Hindsight is 20-20.
That phrase is often mentioned when discussing the NFL Draft and which player a team should have drafted rather than the player they selected that turned out to be a complete bust.
In a piece recently published by Bleacher Report, Brent Sobleski went through and listed one “draft do-over” for each team in the league. When it comes to our beloved Detroit Lions, who seem to screw up in each and every draft, Sobleski has them re-doing their 1996 pick of Reggie Brown by instead drafting LB Ray Lewis out of Miami.
Detroit Lions Draft Ray Lewis Instead of Reggie Brown (1996)
Three linebackers came off the board before the Baltimore Ravens selected Ray Lewis with the 26th overall pick in the 1996 NFL draft.
Two of those franchises, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Denver Broncos can be somewhat excused. Kevin Hardy earned All-Pro honors during the 1999 campaign. Besides, he was an outside linebacker with the ability to rush the passer. The Broncos got eight seasons and an All-Pro effort (1997) out of John Mobley, who won two Super Bowls with the organization.
Unfortunately, the Detroit Lions will never know what Reggie Brown could have become, because the 17th overall pick in that draft suffered a spinal contusion during his second season and never played again.
Lewis, meanwhile, might be the greatest middle linebacker of all time. He spent 17 seasons as the face of the Ravens franchise, earned 13 Pro Bowl nods and became a two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Ah, that could have been…
