|
Jan
8
|
Posted by Mack
January 8, 2008 |
|
- Can the Detroit Lions Draft Better in 2008?
Your ‘Lion Eyes’ blogger has done a little research since the end of the 2007 NFL season for the Lions. Yes I know the 2007 NFL season is still going with the playoffs and of course with Super Bowl XLII coming up, but those items don’t seem to concern Matt Millen. Millen is focused on the 2008 NFL Draft. After seeing the complete list of who the Lions have drafted in the Millen era it is no wonder to me why the Lions are 31-81 since Millen arrived in 2001. Remember at Millen’s press conference in 2001 he said he expected the Lions to ‘Win Multiple Super Bowls’.
Here is the List of Draftees taken by the Detroit Lions since the 2001 NFL Draft.
| Year |
Round |
Overall |
Player |
Position |
School |
Still with Team? |
Pro Bowl Years |
| 2001 |
1 |
18 |
Jeff Backus |
Tackle |
Michigan |
Yes |
|
| 2001 |
2 |
50 |
Dominic Raiola |
Center |
Nebraska |
Yes |
2007(A) |
| 2001 |
2 |
61 |
Shaun Rogers |
Defensive Tackle |
Texas |
Yes |
2004,2005, 2007(A) |
| 2001 |
5 |
148 |
Scottie Anderson |
Wide Receiver |
Grambling |
No |
|
| 2001 |
5 |
149 |
Mike McMahon |
Quarterback |
Rutgers |
No |
|
| 2001 |
6 |
173 |
Jason Glenn |
Linebacker |
Texas A&M |
No |
|
Backus, Raiola and Rogers were still important pieces of the team during 2007 season.
| Year |
Round |
Overall |
Player |
Position |
School |
Still with Team? |
Pro Bowl Years |
| 2002 |
1 |
3 |
Joey Harrington |
Quarterback |
Oregon |
No |
|
| 2002 |
2 |
35 |
Kalimba Edwards |
Defensive End |
South Carolina |
Yes |
|
| 2002 |
3 |
68 |
Andre’ Goodman |
Cornerback |
South Carolina |
No |
|
| 2002 |
4 |
134 |
Jonathon Taylor |
Defensive End |
Montana State |
No |
|
| 2002 |
5 |
138 |
John Owens |
Tight End |
Notre Dame |
No |
|
| 2002 |
6 |
175 |
Chris Cash |
Cornerback |
USC |
No |
|
| 2002 |
7 |
215 |
Luke Staley |
Running Back |
Brigham Young |
No |
|
| 2002 |
7 |
263 |
Matt Murphy |
Tight End |
Maryland |
No |
|
| 2002 |
6 |
259 |
Victor Rogers |
Tackle |
Colorado |
No |
|
2002 Draft provided no players that contributed to 2007 Season. Edwards is the only player left on the team and he was inactive at the end of the season for production issues by Coach Rod Marinelli.
| Year |
Round |
Overall |
Player |
Position |
School |
Still with Team? |
Pro Bowl Years |
| 2003 |
1 |
2 |
Charles Rogers |
Wide Receiver |
Michigan State |
No |
|
| 2003 |
2 |
34 |
Boss Bailey |
Linebacker |
Georgia |
Yes |
|
| 2003 |
3 |
66 |
Corey Redding |
Defensive End |
Texas |
Yes |
|
| 2003 |
4 |
99 |
Artose Pinner |
Running Back |
Kentucky |
No |
|
| 2003 |
5 |
137 |
Terrence Holt |
Safety |
N.C. State |
No |
|
| 2003 |
5 |
144 |
James Davis |
Linebacker |
West Virginia |
No |
|
| 2003 |
6 |
175 |
David Kircus |
Wide Receiver |
Grand Valley |
No |
|
| 2003 |
7 |
216 |
Ben Johnson |
Tackle |
Wisconsin |
No |
|
| 2003 |
7 |
220 |
Blue Adams |
Cornerback |
Cincinnati |
No |
|
Bailey and Redding still with the team but both seemed to have sub-par seasons during 2007.
| Year |
Round |
Overall |
Player |
Position |
School |
Still with Team? |
Pro Bowl Years |
| 2004 |
1 |
7 |
Roy Williams |
Wide Receiver |
Texas |
Yes |
2006,2007(A) |
| 2004 |
1 |
30 |
Kevin Jones |
Running Back |
Virginia Tech |
Yes |
|
| 2004 |
2 |
37 |
Teddy Lehman |
Linebacker |
Oklahoma |
Yes |
|
| 2004 |
3 |
73 |
Keith Smith |
Cornerback |
McNeese State |
Yes |
|
| 2004 |
5 |
140 |
Alex Lewis |
Linebacker |
Wisconsin |
Yes |
|
| 2004 |
6 |
172 |
Kelly Butler |
Tackle |
Purdue |
No |
|
Williams and Jones ended the 2007 season hurt and Jones faces another long rehab after ACL surgery. Lehman, Smith and Lewis are expected to contribute more after 3 full seasons.
| Year |
Round |
Overall |
Player |
Position |
School |
Still with Team? |
Pro Bowl Years |
| 2005 |
1 |
10 |
Mike Williams |
Wide Receiver |
USC |
No |
|
| 2005 |
2 |
37 |
Shaun Cody |
Defensive Tackle |
USC |
Yes |
|
| 2005 |
3 |
72 |
Stanely Wilson |
Cornerback |
Stanford |
Yes |
|
| 2005 |
5 |
145 |
Dan Orlovsky |
Quarterback |
Connecticut |
Yes |
|
| 2005 |
5 |
149 |
Mike McMahon |
Quarterback |
Rutgers |
No |
|
| 2005 |
6 |
184 |
Bill Swancut |
Defensive End |
Oregon State |
No |
|
| 2005 |
6 |
206 |
Jonathon Goodard |
Linebacker |
Marshall |
No |
|
Not a good draft year for Millen. Williams has been a total NFL bust through 3 seasons. Orlovsky is not mentioned as possible future QB anymore. Wilson and Cody have not contributed much through their 3 seasons.
| Year |
Round |
Overall |
Player |
Position |
School |
Still with Team? |
Pro Bowl Years |
| 2006 |
1 |
9 |
Ernie Sims |
Linebacker |
Florida State |
Yes |
2007(A) |
| 2006 |
2 |
40 |
Daniel Bullocks |
Safety |
Nebraska |
Yes |
|
| 2006 |
3 |
74 |
Brian Calhoun |
Running Back |
Wisconsin |
Yes |
|
| 2006 |
5 |
145 |
Jonathon Scott |
Tackle |
Texas |
Yes |
|
| 2006 |
6 |
179 |
Dee McCann |
Cornerback |
West Virginia |
No |
|
| 2006 |
7 |
217 |
Fred Matua |
Guard |
USC |
No |
|
| 2006 |
7 |
247 |
Anthony Cannon |
Linebacker |
Tulane |
No |
|
Jury is still out on this draft. Scott, Calhoun and Bullocks all were injured and didn’t contribute during 2007. Sims is a Pro Bowl player.
| Year |
Round |
Overall |
Player |
Position |
School |
Still with Team? |
Pro Bowl Years |
| 2007 |
1 |
2 |
Calvin Johnson |
Wide Receiver |
Georgia Tech |
Yes |
|
| 2007 |
2 |
43 |
Drew Stanton |
Quarterback |
Michigan State |
Yes |
|
| 2007 |
2 |
59 |
Alama-Francis Ikaika |
Defensive End |
Hawaii |
Yes |
|
| 2007 |
2 |
62 |
Gerald Alexander |
Safety |
Boise State |
Yes |
|
| 2007 |
4 |
105 |
A.J. Davis |
Cornerback |
N.C. State |
Yes |
|
| 2007 |
4 |
117 |
Manny Ramirez |
Linebacker |
Texas Tech |
Yes |
|
| 2007 |
5 |
158 |
Johnny Baldwin |
Linebacker |
Alabama A&M |
No |
|
| 2007 |
6 |
255 |
Ramzee Robinson |
Cornerback |
Alabama |
Yes |
|
Hopefully this draft will turn out to be Millen’s start of drafting well. Johnson and Alexander were contributors during 2007. The Lions are grooming Stanton to be the heir to Kitna at QB. Marinelli expects a lot out of Alama-Francis.
- Summary of 7 Years of Drafting by Matt Millen
- 51 Total Draft Picks by the Lions
- 26 Draft Picks still with Lions at the end of 2007 season or just over %50
- Drafted players that started for Lions during 2007 - 9
- Pro Bowl Players drafted by Lions - 4
- 2002, 2003 and 2005 drafts that should be contributing to Lions playoff teams have only 6 players still on the team and one those players is the 3rd QB for every game. These three drafts have to be considered total failures and will probably continue to handicap the Lions for a few more seasons.
So it seems that Millen needs some assistance with the scouting or the decision making on who to draft for 2008. The Lions need less wide receivers and more of the following to help in 2008 and future seasons:
- Offensive Lineman
- Defensive Lineman
- Linebackers
- Defensive backs
- Running backs
In other words just about every area on the team needs improvement.
Comments
Hi Fact Finder, thanks for the comment. Hope you come back often.
[...] Michael Keating wrote an interesting post today on Will the Detroit Lions Draft better in 2008?Here’s a quick excerptYes I know the 2007 NFL season is still going with the playoffs and of course with Super Bowl XLII coming up, but those items don’t seem to concern Matt Millen. Millen is focused on the 2008 NFL Draft. After seeing the complete list of … [...]
My dad passed away in 1981 and he left me this very sound advice— NEVER bet on the Lions win, lose or spread. Still applicable after 25 or more years.
[...] you follow this blog then you saw this post that showed how bad Matt Millen has drafted for the Lions since he showed up in 2001. In following [...]
[...] and leaving everything up to Rod. Given Millen’s lack of success, as discussed in this post, in the NFL Draft since he arrived in 2001 this probably is a good thing. But, it seems that all [...]
[...] those draftees by the Red Wings with the recent draftees by the Lions that I put in this post back in January. In Summary the Lions have drafted the following players since current GM Matt [...]