I went over each draft for the past 8 years and looked at teams who drafted offensive tackles as their first pick. I only used the first 10 picks for each year, because, let's face it, this range is where the Lion's would have drafted pretty much every year during this span. And I noticed something interesting: the majority of teams who took tackles are still needing a franchise QB. So for those who claim we should have gotten a LT with our first pick, well, they don't have any evidence to support it as far as this data suggests. Teams went LT first, but still never got a franchise QB. They are still stuck in a rut. The "wisdom" of protection, then passer isn't as lock solid as people claim. But I'm sure you all can debate it.
Name | Pick | Team | Explanation | |||||
2009 | ||||||||
Jason Smith | #2 | St. Louis | Looking for a QB. | |||||
Eugene Monroe | #8 | Jacksonville | Looking for a QB. | |||||
2008 | ||||||||
Jake Long | #1 | Miami | Still needing a QB. | |||||
2007 | ||||||||
Joe Thomas | #3 | Cleveland | Took Quinn, got burned. | |||||
Levi Brown | #5 | Arizona | Got lucky with Warner, now | |||||
entering unknown water with Leinart. | ||||||||
2006 | ||||||||
D'Brickashaw Ferguson | #4 | NY Jets | Maybe got a QB now? 4 years | |||||
later. | ||||||||
2005 | ||||||||
None | ||||||||
2004 | ||||||||
Robert Gallery | #2 | Oakland | QB's all bombed out. | |||||
2003 | ||||||||
Jordan Gross | #8 | Carolina | Delhomme never panned out. | |||||
2002 | ||||||||
Mike Williams | #4 | Buffalo | Never got a good QB to protect. | |||||
Bryant McKinnie | #7 | Minnesota | Favre emerges 8 years later. | |||||
Levi Jones | #10 | Cincinnati | Only team that got it right. |