Lions Draft History Shows They Got Lucky With Calvin Johnson
By: Evan Jankens
@kingofthekc
Terry Foster of 97.1 The Ticket first broke the news that Detroit Lions star WR Calvin Johnson was considering retirement.
Sunday evening, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Johnson has informed Jim Caldwell of his decision.
Now, where does that leave the Lions? Johnson was the second overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. Other than Adrian Peterson and Patrick Willis (who retired last season), he was the best pick in that draft class and the Lions hit an absolute home run.
Over his nine-year NFL career, Johnson set the NFL record for most receiving yards in one season, caught 731 career passes for 11,619 yards and 83 TDs.
Looking at who the Lions have drafted since 2007 shows you how lucky the Lions got with Johnson.
2008- Kenneth Moore - WR, Wake Forest - Drafted in the fifth round (136)
Moore never appeared in a game for the Lions, and for his career only caught 6 passes for 59 yards while playing for the Panthers and the Colts. He only appeared in 14 NFL games.
2009- Derrick Williams- WR, Penn State - Drafted in the third found (82)
Williams appeared in 18 total games for the Lions after once being the number one recruit in the nation back in 2005. Williams caught 9 passes for 82 yards.
2010- Tim Toone- WR, Weber State - Drafted in the seventh round (255)
Toone was the final draft pick in the 2010 draft. You can't put blame on anyone for this pick. He never appeared in an NFL game.
2011- Titus Young- WR, Boise State - Drafted in the second round (44)
Young's story is well documented and he isn't that far removed from actually be productive for the Lions. Young only played in 18 games in his short-lived NFL career. Young recorded 81 catches for 990 yards and 10 tds. I believe he would have been a good receiver with the Lions if it weren't for his personal problems.
2012- Ryan Broyles- WR, Oklahoma - Drafted in the second round (54)
Broyles hold the NCAA record for career receptions. That alone gave Lions hope that those credentials would carry over to a solid NFL career. Only problem was he tore his ACL his final season at Oklahoma and was never able to respond. Broyles spend three seasons with the Lions and caught 32 passes for 420 yards and had two touchdowns.
2013- Corey Fuller- WR, Virginia Tech - Drafted in the sixth round (171)
Fuller is still currently a member of the Detroit Lions but didn't contribute as much in 2015 as he did in '14. In 2014 Fuller had 14 receptions for 212 yards and a TD while in '15 he only caught four passes for 48 yards and didn't have a score.
2014- T.J. Jones- WR, Notre Dame - Drafted in the sixth round (189)
Jones sat out the entire 2014 season with an injury but made his debut in '15. Jones saw time in 10 games for the Lions this past season while making 10 catches for 132 yards and a TD. It will be interesting to see where he fits in for 2016.
2015- The Lions didn't draft a WR. Kind of shocking after seeing their track record.
If AJ (After Johnson) had this awful history of WR draft picks, then do yourself a favor and stop reading because from 2001 till the time they drafted Johnson, it was just as bad -- if not worse -- based on when they drafted the other WRs.
2001- Scotty Anderson- WR, Grambling State - Drafted in the fifth round (148)
Anderson played in 34 games for the Lions between 2001-2003. He caught 54 passes for 858 yards and four TDs. Anderson never played for another NFL team.
2003- Charles Rogers- WR, Michigan State - Drafted in the first round (2)
Like Titus Young, Rogers had multiple problems with the law. That isn't what cut his career short, though. Rogers was off to a promising start during his rookie campaign before he broke his collar bone. After that, it was pretty much downhill for the former Michigan State Spartan. The former second overall pick played in 15 career NFL games with the Lions and caught 36 passes for 440 yards and four total TDs, two of those TDs came in his first two career games.
2004- Roy Williams- WR, Texas - Drafted in the first round (7)
Other than Calvin Johnson, Williams is the most successful NFL receiver out of the bunch. To me,Williams will always be known for his obnoxious first down celebrations and for giving Johnson the nickname "Megatron." Williams played for the Lions, Cowboys and Bears in his nine-year NFL career. Williams has 393 career receptions for 5,715 yards while hauling in 44 TDs.
2005- Mike Williams- WR, USC - Drafted in the first round (10)
Mike Williams is probably known more for being overweight while being on the Lions rather than what he did on the field. The 6'5" receiver had all the tools to be the next Calvin Johnson but those plans never panned out for the Lions or Williams. Williams played for four teams during his NFL career totaling six seasons. Williams caught 127 passes for 1,526 yards and 5 TDs over his career and actually had a productive season with the Seattle Seahawks in 2010, catching 65 passes for 751 yards and 2 TDs.
After looking at this list of failed WR draft picks since 2001 it shows you how lucky the Lions were to land Calvin Johnson.