Ranking Detroit Lions biggest draft gems of the last decade

6. RB Jahmyr Gibbs: First Round (No. 12 overall), 2023

There was some buzz that a lot of teams liked Gibbs better than the general consensus best running back in last year's draft class, Bijan Robinson. The Lions were clearly one of them, moving down from No. 6 to No. 12 in the first round and still taking him there.

Gibbs was eased into action early as a rookie. But once he was healthy after missing two games, and with David Montgomery out a few games himself, he took off from there.

Over the final 11 regular season games last year, Gibbs had over 1,000 scrimmage yards with 38 receptions and 11 total touchdowns (10 rushing).

It's a scary thought for opposing defenses, and not unrealistic to think, that Gibbs can be even better in his second season and beyond. On plenty of other teams, he might be No. 1 on a list like this.

5. C Frank Ragnow, First Round (No. 20 overall), 2018

It's rare to draft a center in the first round, and Quinn did in 2018 with Ragnow. After starting all 16 games at left guard during his rookie season, he moved to center the next year and he has not left that post.

Leaving aside 2021, when he missed 13 games with a turf toe injury he's still managing, Ragnow has been a top-six graded center in the league by Pro Football Focus each of the other four seasons (2019, 2020, 2022, 2023). Last season, despite a litany of injuries you'd likely forget something when you list out, he was PFF's No. 1-graded center.

Ragnow's career will surely be shortened by the injuries he's had. But he's the literal center of one of the best offensive lines in the NFL for how ever many more years he plays, and he's been a long-term core player at a position a lot of teams only hope to find one at.