The Lions lost decade

With the Lions trading away Ernie Sims yesterday, I thought it would be worth looking back at the Lions first-round picks from 2001-2008. Lions fans want to forget those picks as they are otherwise known as the worst collection of first-round picks ever made by an NFL executive. Matt Millen, this is your life!

2001
18. OT Jeff Backus
It's hard to believe but Millen's first pick running the Lions actually was a pretty good one. Backus has started all 144 games for the Lions at left tackle since entering the league. And after a poor first season in which he allowed 12 sacks according to the numbers compiled by STATS, LLC., he had an excellent four-year stretch of pass protection. Unfortunately, Backus has been in severe decline over the last four seasons, allowing 9.5, 16, 9.25 and 9.25 sacks in those seasons. Those numbers represented the eighth most, most, eighth most and fourth most in the league. And you wonder why many have suggested the Lions may take a left tackle second overall on Thursday. Backus should have been replaced three years ago. That being said, you can't say he wasn't a strong choice by Millen. He's been a starter for nine years, half of which were solid.

2002
3. QB Joey Harrington
There was talk at the time that Millen preferred to take cornerback Quentin Jammer third overall (not that he's been all that great) but was forced to take the quarterback by management. Harrington took over starting duties as a rookie and was a starter for four seasons. Unfortunately, he was a ghastly 18-37 as a starter. He completed a mere 54.7 percent of his passes, averaging just 5.68 yards per attempt. His passer rating was a miserable 68.1 despite playing in the passer rating-friendly West Coast Offense under Marty Mornhinweg and Steve Mariucci. Harrington moved on to Miami in 2006 where he performed poorly for Nick Saban before moving on to Atlanta for a season in which he performed poorly as Michael Vick's first season replacement (on the bright side, his and the team's poor performance enabled the Falcons to draft Matt Ryan so there's a bright side). He then surfaced in New Orleans as a third-string quarterback in 2008 but never took the field. He was released right before the 2009 season, missing out on his chance to win a Super Bowl ring as a third-string quarterback. He remains unsigned. Someone has to pick him up as a preseason body, right?

2003
2. WR Charles Rogers
A college stud from Michigan State, everyone and his brother thought Millen should select Rogers. There was too much to like about him, ranging from the team's need for a receiver to team up with Harrington to his incredible college production to his being right in the Lions backyard. After a decent start to his rookie season, a broken collarbone caused him to miss the rest of the year. He again broke his collarbone in the 2004 season opener, causing him to miss the whole year. In 2005, he was suspended for four games for a third violation of the league's substance abuse policy, effectively ending his career in Detroit. It was later revealed that he was serial weed smoker in college, failing drug tests every year. Released at the end of preseason in 2006, Rogers played 15 games for the Lions, catching 36 passes for 440 yards and four touchdowns. He tried out for numerous teams after his release from Detroit but all passed on signing him.

On the bright side for the Lions, Rogers last week was ordered by a judge to pay back $6.1 million of his $9.1 million signing bonus because his drug use violated his contract. So they have that going for them.

2004
7. WR Roy Williams
Millen opted to draft another receiver early in the draft in 2004 and for a while, Roy Williams wasn't a complete failure. After showing promise in 2004 and 2005, he broke out in 2006 by catching 82 passes for 1,310 yards and seven touchdowns, all while becoming the first receiver in NFL history to celebrate every first down catch with the emphatic first down signal (and I do mean every, or so it seemed). It looked like Millen had finally hit on a high draft pick in the big way. Williams was even selected to the Pro Bowl that season. Then he fell back a little in 2007, not to the depths of a Rogers but to just average. In 2008, a few weeks after Millen was fired, the Lions took advantage of a foolish Jerry Jones and traded Williams to the Cowboys in-season for first-, third- and sixth-round picks, a sum of which Williams clearly was not worth. Dallas then signed him to six-year, $54 million contract. It hasn't been money well spent. In 20 games with Dallas, Williams has caught 57 passes for 794 yards and eight touchdowns. So basically, he's established himself as a quality No. 3 receiver in Dallas. That qualifies him for the Millen Hall of Fame.

30. RB Kevin Jones
Things started out well for Jones, who rushed for an impressive 1,133 yards as a rookie. But in the next two seasons, he rushed for a combined total of 1,353 yards before suffering a Lisfranc foot injury. He returned to play 13 games in 2007 but rushed for just 581 yards before being release at season's end. He signed with the Bears and in 2008 rushed for just 109 yards. He suffered a season-ending injury in preseason of 2009 and was released last month. His career, for all intents and purposes, is over.

2005
10. WR Mike Williams
Millen's weird wide receiver fetish continued into 2005 with the selection of Williams, who missed the 2004 college season when he attempted to enter the 2004 draft after his sophomore season at Southern Cal. Still, everyone was enamored with him because of his size and incredible hands. Immediately upon showing up in Detroit, he questioned his coaches, showed up late to practice and grew grossly out of shape. He managed to catch a touchdown in his first career game but that was the high point of his career. As immature as a young player could be, Williams managed 37 catches in two seasons before being shipped off to the Raiders in a draft-day trade. Not even Al Davis had the patience for Williams, who was cut in the middle of the 2007 season. The Titans gave him a shot to complete the season even though he reportedly weighed approximately 437 pounds. He did little for them. Between Oakland and Tennessee, he caught seven passes for 90 yards. After the season, Tennessee cut him. After sitting out the last two years, he is attempting a comeback with the Seahawks, who are now coached by his college coach, Pete Carroll.

2006
9. LB Ernie Sims
Sims gave the Lions three good seasons, starting all 48 games from 2006-2008 and even being named a team captain for the 2007 and 2008 seasons. Head coach Rod Marinelli said Sims reminded him of future Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks, whom Marinelli had coached with Tampa Bay. Of course, Marinelli then proceeded to lead Detroit to an 0-16 record in 2008 and was fired. Sims played in 11 games in 2009, starting eight of them. This week he was traded to the Eagles in a three-team deal that netted Detroit tight end Tony Scheffler and a seventh-round pick.

2007
2. WR Calvin Johnsdon
Millen's weird sexual fantasies about wide receivers returned in 2007 when he took Calvin Johnson, only this time everyone was in agreement that Johnson was the right choice. In three seasons, Johnson has demonstrated the potential to be by far the most successful pick of the Millen era and, in fact, the potential to be among the league's best receivers. In the lost 2008 winless season, Johnson was the one (and only) bright spot, catching 78 passes for 1,331 yards and a league-high 12 touchdowns. Last season, despite playing through injuries that caused him to miss two games entirely, he caught 67 passes for 984 yards and five touchdowns.

2008
17. OT Gosder Cherilus
Can't be classified as a failure yet as Cherilus started 13 games in 2008 and 15 in 2009 at right tackle. However, according to the numbers compiled by STATS, LLC., he allowed 8 3/4 sacks last season, 10th most in the league. Bad? Not necessarily. Good? Absolutely not.

Only three of Millen's nine first-rounders remain on the team. One of them hasn't been a worthy starter in four years. Three of them were among the biggest busts of this decade with two of them being about as unproductive as a top-10 pick could possibly be. At least Michigan State basketball went to four Final Fours and won a national championship in the decade. And the Red Wings won two Stanley Cups. And the Pistons won an NBA championship. And Michigan football went to four BCS games. And the Tigers won an American League pennant. Because in what was otherwise a prosperous decade for sports in the state of Michigan, Millen managed to make the Lions the black sheep of the state.