The No. 1 player on the list of Detroit Lions draft successes since 2001, like the No. 2 player, is a former second overall pick. This former second overall pick was taken back in 2007 and is, of course, wide receiver Calvin Johnson.
The man we call Megatron put up big numbers in each of his first four seasons in the league despite not having a good quarterback regularly on the field. In his rookie year, he caught 48 passes for 756 yards and four touchdowns. A year later, Johnson started all 16 games (he only started 10 in '07) and caught 78 passes for 1,331 yards and 12 touchdowns. This was despite being on a team that went 0-16 and having mediocre quarterback after mediocre quarterback lead the Lions' offense.
In 2009, Johnson played and started in 14 games and had 67 catches for 984 yards and five touchdowns. He put up even bigger numbers in 15 games last year, catching 77 passes for 1,120 yards and 12 touchdowns. Johnson also earned a bid to the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career in 2010.
Johnson, like Suh, has potential that is through the roof. The main reason I put Johnson No. 1 on this list is because he has a longer track record than Suh. It's quite possible that they could be swapped if this list is done again in a few years, but for now Johnson has shown how great he can be both with talent around him and without much help. Going forward, if Matthew Stafford can stay healthy, Johnson's numbers could get even bigger and he could cement his title as the No. 1 draft success for the Lions since 2001.
Previously: No. 10 Sammie Hill, No. 9 Brandon Pettigrew, No. 8 Louis Delmas/DeAndre Levy, No. 7 Cory Redding, No. 6 Dominic Raiola, No. 5 Shaun Rogers, No. 4 Cliff Avril, No. 3 Jeff Backus, No. 2 Ndamukong Suh
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