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

Buyer Remorse draft pick #2 – Reggie Brown

In 1996 the Detroit Lions had two first-round selections. On April 20, 1996, they used their first pick at number 17 to select Texas A&M linebacker, Reggie Brown. Then at number 23, they picked Penn State guard Jeff Hartings. Both had the chance to be superstars.

Hartings became one of the best interior linemen in the NFL and a pick Lions fans have little to cry about except for the fact that after five seasons in the Motor City he signed with Pittsburgh as a free agent and continued to play at an all-pro level for them.

Unfortunately, Reggie Brown turned into the weak link here. It’s not that he wasn’t a good player. As a matter of fact, he proved to be a linebacker that could do it all. In his second season he recorded 2.5 sacks and also intercepted two passes both of which he returned for touchdowns.

The future looked very bright for the young star from Texas A&M. Then misfortune struck in the final game of his second season. Brown suffered a spinal contusion while making a tackle. CPR on the Silverdome turf saved his life and emergency surgery saved him spending the rest of his life in a wheelchair. But his career which was starting to show great promise was now over.

While neither of these players were a bust by any means, losing Brown to an accident so early in his career truly hurt the franchise.

Meanwhile, at pick number 26, the Baltimore Ravens selected an undersized middle linebacker from the University of Miami named Ray Lewis. I think just about all of us know what Lewis accomplished in his storied career.

With 13 Pro Bowls and two Super Bowl championships to his name, Lewis was one of the most intense, focused and feared defenders in league history. His drive and leadership was the catalyst to so many outstanding Ravens defensive units.

He was a player that could turnaround a whole defense by sheer force of will. He refused to be second best and played every down like it was his last. Now enshrined in the Hall of Fame, it seems unbelievable that he was bypassed 25 times before Baltimore selected him.

Ironically Detroit actually made two good draft choices in 1996, but neither of them, especially after Brown’s injury, can match missing out on Lewis, the number two ‘buyers regret’ draft pick of the Lions.