Jeff Okudah. Charles Rogers. Joey Harrington. Mike Williams.
These are names that probably just made you wince, if you're a life-long Detroit Lions fan.
As a New York Jets fan myself, I know the feeling: the draft offers a multitude of mystery boxes that every other team seems to hit gold with, while your team hits bust, after bust, after bust.
Much like the Jets, though, the Lions have found themselves the beneficiary of numerous years in a row of great draft selections, smart free agency signings, and a stabilizing 2021 trade that landed them a franchise quarterback for years to come. New York isn't quite there yet on that last point, but the foundation is being laid...I tell myself.
Draft busts are a tough pill to swallow for time immemorial. And, Bleacher Report just did us all the favor of allowing us to relive that pain with a list of 99 biggest draft busts of all time. Likely to no Lions fans' surprise, the team has four selections make this list: Okudah at 99, Williams at 85, Harrington at 51, and Rogers at 21.
Lions net four historically bad draft busts of all time on B/R's latest list
What's most funny about these selections is that the Lions would then go on to either take the much better alternative to those picks, or they'd just miss out on a generational talent a pick or two prior or after their selection. It makes the pick all the more painful, huh!
In the 2020 draft, the Lions were picking third overall. Chase Young, another perceived bust for the Washington Commanders, was taken just one spot before. A.J. Terrell, taken by the Atlanta Falcons at 16th overall, might've been a better fit for Detroit at cornerback here, but this was a strange draft due to the pandemic. Okudah went on to be often injured, barely effective, to eventually traded.
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Mike Williams was their attempt at snagging a generational wide receiver in 2005, which they did eventually land in 2007 with Calvin Johnson. So, just two years of suffering for several years of greatness, not a terrible trade off.
Harrington was Detroit's attempt at snagging a generational quarterback, and of course, that also went awry as he was relentlessly picked off and unable to limit those turnovers as his career progressed. It would be seven years between this pick and their actual selection of a generational quarterback.
In one of the most hand-to-forehead-slap moves, though, the Lions selected Rogers ahead of Andre Johnson in 2003. The Hall of Famer was within reach for Detroit, and instead, they took Rogers, who was injured and then suspended in all three seasons in the NFL.
Detroit can wash their hands of these picks, even the Okudah selection with its recency. These were necessary life lessons, and karmic picks for them to make before their generational draft run between 2021 and 2023.
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