Lions Notes: USA Today names top 3 players in Lions history

In honor on the NFL’s 100th seasons, USA Today is going around the NFL and naming the top three all-time players from each franchise. The NFC North got their turn today, including the Detroit Lions.

Running back Barry Sanders, linebacker Joe Schmidt and wide receiver Calvin Johnson Jr. were named the top three, respectively.

Sanders was one of the all-time NFL rushing leaders before he walked away from football in 1999. He also led the team to its only playoff win since the NFL merger, when he ran all over the Dallas Cowboys back in 1991. He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2004.

Schmidt played for Detroit from 1953 to 1965. He later coached for the team between 1967 to 1972. In 1973, he was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame.

Johnson is the most recent addition to the list. The receiver played in Detroit from 2007 to 2015. He set the NFL record for most receiving yards in a season in 2012 with 1,964 yards. Johnson is not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame, but he will most likely be inducted once he is on the ballot.

Notable names that missed the cut include quarterback Matthew Stafford and tight end Charlie Sanders among others.

• Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press went game-by-game through the Lions 2019 schedule and predicted how the upcoming season will go. The beat writer predicts an 8-8 record in 2019.

• The Lions official PR account highlighted the personal relationship between Detroit linebacker Devon Kennard and Arizona Cardinals linebacker Terrell Suggs, who will meet on an NFL field for the second time this week.

• Kyle Meinke of MLive highlighted the journey of Lions safety Quandre Diggs, from Day 3 of the NFL draft to being elected team captain on Thursday.

• The Lions PR account also highlighted receiver Kenny Golladay’s stand out NFL debut against the Cardinals in 2017. His impressive stat line from the day put him in the same group as Tyreek Hill and Mike Evans.