Detroit Lions: 15 greatest draft-day steals of all-time

Joe Schmidt is on the Lions’ Mount Rushmore. He is not only one of the greatest defensive players in Lions football history, but one of the greatest linebackers in the history of the NFL. To think that he was just a seventh-round pick coming out of Pittsburgh in the 1953 seems laughable now.

Schmidt played 13 Pro Football Hall of Fame seasons for the Lions from 1953 to 1965. He was a two-time NFL champion with those championships coming in his rookie season in 1953 and a few years later in 1957. By that point, Schmidt was a perennial Pro Bowl player and a First-Team All-Pro.

In Schmidt’s illustrious football career, he made 10 straight trips to the Pro Bowl from 1954 to 1963. He was First-Team All-Pro in all but two of those years. The two years he didn’t make the All-Pro first team would be in 1960 and 1963. So it’s only fitting that he is a member of the NFL 1950s All-Decade Team for his elite play on the gridiron in Motown.

Twice would Schmidt be named NFL Defensive Player of the Year. That came in 1960 and 1963. He was also named NFL Lineman of the Year in 1957. His No. 73 jersey has been retired by his alma mater in the University of Pittsburgh. The same thing can be said for his No. 56 jersey by the Lions organization.

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Right after retiring as a player, Schmidt got into coaching. He ended up replacing Harry Gilmer as the Lions head coach ahead of the 1967 NFL season.

Schmidt led the Lions for six seasons, but never won the division. However, he was a keen evaluator of talent, as the Lions hit several home runs in NFL Drafts during that time.

Schmidt ended up selecting two future Pro Football Hall of Famers during his time as Lions head coach.

Those two guys who would end up joining him in Canton were defensive back Lem Barney and tight end Charlie Sanders. Running back Mel Farr won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1967. Wide receiver Earl McCullouch did the same thing in his rookie season in 1968.

Interestingly enough, the year after Schmidt was done coaching the Lions he would be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the Class of 1973. He would later earn enshrinement into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000 for his on-field contributions while with the Pittsburgh Panthers in the early 1950s.

Overall, the Lions have had several outstanding draft-day steals. Whether it is capitalizing on a team in front of them’s mistake in the first round (see Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson) or mining a guy in later rounds (see Schmidt, Jack Christiansen), the Lions have shown they can find great value anywhere in the NFL Draft.