Reiff perfect pick for the Lions

The Detroit Lions went in to Thursday's draft with a plan to continue building a solid football team. Consensus around the state of Michigan was to find a way to get a good defensive back.  LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne, who ended up going sixth overall to the Dallas Cowboys, was the best corner in the draft and other than that, the cornerbacks available are very questionable as players, and players that will make an impact for the Lions.

The Detroit Lions selected Iowa offensive tackle Riley Reiff in the
first round of the 2012 draft.

Although it looks like corner is the biggest need that has to be addressed thanks to the final game of the regular season against Green Bay and the playoff game against New Orleans where the defense allowed 45 points in each game.
The problem with that assessment is that corner was actually not the teams' biggest need. With left tackle Jeff Backus turning 35 at the beginning of the season and coming off a torn biceps, there was a need to find his future replacement now.  Also, the running game on offense was very ineffective for the Lions. Part of the blame was the injuries to running backs Jahvid Best and Mikel Leshoure, but the problem was the run blocking by the offensive line.
With tantalizing players to trade up and select to satisfy the fans like cornerbacks Stephon Gilmore out of South Carolina and Dre Kirkpatrick out of Alabama, the Lions instead took the right route and stayed at their spot at 23rd overall and that allowed the second best offensive lineman Riley Reiff our of Iowa to fall with a late rush on pass rushers in the middle of the first round.
Riley Reiff was not expected to be anywhere near the middle of the first round, and instead should have been a top ten pick. Reiff played left tackle in college at Iowa, but will be placed at right tackle this upcoming season to give him some playing experience until next season when he transitions over to left tackle.
Another aspect of Reiff's game to look at is his ability to run block. Reiff played in the Big Ten conference at Iowa, and if a lineman can't run block, they aren't playing in the game. Reiff is a dual-threat type player with good run blocking and pass blocking.
Even though there is a need at corner, Reiff was the right pick and the better pick for the Lions as a franchise moving forward.