ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- The Detroit Lions have six weeks until they have to make the first selection of the NFL draft, and they are in no hurry to decide.
"There's still a lot to do before we make that decision," Lions coach Jim Schwartz said Tuesday. "There are still a lot of hoops for these guys to jump through."
Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford is widely considered to be on the short list of players who could be selected by the Lions on April 25.
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Stafford didn't throw for teams at the scouting combine in Indianapolis last month. He'll do that at Georgia's pro day March 19, then have a private on-campus workout with the Lions.
"Obviously, we need to see his arm, and we need to get more than we can get at Georgia's pro day," Schwartz said. "After all, that will be a day that every team attends, and that will be highlighting their other players, not just Stafford."
Schwartz said Detroit's staff has studied Stafford on film, but he wants the private workout to put the quarterback through specific situations.
"We've seen every pass he's thrown in the last two years, and that's where you learn about his decision-making ability," Schwartz said. "At the workout, though, we can have more control over the balls he's throwing -- we can see how he throws to the stationary targets we want to see and how he throws to the moving targets we want to see."
Schwartz said the Lions haven't made arrangements to have private workouts with other players, such as offensive tackles Jason Smith (Baylor) and Eugene Monroe (Virginia) or linebacker Aaron Curry (Wake Forest), but said there was a "strong possibility" that the team would visit more prospects.
Schwartz said Curry, who profiles as a strong-side linebacker, has the versatility to move around the defense.
"He's played on the strong side, both standing up and down on the line, but he's also played the middle in their nickel package and as almost a strong safety in other situations," Schwartz said. "This is a very versatile player, which is why he's been looked at so highly."
The Lions haven't made any big free-agent acquisitions, but Schwartz didn't consider that a bad thing.
"For one thing, I don't think that free agency is something you can look at on its own -- you have to look at it in conjunction with the draft," he said. "Also, we're only halfway through free agency. Too many people only focus on the first 48 hours, but we're looking at the entire period."
The Lions became the first team in NFL history to finish 0-16 last season.
"There have been situations where we've had a chance to go after a bigger signing, but we can't put ourselves in a position where making one signing keeps us from making two more that we need to make," he said.
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
