Saturday by taking Oklahoma's RonnellLewis, who can play defensive end or outside linebacker, in thefourth round. They drafted Temple outside linebacker TahirWhitehead and Albion cornerback Chris Greenwood in the fifth.''We feel good about all those guys helping us on defense andspecial teams,'' general manager Martin Mayhew said.Later, Detroit drafted New Mexico State cornerback Jonte Greenin the sixth round.''I run a 4.3 40,'' Green said. ''I say that's mystrength.''Detroit's weakness is at cornerback, the only position itdoesn't have a starter returning from its first 10-win team since1995.''Yeah, I'm aware of that,'' said Green, who is from StPetersburg, Fla.The Lions closed the draft by taking Oklahoma outside linebackerTravis Lewis, the first player in school history to at least sharethe team lead in tackles four years in a row. Lackluster results atthe NFL combine, though, led to him being available when the Lionsdrafted him 223rd overall.''I'm going to prove them right and a lot of teams wrong,'' saidLewis, who is from San Antonio.The Lions had chances to move back and up during the first twodays of the draft, but stuck with their slots to select Iowaoffensive tackle Riley Reiff in the first round, Oklahoma widereceiver Ryan Broyles in the second and Louisiana-Lafayettecornerback Dwight ''Bill'' Bentley in the third.On the third and final day of the draft, Detroit was on themove. The team slid back in the fourth round and moved up twice tomake their fifth-round picks.''It's all about opportunity and the players on the board,''Schwartz said.Detroit selected Lewis 125th overall with a pick acquired bytrading the No. 117 pick to San Francisco for the 49ers'fourth-round pick and their sixth-round selection, 196thoverall.The 6-foot-1, 253-pound Lewis started nine games last season asa defensive end and played in 10 for the Sooners, making 13 tacklesfor losses, including 5.5 sacks. The native of Dewar, Okla.,skipped his senior season.Lewis missed some games because of a sprained ligament in hisleft knee last season and wasn't academically eligible to play inOklahoma's bowl game. Schwartz said Lewis acknowledged he's not agood student, but the team isn't worried about that because thereisn't an Academic All-NFC North team.''We don't have any classes here,'' Schwartz said.The Lions moved up to get Whitehead early in the fifth roundwith the 138th pick overall. They traded a fourth-round pick nextyear to Minnesota to acquire the pick. Whitehead had 59 tackles,including five sacks, last season at Temple. The 6-1, 233-poundlinebacker is from Jersey City, N.J.''It's a little bit of a projecting, making him an off-the-balllinebacker,'' Schwartz said.Whitehead, though, knows his best chance at earning a rosterspot will be on special teams.Likewise, Greenwood will have to play special teams to make ateam that is coming off its first playoff appearance since the 1999season.Greenwood, who is from Detroit, is the first MichiganIntercollegiate Athletic Association player selected in the NFLdraft since 1967, when New Orleans selected Albion linebacker BarrySiler in the eighth round.The three Division III players taken in the NFL draft between2008-2011 - Pierre Garcon, Andy Studebaker and Cecil Shorts - areall in the league.Detroit really wanted to draft Greenwood 148th overall, sendingits 158th pick later in the round and a seventh-round selection toOakland to take him. He was the MIAA's defensive MVP and led Albionto a conference title last season.The Lions say they were impressed with Greenwood's physicalskills during a private workout and when he was at the Universityof Michigan pro day. Greenwood said he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.34seconds and has a 43-inch vertical leap, leading to him visitingeight other NFL teams.''His measurables are off the charts,'' Mayhew said.Greenwood attended Northwood and Eastern Michigan before goingto Albion, a school 85 miles west of Detroit, and won't besurprised if he is making a living back in the Motor City with theLions.''If I work hard and do what I can do, I'll have a shot,'' hesaid.---Follow Larry Lage on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/larrylage"