Best: Detroit Lions – Bobby Layne
Ironically, the guy many people would consider to be the best quarterback in the history of the Detroit Lions wasn’t even drafted by the team. The Chicago Bears selected Bobby Layne with the third overall pick in the 1948 NFL Draft, but the two-time All-Pro spent most of his career leading the Lions. Prior to the end of the 2018 season, Layne was the only quarterback in franchise history to lead the team in passing for eight consecutive seasons.
While most people would look at Matt Stafford’s passing numbers and say he deserves to be in this spot, Stafford has never been selected as an NFL All-Pro (while Layne has twice been selected as such), and probably won’t be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (as Layne was in 1967)
Worst: Detroit Lions – Joey Harrington
Even though Joey Harrington wasn’t drafted to an expansion team in the 2002 NFL Draft, he suffered a lot of the same fate as David Carr, who was drafted the year before him: suffering from a lack of talent, especially along the offensive line, as the quarterback of the Detroit Lions.
The Lions tried to find Harrington a wide receiver in the 2003 NFL Draft in Charles Rogers, but the latter’s career was derailed by injuries. Meanwhile, Harrington struggled under Steve Mariucci’s “win-now” approach, which culminated in the coach bringing in Jeff Garcia to replace Harrington.