Bill Bentley News

Detroit Lions Wide Receiver Nate Burleson catches balls while working on drills during Lions mini camp last season.

It's the NFL's clever way to give its fans and sponsor networks something to chew on during that otherwise dormant period between the draft and training camp, a period of time once known as the offseason.

Detroit Lions rookie cornerback Darius Slay remains sidelined, but it doesn't look like it will be for much longer.

If you're a Lions fan you should feel pretty good about the Lions' offseason. So far there has only been two players arrested.

Mississippi State defensive back Darius Slay runs the 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis on Feb.

Detroit Lions safety Louis Delmas has missed 13 games over the past two seasons, but is a key contributor when healthy.

Tim Twentyman breaks down the competition battles at right cornerback, nickel cornerback, outside linebacker, backup defensive end and backup safety Later this month, the Lions will start "Phase Three" of the offseason training program, which is when they'll begin the first of 10 allotted OTA practices.

The NFL draft is over and for the most part the Lions have concluded their additions to the team which means I'm going to hand out my grades for each pick.

New Lions safety Glover Quin: 'I want to come in and be able to lead them by the way that I work, the way that I approach the game.' Glover Quin has been lauded for his leadership skills, but as he prepares for his first season in Detroit, he said he's not going to give his teammates directions right off the bat.

Sept 8, 2012; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs defensive back Darius Slay during the game against the Auburn Tigers at Davis Wade Stadium.

"We do expect a lot of those guys, especially guys that we took early to be on the field pretty quickly." - Martin Mayhew BYU defensive end Ziggy Ansah, Mississippi State cornerback Darius Slay and Kentucky guard Larry Warford are expected to have an impact with the Detroit Lions this season.

Lacey joined the Lions last year after spending his first three seasons with the Indianapolis Colts .

Top Pick Analysis: Detroit general manger Martin Mayhew really would have liked one of big three left tackles with the fifth overall pick because veteran Jeff Backus called it quits after a solid 12-year career but once that option was closed off, getting a pass-rusher like Ansah made sense.

Who they got : Round 1: Ezekiel Ansah , DE, Brigham Young Round 2: Darius Slay , CB, Mississippi State Round 3: Larry Warford , G, Kentucky Round 4: Devin Taylor, DE, South Carolina Round 5: Sam Martin, P, Appalachian State Round 6: Corey Fuller, WR, Virginia Tech; Theo Riddick , RB, Notre Dame Round 7: Michael Williams, TE, Alabama; Brandon ... (more)

When he was 15, Slay had his son, Darion, and since he didn't want to pass the responsibility to his mother, he considered leaving school to care for his No.

Allen Park -- New Lions cornerback Darius Slay almost had to drop out of high school.

No matter how much we all understand intuitively that it's impossible to project future success, we still want to know what the man who has spent three decades evaluating draft classes thinks of our favorite team's efforts.

Freep writers analyze third round pick Larry Warfo...: Detroit Free Press sports writers Drew Sharp, left, and Dave Birkett discuss the Lions' selection of Larry Warford, a guard from Kentucky.

Detroit Lions cornerback Darius Slay joins the growing list of players with previous injuries drafted by general manager Martin Mayhew.

Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o rests during the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis on Feb.