ESPNTheMag.Com Presents: All-World Power Rankings

Who's the best Detroit Lions draft pick ever?

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This one (pretty much) panned out for Motown, wouldn't you say?

BEST DETROIT LIONS DRAFT PICK EVER? HARD TO RUN AWAY FROM BARRY SANDERS.

What is "All-World Power Rankings?"

The Detroit Lions have been on the clock since like, uh, early November, but with the NFL draft finally upon us, it's put-up-or-shut-up time. Conventional logic seems to say "Matthew Stafford," and while his measurables are awesome and all, did you see that dude in the Florida game this season? Ugh. Anyway, we wanted to rank the best Lions draft picks ever. Here's an extremely detailed list of every pick they've ever made. We'll cull from that. (Caveat: this list is inclined towards more recent players, 'cuz we like living in the present. If you want to get a little more historical, consult this.)

TOP 5
RANK (YESTERDAY)		WHAT	WHY
	1 (14)	BARRY SANDERS	Let's play a game. If we say "Detroit Lions" and the one rule is "Your answer can't be Matt Millen," what are you gonna say word-association style? Probably No. 20.
	2 (410)	HERMAN MOORE	There might be older guys who are more deserving of this slot, but Moore was underrated (he was the Lions' No. 1 pick out of Virginia in 1991). He made four Pro Bowls and was the second dude (behind someone named Jerry Rice) to have three 100-catch seasons. Our point is: Scott Mitchell and company weren't that good, but he made 'em look good.
	3 (21)	JASON HANSON	They picked him in 1992's second round out of Washington State, so our friend Chris Sprow loves the dude. He was an automatic kicker and is the franchise's all-time leader in points.
	4 (127)	LOMAS BROWN	He's among the "Lions Legends." He made seven Pro Bowls as an O-Tackle, and ya could argue he was an important factor in some of Sanders' runs to daylight (although honestly, when you have that kind of sick cutback ability, do you even need an O-Line?). By the way, we disagree with this article for the most part.
	5 (899)	CHRIS SPIELMAN	Sorry if this seems a homer move. He played eight seasons for the Lions and led the team in tackles every year. That's cool, right?

HONORABLE MENTION
RANK (YESTERDAY)		WHAT	WHY
	18 (144)	CALVIN JOHNSON	This might seem too high, as in: "What has he accomplished? He just came off an 0-16 season." Eh. The dude's a freak. He'll be good.
	28 (701)	ERNIE SIMS	Again, could pan out. Some people say he's a younger Derrick Brooks; D-Brooks has been pretty good.

RISING AND FALLING
MOVEMENT		WHAT
		WHOEVER THEY PICK THIS YEAR (Jim Schwartz seems like a smart guy.)
		JOEY HARRINGTON (We loved the guy at Oregon, but wow, he represents a whole lotta issues.)

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