Playing ‘what if’ through the years with some pivotal Detroit Lions draft moves.
Everyone knows that even as the NFL Draft process gets more and more intense by the year, it’s still an inexact science, with a lot that can go wrong.
Through the years, the Detroit Lions have gotten plenty of ridicule (a lot of it deserved) for some of their highly publicized ‘busts’, guys like Andre Ware, Charles Rogers, Joey Harrington, and Mike Williams that entered with great expectations but flopped once they reached the league.
However, when looking at the ‘what ifs’ when thinking back to draft days that went wrong, it’s just as interesting to take a look at some of the future legends that our team didn’t pick.
This is a list of my Top 5 Detroit Lions draft day regrets, the “ones who got away”.
Counting down some of the biggest Detroit Lions draft day regrets
I’m not talking about diamonds in the rough like Tom Brady, who literally nobody expected to turn out like he did. I’m talking about highly-rated players who (mostly) fit the Lions’ exact needs at the time and who they had every reason and opportunity to pick.
Everyone one here is either a Hall of Famer already or will be soon, most of them picked immediately after the Lions selected someone else.
One of them actually even was drafted by the Lions, but still made his legendary career elsewhere without ever putting on the Honolulu Blue.
5. Andre Johnson- Wide Receiver (2003)
The Lions came into the 2003 draft with the second overall pick and hunting for a stud wide receiver to help out youngster quarterback Joey Harrington. Coming off of a stellar career at the University of Miami, Andre Johnson was a surefire top ten pick at receiver.
Johnson would go on to an illustrious 14-year career, earning All-Pro honors twice, seven Pro Bowl selections, and over 14,000 career receiving yards, good for 11th in NFL history. Unfortunately, most of that would take place in Houston rather than Detroit, as the Lions passed on Johnson in favor of another wideout, and the Texans scooped him up one spot later.
In an alternate universe, taking Andre Johnson (and of course, assuming that he had the same type of career) could have saved five plus years of wandering through the wilderness looking for receivers in all the wrong places. When their actual selection quickly flamed out, the front office spent the better part of the decade picking up any and every promising wide receiver available to play catch up for their big miss.
Obviously, this strategy was doomed, with so many other gaps in the roster that kept growing wider and wider. In hindsight, taking that other receiver above Johnson was one (to be fair, of many) major step that planted the seeds for the 0-16 season five years later.
Lions drafted instead: Charles Rogers
Rogers, the troubled wide receiver out of Michigan State (who recently passed away at the age of 38) is an infamous example of a major NFL Draft bust, but make no mistake, this was not a ‘bad pick’ by any stretch.
Coming out of college, Rogers was every bit as talented as Calvin Johnson (though quite a bit smaller), and that’s no exaggeration. With over 2,800 receiving yards and 27 touchdown catches in just two seasons, Rogers won the Biletnikoff award (more on that later) as the nation’s top receiver in 2002.
As an added benefit, the Saginaw kid had starred at Michigan State and was already a huge star in the state of Michigan, giving him the hometown hero story on top of his immense talent. Andre Johnson projected just as strongly, though probably with a slightly lower ceiling at the time. All else being equal, the Texans likely would have taken Rogers too if they had the first chance at him.
Still, seeing how poorly the move turned out for both Rogers and the Lions, Johnson’s Hall of Fame career in Houston is further salt to rub in the wound. This wouldn’t be the only time that a future Hall of Famer would be picked just one spot after the Lions took a pass.
4. Jim Kelly- Quarterback (1983)
Between approximately 1958 and 2009, the Lions were endlessly, consistently, and desperately searching for their next franchise quarterback, their next Bobby Layne. If ever there was a draft where their next great (or at least good) QB was being handed to them on a silver platter, right dead center of that stretch would have been the time.
Still known to this day as ‘the year of the quarterback’, the 1983 draft featured six QBs taken in the first round. Four of these players would reach the Super Bowl at some point in their careers, and three would have Hall of Fame careers.
The Lions held the 13th pick in the draft that year, having gone 4-5 in the strike shortened ’82 season. John Elway, the gem of the class, was long gone by that point (so was Todd Blackledge, for what it’s worth). Still, guys like Jim Kelly, Tony Eason, and Dan Marino were all there for the taking and would be picked up by other teams soon after.
The Lions had Eric Hipple as their somewhat established starter, having just finished his third year on the team. For some of the older fans on this site, I’m curious to hear what the perception of Hipple was around that time. Looking at his career numbers, there doesn’t appear to be any reason for the shot callers in the front office to think they were all set at quarterback with him, but I’d like to hear from people who were there.
As for Kelly, he went to five Pro Bowls and took the Buffalo Bills, who picked the future Hall of Famer (again) one spot after the Lions, to the Super Bowl four times in a row at the start of the 1990s. The Lions would have to wait another 25 years before finding a franchise quarterback.
Lions drafted instead: James Jones
Jones was a fullback back when fullbacks were in fashion, and a pretty good one at that. He scored 33 touchdowns in his first four seasons, helping the Lions to the playoffs right out of the gate in ’83. Still, you don’t hear teams getting philosophical about the importance of landing a franchise fullback, not back then any more than you do now.
3. Aaron Rodgers- Quarterback (2005)
I wanted to put Aaron Rodgers at number one on this list, but reading a similar post at the Pride of Detroit site talked me out of it. Last year, Mike Payton tackled this particular juicy what-if scenario, one that isn’t talked about too often.
The Lions had an iffy quarterback situation in 2005, with Joey Harrington falling out of favor, and the number ten overall pick. Aaron Rodgers dropped way lower than anyone predicted, fell right into Matt Millen’s lap, and the Lions didn’t take him.
Considering the type of career Rodgers has had, including treating the Lions like his personal voodoo doll over and over, poking, prodding, and torturing us, on the surface this seems like a franchise-altering miss. Not so fast, according to Payton via SB Nation’s Pride of Detroit.
"“Because the reality is that probably even in this alternate universe, the Lions still have all the same problems. Charles Rogers still winds up flushing out of the league after 2005, Kevin Jones gets hurt and never fully recovers, Roy Williams never fully realizes his potential.”"
Payton gives a much needed reminder that during this period, the Lions were more than just a struggling team, and even more than just a perennially bad team. For a five year stretch, bad luck, terrible coaching, and even worse (mis)management in the front office was mixing and laying the ground work for the worst team in the history of the league.
As Payton plays out the scenario, he suggests that even if Rodgers were good enough to singlehandedly turn the tide on a few games per season, due to the other talent gaps, the Lions would still be topping out at five to seven years per season during that period. And who would take the fall for that? Payton continues …
"“… as we’ve learned from Matthew Stafford, having a really good quarterback on a crappy team is not good enough. Someone has to take the blame. It’s always the quarterback. In this case, it’s Rodgers.”"
Seeing some of the criticism leveled at Matthew Stafford through the years, it’s hard to argue with that. If after four years the Lions still weren’t very close to playoff level, Rodgers’s rookie contract would be up, the Lions would still be picking near the top of the draft, and still searching for a quarterback. Which somehow still brings them back in position to draft Matthew Stafford in 2009.
The logic isn’t perfect, and I do think Rodgers could have made a big difference in Detroit. I’m still including passing on him as a major draft day regret, but it’s not number one.
Lions drafted instead: Mike Williams
For the third year in a row, the Lions drafted a wide receiver in the top ten. Starting quarterback Joey Harrington lasted only one more year in Detroit, Mike Williams was a colossal bust, and Aaron Rodgers went to our biggest rivals and has been waterboarding us twice a year ever since.
2. Aaron Donald, Defensive Tackle (2014)
First off, I understand why the Lions passed on Aaron Donald.
- Many scouts felt Donald was undersized for the position.
- The Lions already had the best defensive tackle in the game and were hoping to re-sign him.
- The offense had incredible potential but had sputtered for two years in a row.
- The run defense was by far the best in the league the next year even without Donald.
This would have been a luxury pick and a longer term investment for a team that was nearing the end of what felt like a championship window of opportunity. They went into the 2014 draft looking for someone to help them win in 2014, so it’s hard to fault them in that regard.
Still, when you look at what having Donald could have meant to the team between 2015-2017…
- Donald was a first team All-Pro all three years.
- Suh left after 2014 and the defensive line never fully recovered.
- Matthew Stafford had a great three year stretch and put the entire offense on his back.
- The Lions had some okay teams (7-9, 9-7, 9-7) but not enough depth or star power.
I know it’s stupid to get nostalgic over a past that never even happened, but yeah, that kind of hurts to think about. The fact that Donald and Suh did end up playing together and did end up going to the Super Bowl, but with the Rams instead of the Lions? I don’t know what that’s supposed to be a sign of, but it’s gotta be some sort of perverted symbolism.
Lions drafted instead: Eric Ebron
During his four seasons in Detroit, this drafted-way-higher-than-he-should-have-been tight end was always a target for criticism. He was an average player when they thought he could develop into a generational level talent and bring the offense over the top.
It’s not Ebron’s fault that he was overrated and overdrafted, as it’s not his fault that Donald vastly outperformed expectations and turned out to be even better than Ndamukong Suh. Still, it’s not a stretch to say that one tough draft day decision could have vastly changed how we feel about the Lions and Matthew Stafford’s overall legacy right now.
1. Fred Biletnikoff- Wide Receiver (1965)
Remember how I mentioned that Charles Rogers won the Biletnikoff Award when he was at Michigan State? It’s the most prestigious award that a wide receiver can win besides the Heisman Trophy. Calvin Johnson won it too. So did Golden Tate.
A lot of people don’t know much about the man behind the award, and I’ll admit I didn’t know much about Biletnikoff or that the Lions had any connection to him before I started researching for this piece. What I found though, was enough to convince me that the Lions as we know them today, with the frustration, losing, talks of curses and ‘S.O.L’, had Biletnikoff joined the Lions in 1965.
Coming out of Florida State, Biletnikoff was undersized and not known for his speed, but had been a two-way star throughout college, as a receiver and defensive back (sort of a Pre-Deion Sanders). With flowing hair and a moustache that was more Prefontaine than Prime Time, Biletnikoff went on to a Hall of Fame career as a receiver for the Oakland Raiders. Among his pro accomplishments:
- Two time All-Pro, six time Pro Bowl selection.
- 76 career touchdown catches, just seven fewer than Calvin Johnson, at a time when NFL teams didn’t really throw it like that.
- Super Bowl XI MVP
- Ranked the #3 Raider of All-Time in an NFL Films special.
Lions drafted Instead: Actually, the Lions did draft Fred Biletnikoff, in the third round of 1965. Think Kenny Golladay was a steal of a third round wide receiver? Imagine the Lions getting that type of career out of Golladay.
The only problem was that somebody else drafted Biletnikoff too. This is just a few years before the AFL-NFL merger, with two separate drafts and an opportunity for a player to sign with either team. Even though the Lions weren’t ‘the Lions’ yet, and even though the AFL was seen as vastly inferior at the time, Biletnikoff took that route. The Fords (who weren’t ‘the Fords’ yet in the minds of fans) couldn’t get him to sign.
He signed with the Raiders instead of Detroit, taking a $150,000 signing bonus (about $1.2 million today) to do so. While Biletnikoff enjoyed a wildly successful 14-year career in Oakland, the Lions only made the playoffs one time during that stretch, and as the years slowly piled up, the frustration in Motown did too.
Had Biletnikoff indeed played for the Lions, a long stretch of near misses (they finished second in the division seven times in a row around the start of the 70s) could have been tipped into at least a few magic moments. We might be looking at a few of those quarterbacks differently, Greg Landry in particular. The 1970 team would have had a very good chance to win Super Bowl IV.
Going even into today, had Biletnikoff been added to those Lions rosters of the 70s, Matthew Stafford may have played his entire career facing far less pressure and desperation from the famished fan base. The Detroit Lions of today might be struggling, but the organization might not be infamous, which is why I’ve listed Biletnikoff as the top draft regret in Detroit Lions history.