Detroit Lions draft picks: The good, the bad, and the ugly since 2010
Detroit Lions: The Ugly, Part II
Titus Young, Sr.– Proof positive that some people don’t learn from their mistakes. This pick (2011) and the following year’s pick (below) were both horrible ideas come true in the 2nd-Round. Young was an undersized, marginally talented wide receiver who the Lions decided to draft early.
Ultimately, his mental health and off-the-field issues forced him out of the game. We didn’t get the pick on draft day, and Young just kept us shaking our heads.
Ryan Broyles– This pick, 2nd-2012, is one of those times as a fan we knew what was going to happen. Broyles was hurt and not all the way healthy during the combine and Pro Days, but was a productive Sooners’ wideout before his knee injury. We still cringe when we hear draft gurus say, “If he wasn’t hurt, he’d be a 1st-Round pick”, about anyone.
Broyles barely touched the football (32 receptions in 3 years), but stayed around for way too long. There are a bunch of these if I went back longer but we’re trying to keep from writing a novel.
Jahvid Best– This was tragic in many ways; Best is a great athlete and tried very hard to be the runner Detroit drafted him to be when they traded back into Round 1 to get him in 2010. The part that was difficult to understand is how the Lions front office tried to convince everyone that his history of concussions was being overblown and that he’d been “checked out.”
Best had more than 1,000 yards from scrimmage as a rookie but had his career shortened by the concussions he sustained as a player. He stayed on the roster for a couple of seasons to ensure that he’d get a pension from the NFL and medical benefits. Sad for him but the Detroit Lions trying to justify bad picks is another repetitive theme.
Next. Ranking the 5 best Lions draft classes of the past 30 years. dark
Final word
Who did we miss? Even though Bob Quinn has been better than Martin Mayhew and Matt Millen so far, what picks of his don’t sit well with you? Is the franchise headed in the right direction? Let’s discuss it in the comments section.
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