List of Detroit Lions first-round draft picks

Barry Sanders sitting at a table.
Running back Barry Sanders was drafted third overall in 1989. He spent his whole 10-year career with the Lions, during which time he was a 10-time All-Pro, 10-time Pro Bowler, two-time Offensive Player of the Year, and the 1997 MVP. A first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer, Sanders rushed for over 1,000 yards in every season he played and led the league in rushing yards four times. He was also selected to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.
Matthew Stafford throwing a pass in a Detroit Lions uniform.
Matthew Stafford was selected first overall in the 2009 NFL draft. He spent 13 seasons with the team, during which he time he set various NFL records, including being the fastest to 30,000, 40,000, and 50,000 passing yards, being the first player to complete 60% or more of all passes in each game in a season, most fourth quarterback comebacks in a season, and the most game winning drives in a season. He was also the 2010 AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

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. The franchise was founded in Portsmouth, Ohio, as the Portsmouth Spartans and joined the NFL on July 12, 1930. 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. The team plays its home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.

The NFL draft, officially known as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting", is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings; the teams with the worst win–loss records receive the earliest picks. Teams that qualified for the NFL playoffs select after non-qualifiers, and their order depends on how far they advanced, using their regular season record as a tie-breaker. The final two selections in the first round are reserved for the Super Bowl runner-up and champion. Draft picks are tradable and players or other picks can be acquired with them.

In 1936, the league introduced the NFL draft after team owners voted on it in 1935. The intention of the draft is to make the NFL more competitive, as some teams had an advantage in signing players. From 1947 through 1958 the NFL designated the first overall selection as a "bonus" or "lottery pick". The pick was awarded by a random draw and the winner who received the "bonus pick" forfeited its selection in the final round of the draft and became ineligible for future draws. The system was abolished prior to the 1959 NFL draft, as all twelve teams in the league at the time had received a bonus choice.

Since the first draft, the Lions have selected 93 players in the first round. The team's first-round pick in the inaugural NFL draft was Sid Wagner, a guard from Michigan State; he was the 8th overall selection. The Lions have held the first overall pick four times and selected Frank Sinkwich in 1943, Leon Hart in 1950, Billy Sims in 1980, and Matthew Stafford in 2009. In the most recent draft, held in 2025, the Lions selected Ohio State defensive tackle Tyleik Williams.

The Lions did not draft a player in the first round on seven occasions. Seven of the team's first-round picks—Otto Graham, Calvin Johnson, Alex Karras, Johnny Robinson, Barry Sanders, Y. A. Tittle, and Alex Wojciechowicz—have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame; two of these, Graham and Tittle, chose not to play for the Lions and joined the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) instead. The Lions also used three first-round picks in the 1960s to select players–Pete Beathard, John Hadl, and Johnny Robinson–who chose to sign with the NFL's pre-merger direct competitor, the American Football League (AFL) instead.

Player selections

Calvin Johnson on an NFL field in a Detroit Lions jersey and helmet.
Wide receiver Calvin Johnson was drafted second overall in the 2007 NFL draft. He spent his entire nine-year career with the Lions, during which time he was a four-time All-Pro, six-time Pro Bowler, and set the single-season record for most receiving yards in a season. After retiring, Johnson was selected to the 2010s All-Decade Team and became a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer.
Alex Karras in a jersey and on his hands and toes, as if about to rush a passer.
Defensive tackle Alex Karras was drafted with the 10th overall pick of the 1958 NFL draft and played 11 seasons for the Lions. During his time with the team he was a nine-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler. A member of the 1960s All-Decade Team, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020.

See also

Notes

References

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Detroit_Lions_first-round_draft_picks&oldid=1287355677"
Uses material from the Wikipedia article List of Detroit Lions first-round draft picks, released under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.