Detroit Lions draft history

This article is part of series on the

Detroit Lions draft history
Draft picks from 1936 to 1969
Draft picks from 1970 to the present
List of first-round draft picks

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The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the North Division of the National Football Conference.[1] The franchise was founded in Portsmouth, Ohio, as the Portsmouth Spartans and joined the NFL on July 12, 1930.[2] After being purchased by George A. Richards in 1934, the franchise was relocated to Detroit and renamed to the Detroit Lions in reference to the city's Major League Baseball franchise, the Detroit Tigers.[3][4] The team plays its home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.[5] The Lions took part in the first NFL draft of college football players in 1936 and have participated in every NFL draft since.[6][7] With the eighth pick of the first round of the 1936 draft, Sid Wagner, a guard from Michigan State University, became the Lions' first draft selection.[2]

When a team selects a player, the team receives exclusive rights to sign that player to a contract and no other team in the league may sign them, with limited exceptions.[8][9] From 1936 to 1959, the NFL draft was the only collegiate draft for players of American football, except for that of the short-lived All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in the late 1940s.[10] However, starting in 1960, the newly-formed American Football League (AFL) began a competing draft of the same group of collegiate players. The NFL and AFL competed for the same players from 1960 to 1966, creating a bidding war for signing draft picks and players that threatened the financial sustainability of each league. In 1967, the AFL and NFL announced a merger that would be finalized in 1970. During this time, both leagues implemented a common draft, thus avoiding competition for signing draftees.[11] In addition to the annual draft, special drafts have occurred. These included the 1950 AAFC dispersal draft and the 1984 NFL supplemental draft, where existing NFL teams, including the Lions, were able to select players from other leagues. The AAFC dispersal draft was organized after the AAFC merged with the NFL; three teams from the AAFC were admitted into the NFL, while most of the remaining players from the other five AAFC teams were placed in the dispersal draft.[12][13] The 1984 supplemental draft occurred after the formation of the United States Football League (USFL) with the primary purpose of selecting players that had already signed with a USFL team in a separate process from the annual draft. The Canadian Football League (CFL) was also included in this supplemental draft.[14] In addition to the 1984 supplemental draft, the NFL has hosted an annual supplemental draft since 1977 for players who had circumstances affect their eligibility for the NFL draft.[15] The Lions have only selected a player once in a supplemental draft, taking Kevin Robinson in the ninth round in 1982.[16] With this selection, the Lions forfeited their normal ninth-round pick in the 1983 NFL draft.[16] Additionally, eight expansion drafts occurred, with the most recent in 2002, where newly formed NFL teams were allowed to draft players from existing NFL teams within certain limitations.[17][18]

Throughout the history of the NFL draft, the number of rounds and the number of picks have fluctuated significantly, depending on the number of teams in the NFL. Thus with 32 teams in the NFL since 2002, there have been 32 standard draft picks per round.[19] The number of rounds peaked to 32 in the years during and after World War II, although that number has been routinely reduced down to the current seven rounds per draft.[20] The order of the draft selection is derived from the previous season's final standings, with the worst team in the league selecting first and the champion selecting last.[21] However, for 12 years from 1947 to 1958, the first overall pick was chosen by a lottery, with that selection replacing what would have been the team's original first-round selection based on their record the previous season. When a team won the lottery, they were then removed from the next year's lottery.[22] The Lions won the lottery pick in the 1950 NFL draft, using their bonus pick to select Leon Hart, an end from Notre Dame.[23]

The Lions have selected 15 players who were eventually elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[24] Five of these players—Fred Biletnikoff, Otto Graham, Johnny Robinson, Mac Speedie, and Y. A. Tittle—chose not to play for the Lions and instead signed for teams in competing leagues.[25] Seven of the Lions' draft picks have won the Associated Press NFL Rookie of the Year Award: Lem Barney (1967), Mel Farr (1967), Earl McCullouch (1968), Al Baker (1978), Billy Sims (1980), Barry Sanders (1989), and Ndamukong Suh (2010).[26][27] The Lions have drafted first overall four times, selecting Frank Sinkwich in 1943, Leon Hart in 1950, Billy Sims in 1980, and Matthew Stafford in 2009.[7] They have also drafted at second overall six times: Glenn Davis in 1947, John Rauch in 1949, Charles Rogers in 2003, Calvin Johnson in 2007, Ndamukong Suh in 2010, and Aidan Hutchinson in 2022.[7] The Lions participated in the most recent draft in 2025, selecting seven players over seven rounds, including Tyleik Williams as their first-round draft pick.[28]

## Draft history by year

[edit]

For individual player selections by year, see Detroit Lions draft picks (1936–1969) and Detroit Lions draft picks (1970–present).

Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order relative to its record in the previous season, which means that the last place team is positioned first and the season's champion is last. From this position, the team can either select a player or trade its position to another team for other draft positions, a player or players, or any combination thereof. The round is complete when all of the round's picks have been used to select a player.[29][30]

Certain aspects of the draft, including team positioning and the number of rounds in the draft, have been revised since its creation, but the fundamental method has remained the same. Currently, the draft consists of seven rounds.[31][32]

Detroit Lions draft history by year Draft  | Rounds  | Original draft order[a] | Total selections  | First-round pick(s) | Refs

|
|
|
|
|

1936 | 9  | 8th  | 9 | Sid Wagner | [33]
1937 | 10  | 7th  | 10 | Lloyd Cardwell | [34]
1938 | 12  | 6th  | 10 | Alex Wojciechowicz | [35]
1939 | 22  | 7th  | 20 | John Pingel | [36]
1940 | 22  | 6th  | 20 | Doyle Nave | [37]
1941 | 22  | 5th  | 20 | Jim Thomason | [38]
1942 | 22  | 5th  | 20 | Bob Westfall | [39]
1943 | 32  | 1st | 30 | Frank Sinkwich | [40]
1944 | 32  | 4th  | 30 | Otto Graham | [41]
1945 | 32  | 6th  | 30 | Frank Szymanski | [42]
1946 | 32  | 8th  | 30 | Bill Dellastatious | [43]
1947 | 32  | 2nd | 30 | Glenn Davis | [44]
1948 | 32  | 3rd  | 28 | Y. A. Tittle | [45]
1949 | 25  | 2nd | 23 | John Rauch | [46]
1950 dispersal | 10  | 4th  | 10 | Robert Hoernschemeyer | [13]
1950 | 30  | 5th  | 31 | Leon Hart | [47]
Joe Watson
1951 | 30  | 8th  | 28 | No pick | [48]
1952 | 30  | 9th  | 27 | No pick | [49]
1953 | 30  | 13th  | 28 | Harley Sewell | [50]
1954 | 30  | 13th  | 32 | Dick Chapman | [51]
1955 | 30  | 12th  | 33 | Dave Middleton | [52]
1956 | 30  | 3rd  | 30 | Howard Cassady | [53]
1957 | 30  | 12th  | 30 | Bill Glass | [54]
1958 | 30  | 10th  | 32 | Alex Karras | [55]
1959 | 30  | 6th  | 32 | Nick Pietrosante | [56]
1960 | 20  | 3rd  | 20 | Johnny Robinson | [57]
1961 | 20  | 10th  | 19 | No pick | [58]
1962 | 20  | 10th  | 22 | John Hadl | [59]
1963 | 20  | 12th  | 18 | Daryl Sanders | [60]
1964 | 20  | 5th  | 21 | Pete Beathard | [61]
1965 | 20  | 11th  | 23 | Tom Nowatzke | [62]
1966 | 20  | 8th  | 21 | No pick | [63]
1967 | 17  | 7th  | 16 | Mel Farr | [64]
1968 | 17  | 11th  | 16 | Greg Landry | [65]
Earl McCullouch
1969 | 17  | 8th  | 14 | No pick | [66]
1970 | 17  | 19th  | 15 | Steve Owens | [67]
1971 | 17  | 21st  | 18 | Bob Bell | [68]
1972 | 17  | 16th  | 14 | Herb Orvis | [69]
1973 | 17  | 19th  | 20 | Ernie Price | [70]
1974 | 17  | 13th  | 16 | Ed O'Neil | [71]
1975 | 17  | 13th  | 17 | Lynn Boden | [72]
1976 | 17  | 16th  | 19 | James Hunter | [73]
Lawrence Gaines
1977 | 12  | 12th  | 11 | No pick | [74]
1978 | 12  | 11th  | 15 | Luther Bradley | [75]
1979 | 12  | 10th  | 11 | Keith Dorney | [76]
1980 | 12  | 1st | 13 | Billy Sims | [77]
1981 | 12  | 16th  | 12 | Mark Nichols | [78]
1982 | 12  | 15th  | 15[b] | Jimmy Williams | [79]
1983 | 12  | 13th  | 12[c] | James Jones | [80]
1984 | 12  | 20th  | 15 | David Lewis | [81]
1984 supplemental | 3  | 20th  | 3 | Al Williams | [81]
1985 | 12  | 6th  | 12 | Lomas Brown | [82]
1986 | 12  | 12th  | 10 | Chuck Long | [83]
1987 | 12  | 7th  | 10 | Reggie Rogers | [84]
1988 | 12  | 2nd | 13 | Bennie Blades | [85]
1989 | 12  | 3rd  | 12 | Barry Sanders | [86]
1990 | 12  | 7th  | 14 | Andre Ware | [87]
1991 | 12  | 10th  | 10 | Herman Moore | [88]
1992 | 12  | 26th  | 7 | Robert Porcher | [89]
1993 | 8  | 8th  | 6 | No pick | [90]
1994 | 7  | 21st  | 7 | Johnnie Morton | [91]
1995 | 7  | 20th  | 8 | Luther Elliss | [92]
1996 | 7  | 23rd  | 5 | Reggie Brown | [93]
Jeff Hartings
1997 | 7  | 5th  | 10 | Bryant Westbrook | [94]
1998 | 7  | 20th  | 5 | Terry Fair | [95]
1999 | 7  | 9th  | 7 | Chris Claiborne | [96]
Aaron Gibson
2000 | 7  | 20th  | 6 | Stockar McDougle | [97]
2001 | 7  | 18th  | 6 | Jeff Backus | [98]
2002 | 7  | 3rd  | 9 | Joey Harrington | [99]
2003 | 7  | 2nd | 11 | Charles Rogers | [100]
2004 | 7  | 6th  | 6 | Roy Williams | [101]
Kevin Jones
2005 | 7  | 10th  | 6 | Mike Williams | [102]
2006 | 7  | 9th  | 7 | Ernie Sims | [103]
2007 | 7  | 2nd | 8 | Calvin Johnson | [104]
2008 | 7  | 15th  | 9 | Gosder Cherilus | [105]
2009 | 7  | 1st | 10 | Matthew Stafford | [106]
Brandon Pettigrew
2010 | 7  | 2nd | 6 | Ndamukong Suh | [107]
Jahvid Best
2011 | 7  | 13th  | 5 | Nick Fairley | [108]
2012 | 7  | 23rd  | 8 | Riley Reiff | [109]
2013 | 7  | 5th  | 9 | Ezekiel Ansah | [110]
2014 | 7  | 10th  | 8 | Eric Ebron | [111]
2015 | 7  | 23rd  | 7 | Laken Tomlinson | [112]
2016 | 7  | 16th  | 10 | Taylor Decker | [113]
2017 | 7  | 21st  | 9 | Jarrad Davis | [114]
2018 | 7  | 20th  | 6 | Frank Ragnow | [115]
2019 | 7  | 8th  | 9 | T. J. Hockenson | [116]
2020 | 7  | 3th  | 9 | Jeff Okudah | [117]
2021 | 7  | 7th  | 7 | Penei Sewell | [118]
2022 | 7  | 2nd | 8 | Aidan Hutchinson | [119]
Jameson Williams
2023 | 7  | 18th  | 8 | Jahmyr Gibbs | [120]
Jack Campbell
2024 | 7  | 29th  | 6 | Terrion Arnold | [121]
2025 | 7  | 28th  | 7 | Tyleik Williams | [122]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Draft orders change based on trades and other factors. This is the original draft order based on the previous season's record.
2. ^ This total count includes 14 selections in the 1982 NFL draft and one supplemental pick made prior to the 1983 NFL draft.
3. ^ This total count does not include one supplemental pick made prior to the 1983 NFL draft.

## References

[edit]

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118. ^ "2021 NFL Draft Listing". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on May 31, 2024. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
119. ^ "2022 NFL Draft Listing". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on May 30, 2024. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
120. ^ "2023 NFL Draft Listing". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on August 30, 2023. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
121. ^ "2024 NFL Draft Listing". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on April 25, 2024. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
122. ^ "2025 NFL Draft Listing". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved April 29, 2025.

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* t
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Detroit Lions

* Founded in 1928
* Formerly the Portsmouth Spartans (1928–1933)
* Based in Detroit, Michigan
* Headquartered in Allen Park, Michigan

Franchise|

* Ownership:
* William Clay
* Martha Firestone Ford
* Sheila Ford Hamp
* Franchise overview
* Team history
* in Portsmouth, Ohio

Records|

* All-time roster (A–Las, Lat–Z)
* Coaches
* Draft history
* First-round draft picks
* Picks from 1936 to 1969
* Picks from 1970 to present
* Lists of players
* NFL All-Decade Team selections
* Pride of the Lions
* Pro Bowlers
* Pro Football Hall of Famers
* Retired numbers
* 7
* 20
* 20
* 20
* 22
* 37
* 56
* 85
* Seasons
* Starting quarterbacks

Stadiums|

* Universal Stadium
* University of Detroit Stadium
* Tiger Stadium
* Pontiac Silverdome
* Ford Field

Culture|

* NFL on Thanksgiving Day
* Paper Lion (film)
* "What's Going On" (Marvin Gaye song)
* Home Improvement
* Beverly Hills Cop
* Axel Foley
* Cheerleaders
* Quarterback

Lore|

* 1932 NFL Playoff Game
* Curse of Bobby Layne
* 0–16
* Matt Flynn Game
* Miracle in Motown

Rivalries|

* Chicago Bears
* Green Bay Packers
* Minnesota Vikings

Division championships (10)|

* 1935
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1957
* 1983
* 1991
* 1993
* 2023
* 2024

League championships (4)|

* 1935
* 1952
* 1953
* 1957

Media|

* Broadcasters
* Radio: Radio network
* Dan Miller
* Lomas Brown
* WXYT-FM
* TV: Television network
* WJBK
* Bally Sports Detroit

Current league affiliations|

* League: National Football League (1930–present)
* Conference: National Football Conference (1970–present)
* Division: North Division (2002–present)

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*[Refs]: References