The Detroit Lions come into the season after making the playoffs last year and the team hopes that draft pick Ameer Abdullah can make an impact and he has the chance to start with Theo Riddick for Matthew Stafford and this comes as the team has added solid prospects, including Laken Tomlinson in the first round along with Alex Carter, Gabe Wright and Corey Robinson
The Lions allowed Reggie Bush to leave in free agency to the 49ers and now they could replace him with Abdullah in the lineup. The Lions felt comfortable letting him go with Riddick and Joique Bell on the roster and now Abdullah has the chance to come in and contribute as well. The team picked Tomlinson in the first round at guard and he could start right away, while Alex Carter should help upgrade a depleted secondary.
The main pick for the Lions was Abdullah and he will be getting attention as the most notable player for the team in this draft. Abdullah could quickly establish himself as an offensive threat for the team depending on how the summer goes, as he put up some great numbers at Nebraska. Abdullah was an early Heisman candidate this past season and he finished his career with over 4500 yards rushing and averaging over five yards per carry.
Abdullah can catch the ball out of the backfield and that makes him a good fit for the Lions, as they like to do that quite a bit on offense. Bush was not as effective last season as he was in the past and he also dealt with injuries and that is why the Lions let him go. Bell had a strong year last season with 860 yards rushing and 34 receptions and he could see some of his playing time get cut with Abdullah coming in. Bell has been solid for the Lions, but he is 28 and both Riddick and Abdullah are younger.
With Bush gone Riddick will get the chance to step up as well and he comes in after rushing for 51 yards and adding 34 catches for 316 yards. Abdullah has a wide open chance to win the starting job, as both Bell and Riddick are not considered great up the middle runners. Abdullah went to Nebraska and he comes in after rushing for over 1100 yards in three straight seasons, including 1600 in the past two.
Last season Abdullah had 1611 yards and career best 19 touchdowns and that came after he had 1690 yards and nine touchdowns the season before. Abdullah scored nearly 40 touchdowns in his four seasons at Nebraska and he finished his career with 73 catches out of the backfield, a solid number for the amount that Nebraska ran the ball.
That is another testament to Abdullah, he was very productive despite the fact that the Huskers were mainly a rushing team and defenses stacked the box against him. Carter adds a solid talent to the defense, while Tomlinson should help keep the offensive line strong up front for Stafford and the offense. Jim Caldwell did a bang up job last year and now he has another draft class to work with.