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 through 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 94 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 2026, the Lions selected Clemson offensive tackle Blake Miller.

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

+ Key Symbol Meaning Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame * Selected number one overall

Position abbreviations C Center CB Cornerback DB Defensive back DE Defensive end DT Defensive tackle E End FB Fullback G Guard HB Halfback LB Linebacker QB Quarterback RB Running back S Safety T Tackle TE Tight end WB Wingback WR Wide receiver

+Detroit Lions first-round draft picks by season Season Pick Player Position College Notes 1936 8 G Michigan State 1937 7 HB Nebraska 1938 6 C Fordham 1939 7 HB Michigan State 1940 6 QB USC Declined to play football 1941 5 WB Texas A&M 1942 5 FB Michigan 1943 1 * RB Georgia 1944 4 QB Northwestern Did not sign with team 1945 6 C Notre Dame 1946 8 HB Missouri Never played in the NFL 1947 2 HB Army Player rights traded to Los Angeles Rams 1948 6 QB LSU Original pick traded to Pittsburgh Steelers. Pick received in trade with Los Angeles Rams. Signed with the Baltimore Colts of the AAFC. 1949 2 QB Georgia Player rights traded to New York Yanks 1950 1 * E Notre Dame Lottery bonus pick 5 C Rice 1951 Pick traded to Philadelphia Eagles 1952 Pick traded to Cleveland Browns 1953 13 G Texas 1954 13 T Rice Did not sign with team 1955 12 E Auburn 1956 3 HB Ohio State 1957 12 G Baylor 1958 10 DT Iowa 1959 6 FB Notre Dame 1960 3 DB LSU Signed for the AFL's Dallas Texans instead 1961 Pick traded to Cleveland Browns 1962 10 RB Kansas Signed for the AFL's San Diego Chargers instead 1963 12 T Ohio State 1964 5 QB USC Signed for the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs instead 1965 11 FB Indiana 1966 Pick forfeited to Green Bay Packers 1967 7 RB UCLA 1968 11 QB UMass 24 WR USC Pick received in trade with Los Angeles Rams 1969 Pick traded to Los Angeles Rams 1970 19 RB Oklahoma 1971 21 DT Cincinnati 1972 16 DT Colorado 1973 17 DE Texas A&I Moved up draft order in trade with Chicago Bears 1974 8 LB Penn State Moved up draft order in trade with New Orleans Saints 1975 13 G South Dakota State 1976 10 DB Grambling State Pick received from Los Angeles Rams. Moved down draft order in trade with Chicago Bears. 16 RB Wyoming 1977 Pick traded to Buffalo Bills 1978 11 DB Notre Dame 1979 10 T Penn State 1980 1 * RB Oklahoma 1981 16 WR San Jose State 1982 15 LB Nebraska 1983 13 FB Florida 1984 20 TE California 1985 6 T Florida 1986 12 QB Iowa 1987 7 DT Washington 1988 3 DB Miami Moved down draft order in trade with Kansas City Chiefs 1989 3 RB Oklahoma State 1990 7 QB Houston 1991 10 WR Virginia 1992 26 DE South Carolina State 1993 Pick traded to New Orleans Saints 1994 21 WR USC 1995 20 DT Utah 1996 17 LB Texas A&M Moved up draft order in trade with Seattle Seahawks 23 G Penn State 1997 5 DB Texas 1998 20 DB Tennessee 1999 9 LB USC 27 T Wisconsin Moved up draft order in trade with Miami Dolphins 2000 20 T Oklahoma 2001 18 T Michigan 2002 3 QB Oregon 2003 2 WR Michigan State 2004 7 WR Texas Moved down draft order in trade with Cleveland Browns 30 RB Virginia Tech Moved up draft order in trade with Kansas City Chiefs 2005 10 WR USC 2006 9 LB Florida State 2007 2 WR Georgia Tech 2008 17 T Boston College Moved down draft order in trade with Kansas City Chiefs 2009 1 * QB Georgia 20 TE Oklahoma State Pick received in trade with Dallas Cowboys 2010 2 DT Nebraska 30 RB California Moved up draft order in trade with Minnesota Vikings 2011 13 DT Auburn 2012 23 T Iowa 2013 5 DE BYU 2014 10 TE North Carolina 2015 28 G Duke Moved down draft order in trade with Denver Broncos 2016 16 T Ohio State 2017 21 LB Florida 2018 20 C Arkansas 2019 8 TE Iowa 2020 3 CB Ohio State 2021 7 T Oregon 2022 2 DE Michigan 12 WR Alabama Moved up draft order in trade with Minnesota Vikings 2023 12 RB Alabama Moved down draft order in trade with Arizona Cardinals 18 LB Iowa 2024 24 CB Alabama Moved up draft order in trade with Dallas Cowboys 2025 28 DT Ohio State 2026 17 OT Clemson

See also History of the Detroit Lions List of Detroit Lions seasons

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References