In two seasons at USC, wide receiver Mike Williams played like a future first-round pick. He caught 81 passes for 1,265 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2002 and 95 passes for 1,314 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2003. In his final game as a Trojan, Williams helped USC beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl by catching eight passes for 88 yards and completing a pass for a touchdown.
Following two impressive seasons, Williams declared for the draft despite only being a sophomore based on a court ruling that allowed him to go pro. That ruling would later be overturned, and Williams was forced to sit out the 2004 season. By the time the 2005 NFL Draft rolled around, Williams hadn't played in a football game in more than a year, but the Detroit Lions decided to take him with the 10th overall pick anyway.
The decision immediately backfired for the Lions. During his rookie season, Williams started in only four games, catching 29 passes for 350 yards and one touchdown. The next year, he made two starts and appeared in only eight games. He caught a total of eight passes for 99 yards and one touchdown. He put on quite a bit of weight, earning the nickname "Big Mike Williams," and looked more like a slow tight end than a former first-round wide receiver. The Williams we saw at USC was nothing like the one on the Lions, and during the 2007 NFL Draft, just two years after being selected by Detroit, he was traded to Oakland.
Williams didn't last long in Oakland, nor did he last long in Tennessee with the Titans. He was out of football for two years after that, but he resurrected his career in Seattle this past season, catching 65 passes for 751 yards and two touchdowns. If he continues to improve his game, people may not consider his entire career to be a bust. There's no doubt his career in Detroit was one, though. Williams appeared in only 22 games during two seasons with the Lions and actually had as many lost fumbles as touchdown receptions. He just never played at a high level, and for the Lions to waste the 10th pick on a guy that had been out of football for a year makes this one of their worst picks since 2001.
Previously: No. 10 - Daniel Bullocks, No. 9 - Drew Stanton, No. 8 Ikaika Alama-Francis, No. 7 Boss Bailey, No. 6 Shaun Cody, No. 5 Kevin Jones, No. 4 Teddy Lehman, No. 3 Joey Harrington
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