Detroit Lions: Matt Millen Draft Stories May Never End
By Zac Snyder
Connections to Matt Millen’s time as Detroit Lions general manager is down to just Don Muhlbach, but the stories of his reign of terror continue.
What’s draft week without a story about Matt Millen’s stint as general manager of the Detroit Lions? Peter King brings us one in today’s Monday Morning Quarterback, one he witnessed due to his presence in the Dallas Cowboys draft room in 2002.
"I’ll never forget being in the Cowboys draft room an hour before the draft started. Phone rang. Jerry Jones picked it up. Detroit GM Matt Millen on the line. Wanted an offer, any offer, for the third pick in the draft. Not enthusiastic about Joey Harrington, from the sound of the phone call. Jones didn’t want the pick, nor the quarterback. Harrington went third, to Detroit. Bad idea."
The Lions were in a bad spot with the third overall pick in 2002. The Houston Texans were locked in on a quarterback (David Carr) as their inaugural draft pick to get their franchise started, making Julius Peppers a no-brainer pick for the Carolina Panthers at number two.
Ultimately, King’s story comes across as another example of Millen’s lack of preparation resulting in desperation – common issues that doomed his Lions tenure. It’s a stunning story of the kind of disfunction in the organization considering the first two picks were known before the draft.
The Texans had already agreed to a deal with Carr and the Panthers had informed Peppers he would be their pick. The Lions were essentially on the clock in the days leading up to the official start of the draft but were still scrambling with an hour to go.
It stands to reason that Millen would have made the same call to several teams, but one has to wonder if the Kansas City Chiefs were one. The Chiefs ended up trading with the Cowboys to move up from eight to six. In the process, the Cowboys added a third round pick and a sixth round pick in 2003.
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Millen apparently couldn’t find any takers and the Joey Harrington era began.