The Detroit Lions top 7 ‘buyer remorse’ first-round draft choices

Buyer Remorse draft pick #5 – Joey Harrington

in 2002 the Detroit Lions owned the third pick in the draft. Matt Millen was looking for a cornerstone for head coach Marty Mornhinweg’s offense. So on April 20th, 2002, the Lions selected quarterback Joey Harrington out of Oregon University. Joey ‘Blue skies’, as he became known, outlasted Mornhinweg in Detroit.

After the 2002 season, Millen sent the beleaguered Mornhinweg packing so he could hire the man he originally wanted for the job to begin with, Steve Mariucci. After Brett Favre in Green Bay and Steve Young in San Francisco, Harrington wasn’t exactly Mariucci’s ideal.

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Unfortunately, Millen laid down the mandate that this was Harrington’s team and expected that with the right coaching Joey would lead the Lions to many victories and several playoff runs. Yet history tells us a very different story.

The supporting cast around Joey was never that good and his arm which was fine in college was below average for the pro game. Joey ‘Blue skies’ took a beating and his confidence was beaten down as well. Joey only lasted four years in Detroit before they traded him to Miami.

However, Joey Harrington did get his revenge against Detroit as he stepped in at quarterback for the Dolphins on Thanksgiving Day 2006 and led the Miami to a 27-10 win over his former team.

Meanwhile, the Baltimore Ravens used the 24th pick to select University of Miami safety Ed Reed. The Lions weren’t the only ones to miss on Reed, but considering what kind of a force of nature he became, the Lions had to be watching longingly from afar.

Ed Reed played 13 seasons in the NFL before retiring to Canton, Ohio and the Hall of Fame. Reed was a smart, physical player that could just as easily deliver a game-changing hit as well as make the game-winning interception.

While his skills may have faded a little by the time he retired, he was a player that was never out of position and made very few mistakes. Whenever opposing passers thought there was an opening for a big play, it was most likely because Reed was baiting them.

This was easily the fifth-biggest ‘buyer remorse’ Lions fans suffered.