Detroit Lions top 15 draft picks from 2007-2021

Say what you will about him, but Stafford shook off an early-career injury-prone label to stabilize the most important position on the field for the Lions. In his 12 seasons, he put himself at the top of all the franchise passing records and he won’t be unseated for awhile (if at all).

Today’s NFL diminishes the perception of raw passing numbers. But Stafford was a clutch performer for the Lions (see fourth quarter comebacks), and now he has a Super Bowl ring to complete his Hall of Fame resume.

Another time the Lions had the second overall pick in the draft, they finally nailed an early wide receiver pick. “Megatron” had a tied for league-high 12 touchdowns with over 1,300 yards in his second season (2008), then he led the league in receiving yards in 2011 (1,681) and 2012 (1,964), setting the NFL single-season record with the latter mark as he also led the league with 122 receptions.

Johnson was a six-time Pro Bowler in nine seasons, before he retired at 30 years old (Barry Sanders 2.0 in retiring early, really). A shoo-in Hall of Famer in the 2021 class, he’s No. 1 on this list of the Lions’ top-15 draft picks from the last 15 drafts.