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 Lions took part in the first NFL draft of college football players. With the eighth pick of the first round of that draft, Sid Wagner, a guard out of Michigan State University, became the Lions' first draft selection. In addition to the annual draft, the Lions took part in the 1950 All-America Football Conference (AAFC) dispersal draft. This draft was organized after the AAFC, which was formed as a competing league in 1946, merged with the NFL. Three teams from the AAFC were admitted into the NFL, while the remaining players from the five defunct teams became automatically eligible for selection by an existing NFL team in the dispersal draft. Thirteen of the players drafted by the Lions between 1936 and 1969 have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Lions took part in every draft from 1936 to 1969, prior to the AFL–NFL merger and the formation of the modern draft in 1970.

Key +Key Indicates the player was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame

1936 draft

+ Round Overall Name Position College 1 Guard Michigan State 2 Back UCLA 3 Back Notre Dame 4 Back Minnesota 5 Center Alabama 6 Back LSU 7 Tackle Colgate 8 Center Minnesota 9 End Yale Source: Pro Football Reference

1937 draft

+ Round Overall Name Position College 1 Wingback Nebraska 2 Tackle Ohio State 3 Blocking back Indiana 4 Guard Pittsburgh 5 End Carnegie Mellon 6 Guard Purdue 7 End SMU 8 Center Illinois 9 End Yale 10 Tackle Washington State Source: Pro Football Reference

1938 draft

+ Round Overall Name Position College 1 Center Fordham 3 End Oklahoma 5 End North Carolina 6 Tackle Utah 7 End Montana 8 Back Ohio State 9 Guard Indiana 10 Center Ohio State 11 Back Kansas 12 Back Yale Source: Pro Football Reference

1939 draft

+ Round Overall Name Position College 1 Tailback Michigan State 3 Fullback Wisconsin 5 Tackle North Carolina 6 End Oregon State 7 Tailback Texas A&M–Commerce 8 Tackle Idaho 9 Back Nebraska 10 Tackle USC 11 Center Stanford 12 End Santa Clara 13 Guard Oregon State 14 Guard Washington 15 End Texas A&M–Commerce 16 Wingback Montana 17 Tackle Dayton 18 Back New Mexico 19 Center USC 20 Center Illinois 21 End BYU 22 Tackle Xavier Source: Pro Football Reference

1940 draft

+ Round Overall Name Position College 1 Back USC 3 End USC 5 Tackle USC 6 Center Tennessee 7 Defensive end USC 8 Back Rutgers 9 Tackle Missouri 10 Back Purdue 11 End Iowa 12 Back Carnegie Mellon 13 Tackle Oklahoma 14 Wingback Marshall 15 End Missouri 16 Back Dayton 17 Tackle Oregon State 18 Guard Duke 19 Back Denver 20 Tackle Centenary 21 Center Auburn 22 End Missouri Source: Pro Football Reference

1941 draft

+ Round Overall Name Position College 1 Wingback Texas A&M 2 End Boston College 3 Back Nebraska 4 Guard Georgetown 5 Center Baylor 6 Tackle Mississippi State 7 End Wake Forest 8 Tackle Boston College 9 Back Duke 10 Guard Detroit Mercy 11 Fullback Notre Dame 12 Halfback Mississippi State 13 End Arkansas 14 Tackle Franklin & Marshall 15 End Muhlenberg 16 Center Providence 17 Back Wisconsin 18 Back Kentucky 19 Back Oregon 20 Back Carnegie Mellon Source: Pro Football Reference

1942 draft

+ Round Overall Name Position College 1 Fullback Michigan 2 Defensive tackle Northwestern 3 Back Oregon State 4 Back Case Western Reserve 5 End Clemson 6 Blocking back Hardin–Simmons 7 Halfback Canisius 8 Tackle Scranton 9 Wingback Arizona 10 Center Iowa 11 Fullback Wake Forest 12 Tailback Southern Miss 13 Center Michigan State 14 Tackle UC Santa Barbara 15 End Utah 16 Tackle Arkansas 17 Back Ohio State 18 Tackle Murray State 19 End Susquehanna 20 Back West Texas A&M Source: Pro Football Reference

1943 draft

+ Round Overall Name Position College 1 Back Georgia 2 End Wisconsin 3 Tackle Oregon 4 Back Furman 5 Tackle Oregon State 6 Tackle Union (TN) 7 End Furman 8 End Georgia 9 Tackle Arizona 10 Back Michigan State 11 Fullback Washington State 12 Guard Michigan 13 Back Portland 14 End Saint Louis 15 End Colorado 16 Tackle William & Mary 17 Guard West Virginia 18 Halfback Colorado State 19 End Pennsylvania 20 Back Oklahoma State 21 Back Iowa State 22 Guard LSU 23 Guard Missouri 24 Center Washington State 25 Back Oklahoma 26 Tackle Idaho 27 Tackle UCLA 28 End Missouri 29 Back Millikin 30 Back Western Maryland Source: Pro Football Reference

1944 draft

+ Round Overall Name Position College 1 Quarterback Northwestern 2 Halfback Tennessee 3 End USC 4 Back Utah 5 End Michigan 6 Tackle Santa Clara 7 Tackle Colorado 8 Guard Washington State 9 End Notre Dame 10 End Minnesota 11 Halfback Michigan 12 Guard UCLA 13 Back Dickinson 14 Center Michigan 15 End Fresno State 16 Back Colgate 17 Defensive end Georgia Tech 18 Halfback Detroit Mercy 19 End Mississippi State 20 Back Saint Mary's (CA) 21 Guard Northwestern 22 Back Texas-El Paso 23 Center Oklahoma 24 Back Indiana 25 End Saint Mary's (CA) 26 End Colorado 27 Back Missouri 28 Back West Virginia 29 Tackle Michigan 30 End Kansas Source: Pro Football Reference

1945 draft

+ Round Overall Name Position College 1 Center Notre Dame 3 Guard Iowa 5 Back Michigan 6 Fullback Ohio State 7 Defensive tackle Temple 8 Back Detroit Mercy 9 Tackle Illinois 10 End Yale 11 Tackle Utah State 12 Tackle Purdue 13 Back Nebraska 14 Back Iowa 15 End Louisiana 16 End Denver 17 Back Tulane 18 Back Alabama 19 Quarterback Tulsa 20 Guard Georgia 21 Guard Wisconsin 22 Back Saint Mary's (CA) 23 Back Tulane 24 Center Tennessee 25 Tackle Oklahoma 26 Guard Detroit Mercy 27 Back Tulsa 28 Back Creighton 29 Tackle Wisconsin 30 End Notre Dame 31 Back Northwestern 32 Back Detroit Mercy Source: Pro Football Reference

1946 draft

+ Round Overall Name Position College 1 Back Missouri 3 Tackle Ohio State 5 End Wake Forest 6 Guard Auburn 7 Tackle Notre Dame 8 Back Washington 9 Tackle West Texas A&M 10 Tackle Ohio State 11 Back Oregon State 12 Tackle Texas Tech 13 Back Marquette 14 Back Auburn 15 End South Carolina 16 End Duke 17 Back Rice 18 Back Central Michigan 19 Back Minnesota 20 Tackle UCLA 21 End Purdue 22 Center Detroit Mercy 23 End Detroit Mercy 24 Back Northwestern 25 Tackle Colgate 26 Guard Oregon State 27 End Georgia Tech 28 Center Minnesota 29 Back California 30 Guard Utah 31 End Marquette 32 Guard Oklahoma State Source: Pro Football Reference

1947 draft

+ Round Overall Name Position College 1 Halfback Army 2 Tackle Ohio State 3 Tackle Missouri 4 Center Vanderbilt 5 Tailback Michigan 6 Guard Pennsylvania 7 Guard Pennsylvania 8 Center Miami (FL) 9 Tackle South Carolina 10 Back Michigan 11 Tackle Detroit Mercy 12 Back Iowa State 13 Guard Michigan State 14 End Washington 15 Back Texas A&M–Commerce 16 Center BYU 17 Defensive back Ohio State 18 End Utah State 19 Back Texas A&M 20 End Michigan 21 End Michigan 22 Linebacker Marquette 23 Tackle St. Bonaventure 24 Back Alabama 25 Tackle Texas A&M–Commerce 26 Wingback Wisconsin 27 Back Tennessee 28 End Detroit Mercy 29 Tackle Texas A&M 30 Tackle Tulane Source: Pro Football Reference

1948 draft

+ Round Overall Name Position College 1 Quarterback LSU 2 Back Stanford 3 Defensive guard Illinois 4 Tackle Arkansas 6 Tackle Hobart 7 Quarterback Arizona 7 Tackle Utah State 9 Defensive back USC 10 End USC 11 Tackle LSU 13 Back Illinois 14 Back Union (NY) 15 Back Michigan 16 Guard Ohio State 17 Guard Michigan 18 Tackle Rice 19 Defensive end Utah 20 Tackle Loyola Marymount 21 Back USC 22 Back Colorado 23 End Alabama 24 Guard Saint Mary's (CA) 25 Back Notre Dame 26 Tackle South Carolina 27 Tackle Toledo 28 Tackle USC 29 Back Central Michigan 30 Center Michigan State Source: Pro Football Reference

1949 draft

+ Round Overall Name Position College 1 Quarterback Georgia 2 Linebacker Notre Dame 3 Linebacker Columbia 4 Back Dartmouth 5 End Georgia Tech 6 Back Oklahoma State 9 Linebacker Penn State 10 Guard Duke 11 Tackle Miami (FL) 12 Center New Mexico 13 Tackle Tennessee 14 Tackle Utah State 15 Center San Jose State 16 Tackle BYU 17 Back Vanderbilt 18 Center Denison 19 Halfback Penn State 20 Tackle North Carolina 21 Linebacker Ohio State 22 Back Utah 23 Guard Mississippi State 24 End Michigan 25 End McMurry Source: Pro Football Reference

1950 draft

+ Round Overall Name Position College 1 End Notre Dame 1 Center Rice 2 Defensive tackle Colorado State 3 Fullback Northwestern 4 Guard Texas-El Paso 5 Back Dartmouth 6 Tackle Minnesota 7 Back St. Edward's 8 Back Minnesota 9 Guard Detroit Mercy 10 Back Gustavus Adolphus 11 Tackle Ohio State 12 Tackle Brown 13 Back San Francisco 14 Center Nebraska Wesleyan 15 Back Northwestern 16 Center Detroit Mercy 17 Back Morningside 18 Defensive tackle Denver 19 Tackle Notre Dame 20 End Maryland 21 Back Oklahoma 22 Tackle Purdue 23 Tackle Boston University 24 Guard William & Mary 25 Back Michigan State 26 Back Texas 27 End Texas Tech 28 Back Illinois 29 Back Illinois 30 Center Oklahoma State Source: Pro Football Reference

1950 AAFC dispersal draft

+ Round Overall Name Position AAFC Team 1 Halfback Chicago Hornets 2 Tackle Los Angeles Dons 3 End Chicago Hornets 4 Tackle Buffalo Bills 5 End New York Yankees 6 End Los Angeles Dons 7 End Chicago Hornets 8 Tackle New York Yankees 9 End Chicago Hornets 10 Halfback New York Giants Source: ProFootballResearchers.org

1951 draft

+ Round Overall Name Position College 2 Guard San Francisco 3 End Michigan State 4 Fullback Villanova 5 End Iowa State 5 Linebacker Washington State 6 Defensive back Colorado State 7 Middle guard Ohio State 8 Back Illinois 10 Guard LSU 11 End Oklahoma 13 Tackle Illinois 14 Tackle Detroit Mercy 15 Defensive back Tennessee 16 End Pittsburgh 17 Defensive back Oklahoma State 18 Back Arizona 19 Tackle Washington State 20 Back South Dakota State 21 Back Idaho 22 End Army 23 Back Lehigh 24 Back San Francisco 25 Center Texas 26 Center West Virginia 27 End Michigan 28 Tackle South Dakota State 29 Guard West Texas A&M 30 Back Detroit Mercy Source: Pro Football Reference

1952 draft

+ Round Overall Name Position College 3 Defensive back Texas A&M 4 Defensive end Arkansas 5 Defensive tackle Virginia 6 End Denver 7 Center Utah 8 Quarterback Utah 9 Linebacker Ohio State 10 Tackle Baylor 11 Center TCU 12 Back LSU 13 Center Florida 14 Back BYU 15 Guard Georgia 17 Halfback Tennessee 18 Guard Iowa State 19 Defensive end Duke 20 Defensive tackle Murray State 21 Back Mississippi 22 Defensive back Colorado State 23 End Mississippi 24 Tackle Vanderbilt 25 Halfback Washington State 26 End Stephen F. Austin 27 End Baylor 28 Defensive end Tennessee State 29 Back Western Illinois 30 Back Prairie View A&M Source: Pro Football Reference

1953 draft