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2000 - Stockar McDougle - 20th pick - OT - Oklahoma
Detroit drafted McDougle to start the new millennium and he played in eight games his first season. He ended up staying with Detroit until 2004 and started all 16 games for the Lions in 2003 and 2004.
2001 - Jeff Backus - 18th pick - OT - Michigan
Backus, a Michigan alum and native, had a great career with Detroit. He started every game from 2001 through 2011 and 15 games in 2012 before retiring. He was on the 2001 all-rookie team.
2002 - Joey Harrington - 3rd pick - QB - Oregon
Harrington has always been a sore subject for Lions fans. He started 12 games in his rookie season and every game in the next two, but he never panned out. He was 18-37 in 55 games started for Detroit. He threw for 10,242 yards, 60 touchdowns and 62 interceptions.
2003 - Charles Rogers - 2nd pick - WR - Michigan State
Rogers came out of Michigan State and is from Saginaw. He only played in 15 games for Detroit over three seasons, starting nine of them, due to injuries and othef off-field issues including suspensions for the NFL substance abuse policy. He died at the age of 38 on Nov. 11, 2019, from liver failure after being diagnosed with cancer and in need of a transplant.
2004 - Roy Williams - 7th pick - WR - Texas
Roy Williams played 60 games for Detroit, catching 393 passes for 5,15 yards and 44 touchdowns. He went on to play for Dallas and Chicago before retiring in 2011.
2005 - Mike Williams - 10th pick - WR - USC
Mike Williams was the third straight receiver taken in the first round by GM Matt Millen. He played just two seasons in Detroit and 22 games. He caught 37 passes for 449 yards and two touchdowns before being traded before the 2007 Draft.
2006 - Ernie Sims - 9th pick - LB - Florida State
Sims played 59 games for Detroit and started 56 of them before joining three other teams. In his career, he had four forced fumbles, 421 tackles, 18 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.
2007 - Calvin Johnson - 2nd pick - WR - Georgia Tech
A Hall of Famer and one of the two best draft picks ever made by Detroit, Johnson played nine seasons for the Lions before abruptly retiring in 2016. He had 731 catches for 11,619 yards and 83 touchdowns. He broke the single-season receiving yard record in 2012 and was elected to the Hall of Fame in February 2021.
2008 - Gosder Cherilus - 17th pick - OL - Boston College
Cherilus started 13 games in his rookie season and started every game he appeared in for Detroit after through 2012. He joined Indianapolis after his time with Detroit and retired in 2017.
2009 - Matthew Stafford - 1st pick - QB - Georgia
2009 - Brandon Pettigrew - 20th pick - TE - Oklahoma State
Stafford joins Calvin Johnson and Barry Sanders among the best Lions draft picks. He spent 12 seasons with the Lions, breaking several team records before being traded to the Los Angeles Rams before the 2021 season.
Detroit also traded up to get Pettigrew after sending Roy Williams to the Dallas Cowboys. He played seven seasons for the Lions and had 301 catches for 2,965 yards and 17 touchdowns.
2010 - Ndamukong Suh - 2nd pick - DT - Nebraska
2010 - Jahvid Best - 30th pick - RB - California
Suh was dominant during his time in Detroit, starting 78 games and quickly becoming one of the top players. He had 238 tackles, 66 tackles for loss, 36 sacks and 98 quarterback hits.
Detroit also traded up to get Best, who only played two seasons for the Lions due to concussion issues.
2011 - Nick Fairley - 13th pick - DT - Auburn
Fairley seemed to be a surprise pick at the time for Detroit after getting Suh the year before. He played in 10 games his first season but started none, then started 30 games in the next three seasons. He had 98 tackles, 25 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks in his Detroit career. He joined St. Louis and then New Orleans before ending his career.
2012 - Riley Reiff - 23rd pick - OT - Iowa
Reiff played in all 16 games his rookie year, and then started every game after his rookie season for Detroit through 2016. He joined Minnesota until 2020, and just signed with the Cincinnati Bengals in March.
2013 - Ezekiel Ansah - 5th pick - DE - BYU
Ziggy Ansah was a star for Detroit, starting 73 of 80 games during his career. He had 48 sacks in Detroit before leaving after the 2018 season. He also had 218 tackles. He joined Seattle in 2019 but had injury issues, and then missed most of the 2020 season with the San Francisco 49ers.
2014 - Eric Ebron - 10th pick - TE - North Carolina
Ebron played four seasons for Detroit and caught 186 passes for 2,070 yards and 11 touchdowns. He joined Indianapolis after the 2017 season and the Pittsburgh Steelers last season.
2015 - Laken Tomlinson - 28th pick - OG - Duke
Tomlinson only played two seasons for Detroit, starting 24 of 32 games. He currently players for the San Francisco 49ers.
2016 - Taylor Decker - 16th pick - OT - Ohio State
Decker came out as one of the better offensive linemen in the draft. He's started every game he played for Detroit since 2016 and was on the NFL All-Rookie Team.
2017 - Jarrad Davis - 21st pick - LB - Florida
Davis started with Detroit as the starting inside linebacker and had a good rookie season with 96 tackles, 4 tackles for loss and two sacks. He followed it up with 100 tackles and 6 sacks in 2018. He was placed on injured reserve just past halfway through the 2019 season, and played in 14 games last season, starting only four. He signed as a free agent with the New York Jets in March.
2018 - Frank Ragnow - 20th pick - C - Arkansas
Ragnow has been the team's starting center since he was drafted and was a second-team all-pro by the Associated Press last season.
2019 - T.J. Hockenson - 8th pick - TE - Iowa
Hockenson had injury problems his first season, playing in 12 games. He caught 32 passes for 367 yards and two touchdowns. He followed it up starting in every game last year with 67 catches for 723 yards and six touchdowns.
2020 - Jeff Okudah - 3rd pick - CB - Ohio State
Okudah came out as one of the top cornerbacks in the draft, but suffered a hamstring injury in training camp and missed the team's opener. He played 9 games last season but had to undergo season-ending surgery for a core muscle injury.
