Lions Lowdown

ALLEN PARK >> With one week until the NFL draft, Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn is tweaking the draft board, getting prepared for any circumstance that could happen during the three-day draft extravaganza.

Of course, Quinn isn’t going to spill his guts when it comes to who he might draft at the 20th pick  in the first round or any of his other five draft picks.

“I think  it’s well-rounded, you look across the draft board, there’s good depth at all the positions,’’ Quinn said at his pre-draft press conference on Thursday. “Corner has one really large group of guys you can get a player at any portion of the draft. Receiver is really deep. Offensive line is deep. You can go across the board. I don’t want to single out one or two.

“It’s a good draft, as in many other years there’s a probably a really cream-of-the-crop top group that’s in the 8-12 range, then after that you have to hone in on guys who fit your system. We’ve done a lot of work on and kind of go from there,’’ Quinn added.

Five other thoughts from Quinn on Thursday:

1. In the first round he specifically looks for guys who are playmakers and who are dependable. “You want dependable players in this program. If you’re taking them in the first round they should be good players or I shouldn’t be standing up here,’’ Quinn said. “I think dependability is something that’s really key with durability, ability to learn, competitive nature because you love football, passion. All of the things we talk about on a basis.’’

2. The signing of veteran running back LeGarrette Blount could have some impact on Quinn’s draft picks. “If we had to go play a football game today I think we have enough running backs to be competitive,’’ Quinn said. “Is that saying I’m not going to take one? I don’t know. Tell me who’s going to be on the board in the second, third and fourth round, I don’t know.’’

3. He’s left the door open for trades to gather more picks. “I think we’re going to take it as it comes in the first round, see what’s there in the teens and evaluate what our options are. … I’m always in the business of getting more draft picks, that’s just good for business. The more you get, the more you’re going to hit on,’’ Quinn said. “So if we can acquire more picks that’s something I look forward to. If there’s a player I like at 20 I will have no hesitation to take him.’’ To that end, he’s had some of his people contact other teams this week just to get an idea if they are open to trades in the first round.

4. As in the last two years, he heads into the draft with an open mind. “The way the roster is today I don’t think I’m in position to reach for any position of so-called (need). We’re looking for good football players — big, strong, tough, competitive guys to help us win. I’m not eliminating any position,’’ Quinn said.

5. Players with good character are still the choice no matter the position. “I think it’s always been important and it continues to be so. I think that’s one thing we take very seriously around here,’’ Quinn said. “I think we want to draft good players, we want to draft good people. So far I’d say, for the most part, we’ve done a good job for the last two years doing that and we want to do it again.’’

T.J. Lang is a low-key kind of guy which we learned a year ago, his first as the right guard for the Lions.

Takes a lot to get the big guy excited, get back to him in September.

The key difference this year is he is not coming off surgery. A year ago when the Lions signed him as a free agent he was coming off hip surgery.

“Feel pretty good, I do. Obviously this time of year is kind of  getting back into shape, getting working with the guys again,’’ the 30-year-old Lang said on Thursday. “Thinking back to last year at this time I was just getting off crutches. I’m way ahead of where I was last year.’’

The Lions are in their second week of offseason workouts with a minicamp set for next week.

Five thoughts from Lang:

1. On coach Matt Patricia: “He’s another guy who comes from a very successful team, has won quite a few championships and knows the way it’s supposed to go. Excited to have him as a coach, I think the biggest thing you get from guys the last couple weeks is he’s always excited every time you talk to him, he’s very passionate about this game. It’s going to be fun to work with him.’’

2. On new offensive line coach Bo Davis: “I think he’s been around this league for a really long time, he’s had a lot of success everywhere he’s been. Right now is the period where we’re just getting to know each other a little bit. We’ll work on that relationship and I’m sure as we move forward in the next couple weeks we’ll get into more football stuff. … I’m excited to work with him.”

3. On improving the run game: “It’s early on in the process. We haven’t really dived into a lot of things from last year. Everything right now is mostly in the weight room and running on the field. I’m sure that’s a step we’ll take soon. It’s no secret everybody in that room, the O-line room wants to be responsible for our part of having a well balanced offense, that requires you to run the ball effectively. That’s probably going to be an emphasis of ours as we move forward into some on-field drills.”

4. On the injuries across the board on the offensive line last season: “At the time it was frustrating. Right now there’s not one guy in the locker room talking about last year. Everybody’s focused, there’s new optimism, new excitement in the locker room. We don’t care about last year any more. It’s well documented what we went through, especially as an offensive line injury-wise and obviously performance. We’re going to try to learn from our mistakes, we’ve got some new guys in the room it’s a totally different team this year so we’re going to have to figure out what we do well and move forward from there.’’

5. On the NFL schedule being released tonight: “For me the only thing I look at, to be honest with you, is the bye week. Hopefully it’s in the middle of the season to split it up a little bit.’’

ALLEN PARK >> Entering his tenth season with the Lions, Matthew Stafford will be working under his third head coach in Matt Patricia.

“Change happens in the NFL, it’s almost inevitable, I think the goal is to play well enough to not have those changes, obviously we didn’t in the past,’’ Stafford said on Tuesday. “But I think the biggest thing is to move forward, and Jim Bob (Cooter) stuck around as the offensive coordinator, so some of that continuity will be helpful.’’

The Lions started their offseason workout program last week. They’ll go through a three-day voluntary minicamp next week before the start of the draft on Thursday night.

On Tuesday, Stafford talked to the media for the first time since Patricia was hired in January.

Five thoughts:

1. Obviously Patricia has made an early impact even though he’s only been allowed to speak to the team, not work with them. “He comes from a program that’s won a lot of football games in a lot of different ways, he’s a smart guy, we’ll enjoy those conversations when they come around, obviously he’s met with the team a couple times, but he’s just got great energy, great passion for the game,’’ Stafford said. “He, like everybody else, in this building just wants to win, and that’s our goal, but in the meantime he understands the process of it and just harps on that to us. It’s early right now, it’s on us to improve ourselves this time of year and that’s what we’re worried about at the moment.’’

2. It’s not just that Cooter is back to lead the offense, four of the top wide receivers remain on the roster which will obviously help provide continuity. “It’s good. It’s nice. I think it’s on us to continually improve, though,’’ Stafford said. “We can’t sit there and say, ‘Hey, we had a good year last year. Let’s just go do that again.’ We have to go find ways to be better, to find ways to be more efficient, more explosive, and put points up on the board.”

3. One of the biggest additions on offense was signing 31-year-old free agent running back LeGarrette Blount. “Obviously I’m a football fan, I’ve watched him play a lot of meaningful, important games and he’s played really well in those games, excited to have him, big, physical guy, does a really nice job in the red areas, scored a lot of touchdowns in his career rushing the football, and that’s an area we can improve in,’’ Stafford said.  “And as far as his experience and games he’s played in for as long as he’s played and the level he’s played at, it’s going to bring a lot to that room, to our offense and to our team.’’

4. While the mainstays of the offense return, obviously there will be changes. “We’re always looking to find ways to get better, I think if you just looked at it statistically from the past year, I think we can be better in a number of areas, and we’ll put a lot of time and effort and focus into that this offseason and hopefully it’ll come to fruition during the season, it’s a long process getting there,’’ Stafford said.

5. Like always, Stafford is his own toughest critic and knows certain areas that he needs to improve. “There’s a bunch, I can always be better, obviously I think I turned the ball over too many times last year, got the ball knocked out of my hands or threw it to the other team too many times,’’ Stafford said. “Every offseason you’re looking at those and hating watching them again and trying to find ways to make sure they don’t happen again, that’s a huge one. Obviously a big one always in the NFL is turnovers, so I can always be better doing that.’’