Over the course of the next few weeks, all of SB Nation's NFL blogs will be counting down the top 10 draft busts and successes for their teams. For the Detroit Lions, I decided to take a look specifically at what has happened in the last 10 years. Yes, it's sad that there are enough busts in one decade to comprise a top 10 list, but this is the Matt Millen era we're talking about. The surprising thing is that there were enough successes to even think about compiling a top 10 list for that category.
The criteria for determining the top 10 draft busts is admittedly not based on any specific data or formula or anything like that. It is very subjective, although I did only look at first- and second-round picks. My feeling was that anybody picked later than the second round wouldn't have had high expectations going into the league, so where a player was picked weighed heavily in determining my list. Also, since no players drafted in the first and second rounds in the last few years have had enough time to fully develop and/or bottom out of the league, none in the last three drafts are on the list.
Counting it down from 10 to one, safety Daniel Bullocks is No. 10 on the list of the top ten Lions draft busts since 2001. He was picked 40th overall (second round) in 2006 and started seven games during his rookie season, compiling 74 tackles. Injuries kept him from playing in 2007, but he bounced back nicely with 94 tackles and 15 starts in 2008. Injuries once again prevented him from doing anything in 2009, and he is now in the UFL. Talent-wise, Bullocks isn't necessarily a bust, but his injuries kept him from being able to stay on the field. For a second-round pick, the Lions certainly could have used more than two healthy seasons out of him, but as you will find out in the coming weeks, that was a common theme for most of Matt Millen's second-round picks.
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