Some Scouts Rate Sanchez Higher Than Stafford, Lions Might Pass on Both

On Sunday at the NFL Combine, we got our first glimpse of Matt Stafford and Mark Sanchez. And while it was difficult to divine much from, well, glimpses -- Stafford didn't take part in the passing drills and Sanchez didn't stand out in his handful of attempts -- it provides coaches, scouts and front-office types one more piece to the evaluation puzzle.

Although conventional mock-draft wisdom has Stafford going before Sanchez -- and probably to the Lions -- those sentiments aren't shared among all scouts. Via the Chicago Tribune's Dan Pompei:

...[T]hree scouts the Tribune contacted this week said they rate Sanchez higher at this point. But because scouts know more about Stafford than Sanchez, many others have a greater comfort level with him. ...

One thing Sanchez has going for him is instincts. Several scouts agree he has more feel for the game than Stafford. That could help offset his inexperience.

Hardly a ringing endorsement, but certainly something different than what we believe at our own peril online. Pompei makes the point that Sanchez has only started 16 collegiate games and that's obviously a concern for some teams (and Pete Carroll). But if he has a solid pro day, and does well in personal workouts, those issues could be mitigated.

Even if Stafford ends up going before Sanchez, there's still no guarantee the Lions will be on the drafting end of either. Chris Burke has made his case for taking an offensive lineman with the first-overall selection, and mlive.com's Tom Kowalski is on board, too.

"I don't think Andre Smith is an option at No. 1 and I don't think (Matthew) Stafford is an option at No. 1. The way things are going now, it's more likely the Lions would take Jason Smith or Aaron Curry ... They're playing it so close to vest, though, they're liable to do anything."

(It's probably worth pointing out that Kowalski made these comments prior to Andre Smith's very public meltdown.) Taking an offensive lineman is the safe pick, and sometimes it's okay to go that route. Somehow I think Charles Rogers and Mike Williams would want it that way.