Jahvid Best is exceptionally fast and extremely athletic, and when he was healthy, was a productive running back at Cal.
The key word in the above sentence, however, is "when."
Best is more than a little injury prone. He has a long history of injuries - every year in college, in fact.. People talk all the time about protecting Lions’ quarterback Matthew Stafford as the franchise with a premier left tackle. Nobody is more important to a quarterback’s health than a running back picking up blitzers. Best is slight of build. It’s unlikely he will provide any pass protection for Stafford.
If the Lions try to hand Best the ball 300 times in a season, chances are he won’t make it. And if he does, chances are the QB won’t make it.
Trading up for Best, when they needed an every down back, wasn’t a good move by the Lions. Especially when there were a number of ways remaining they could have augmented their greatest need - defense.
I did like the pick of Ndamukong Suh second overall. I had an argument - and I felt a compelling one - that Eric Berry, the safety from Tennessee, would have been a better selection for the Lions. But it’s not like Suh is football’s version of Darko Milicic. He is very talented and driven. Whether he will be that rarity, who will have a tremendous impact playing inside tackle in the NFL, remains to be seen. But it wasn’t a foolish pick by any stretch of the imagination. And I really like it that so many of the Lions’ fans are happy with it. Usually, the Lions’ decisions tend to make their fans grumpy, upset or downright angry. Good to see a collective smile on their faces about something.

More of my thoughts about the Suh pick: http://tinyurl.com/zccgbp

My Column in Friday's Oakland Press. Big Five Red Wings Must Shine: http://tinyurl.com/33qyfnp