"The Lions have far fewer holes in their roster than they did three years ago, when Martin Mayhew took over as general manager and made "best player available" part of the draft lexicon.

But don't expect the organization to stray too far from that principle when it reconfigures its roster this off-season.

"I think it's a lot easier to see the needs that we have, but I don't think it changes your philosophy," Lions coach Jim Schwartz said Monday. "I think it's a little bit like we talked about before -- you can fall into a trap there. 'Hey, we're 10-6. All we need is this and keep everything else the same.' Well, that doesn't work in this league."