The Detroit Lions have had many outstanding players in their 80-plus year history, but due to overshadowing from other stars or years of losing, some great players are relatively ignored by history.
Detroit Lions history is full of great players: Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson, Bobby Layne, Joe Schmidt, Night Train Lane and others. However, there are many players who were excellent in their own right who, either because the spotlight was on someone else or because the franchise’s struggles prevented them from being noticed, do not get the attention they deserve.
When compiling a list like this, it can be difficult to make decisions about who is truly “underrated” and who is the “most underrated.” Ultimately, the field was narrowed to Detroit Lions who are not members of the Hall of Fame or who are not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame because they retired recently (such as Jason Hanson and Calvin Johnson).
Because there has to be an end to the list somewhere, great players like Paul Naumoff, Jim David, Gail Cogdill, Terry Barr, Bennie Blades and many others are not listed here.
The Detroit Lions have an excellent page on their website with profiles of these and many other franchise stars. Also, a big shoutout to pro-football-reference.com, an amazing database of professional football history and a huge resource for this list.
So, here we are. The most underrated players in Detroit Lions history.
Next: Honorable Mention: Dutch Clark
Dutch Clark
Because this list is limited to non-Hall of Famers, Clark is technically disqualified from being listed. However, he gets an honorable mention because while he was one of the NFL’s earliest stars, many fans have never heard of him or his accomplishments.
Earl “Dutch” Clark was the first “quarterback” of the Detroit Lions after they moved from Portsmouth, Ohio in 1934. At the time, the position was known as a “tailback.” Tailbacks, including Clark, did a lot more rushing than passing as the forward pass was still a relatively ineffective way to move the ball down the field at the time. This was also the era of the two-way player, so Clark also played defensive back and served as the Lions’ kicker.
Clark spent his first two NFL seasons in Portsmouth with the then-Spartans, earning Rookie of the Year honors in 1931 and leading the league in scoring in 1932. He then took a year off to become the athletic director and head football coach at the Colorado School of Mines, where he could make more money during the Great Depression.
He returned to the NFL in 1934 after the Spartans had moved and become the Lions, and he led the league in rushing touchdowns the Lions’ inaugural season. In 1935, Clark led the Lions to their first NFL Championship and earned the league scoring title again. In 1936, he led the Lions to a record 2,885 team rushing yards, a record that would stand until the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins broke it, while also leading the league in rushing touchdowns again.
He took over as player-coach of the Lions in 1937 and held a 14-8 record in two seasons while leading the league in rushing touchdowns in 1936 for the third time. He retired as a player after the 1938 season, having been named All-Pro every season from 1934-1937. After 1938, he left Detroit to coach the Cleveland Rams, where he stayed until 1942. He also coached at the University of Detroit from 1951-1953.
Clark was a part of the 17-member inaugural class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963, and his number seven was retired by the Lions. He is also a member of the NFL 1930s All-Decade Team and the NFL’s 75th Anniversary All-Time Two-Way Team.
Next: 10. Harley Sewell
Harley Sewell
Harley Sewell held down the left guard position for the Lions from 1953-1962 and won two NFL championships in the process, in 1954 and 1957. At 6’1,” 230, Sewell lined up next to Hall of Fame left tackle Lou Creekmur to form one of the most formidable offensive lines of its time.
The Lions drafted Sewell out of Texas in the first round of the 1953 draft and started him immediately. He was named to four Pro Bowls during his time in Detroit and started 120 games over ten seasons with the Lions.
He was best known for his ability a pulling guard in the ground game, and he helped lead Hall of Fame running back Doak Walker to three Pro Bowls from 1953-1955. Sewell ended his career with the Los Angeles Rams in 1963.
Next: 9. Robert Porcher
Robert Porcher
The Lions drafted Robert Porcher in the first round of the 1992 draft and he played in Detroit for the next 12 seasons. He never led the NFL in sacks or tackles, but his consistency was his greatest attribute. He is the Lions’ career record holder for sacks with 95.5. He recorded double-digit sacks in five different seasons and played in 187 games as a Lion. He was also named to the Pro Bowl in 1997, 1999 and 2001.
Porcher is also well-known for his contributions to the Detroit community. While in Detroit, he and his wife Kimberly established a fund at the University of Michigan’s Comprehensive Cancer Center. The fund assisted families with daily expenses related to their children’s cancer treatment. He also became a restauranteur in the Detroit area after his retirement in 2004. The Detroit Lions named their annual Man of the Year award after Porcher because of his service to the community.
Porcher now lives in Florida, where he is the defensive line coach at Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando. His son, Robert Porcher IV, is a defensive lineman at Dr. Phillips and has committed to play football at the University of Nebraska.
Next: 8. Mel Gray
Mel Gray
Despite the Lions’ recent struggles in the kick return game (including the Stefan Logan roller coaster of fun), they have had some excellent kick returners in the best few decades, including Desmond Howard, Eddie Drummond and the best of all of them, Mel Gray.
Gray came to the Lions in 1989 after three seasons with the New Orleans Saints and two seasons in the USFL with the Los Angeles Express. He immediately made his mark, making the Pro Bowl in 1990. He used his 5’9,” 171 frame to his advantage, juking out and slipping past would-be tacklers on the Silverdome turf.
Gray played for six seasons purely as a return man in Detroit, where he made the Pro Bowl four times and was named first-team All-Pro three times. When the Lions went 12-4 in 1991 he led the league in both kick and punt return average and in 1994 he led the NFL with three kick return touchdowns.
Gray was named to the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team as the second-team kick and punt returner. He is the Lions’ franchise leader in kick return yardage (5,478), kick return touchdowns (5) and punt return yardage (1,427). He averaged over 25 yards per kick return and 10 yards per punt return with the team.
After leaving Detroit, he played for the Houston Oilers and Philadelphia Eagles before his career ended in 1997. He is currently ranked fourth all-time in the NFL in career combined kick and punt return yards (13,003) and third in career kick return touchdowns (6).
Next: 7. Wayne Walker
Wayne Walker
Over the course of 15 seasons in Detroit, Wayne Walker appeared in 200 games for the Lions, a record that stood until Jason Hanson broke it in 2004. From when he was drafted in the fourth round in 1958 until his retirement in 1972, he was named to the Pro Bowl three times, playing alongside greats including Joe Schmidt, Night Train Lane, Lem Barney, Yale Lary, Dick LeBeau and the Fearsome Foursome.
While not a stat sheet stuffer, he was a consistent player on one of the league’s best defensive units of the time. He scored two defensive touchdowns as a rookie in 1958 and was named the team’s defensive MVP in 1968. He intercepted 14 passes and recovered 15 fumbles in his career and is a member of Pro Football Reference’s All-1960s Decade Team.
He was also a kicker for the Lions, although he only made about 40.5% of his attempts, the lowest mark in NFL history among kickers with at least 100 career attempts. His 345 career points rank seventh in franchise history.
After his retirement, Walker went into broadcasting, calling San Francisco 49ers football and Oakland Athletics baseball, as well as other NFL games on CBS.
Next: 6. Chris Spielman
Chris Spielman
Chris Spielman was drafted by the Lions in the second round in 1988 and immediately won the start at inside linebacker. He became a team captain and would be named to four Pro Bowls in his time with Detroit. When he left Detroit in 1996, he was the franchise’s all-time leader in total tackles (1,138), a title he still holds.
Spielman was a tenacious linebacker with a nose for the ballcarrier. He started all but four games for the Lions from 1988-1995 and led the team in tackles in seven straight seasons, including a team-record 195 total tackles in 1994.
Spielman joined the Buffalo Bills in 1996 but was limited the next season by a neck injury. After missing the 1998 season to help his wife, who was battling cancer, Spielman attempted a comeback in 1999 with the Cleveland Browns, but another neck injury caused him to retire before the season began. After retirement, Spielman became a broadcaster and has called college football on ESPN since 2001. He was also the subject of an episode of NFL Network’s “A Football Life” in 2012.
Next: 5. Herman Moore, Brett Perriman and Johnnie Morton
Herman Moore, Brett Perriman and Johnnie Morton
While Barry Sanders gained most of the attention on the Lions’ offense during the 90s, Herman Moore, Brett Perriman and Johnnie Morton made up one of the premier receiving corps in the NFL. Moore and Perriman each joined the team in 1991, Moore as a first-round draft pick and Perriman after three quiet seasons with the New Orleans Saints, and they would go on to combine for over 11,000 receiving yards during their six years as teammates. Morton was drafted by the Lions in the first round in 1994.
The three had their most prolific season in 1995, combining for over 3,500 receiving yards as the Lions offense became one of the most dominant in the NFL. Both Moore and Perriman caught over 100 passes during the season, the first teammates to do so in NFL history, while Moore set a then-NFL record with 123 receptions.
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Moore was the most decorated of the three over the course of their careers, going to four Pro Bowls while Perriman and Morton were never named to the team. Moore and Morton continued to be productive after Perriman left Detroit after the 1996 season, combining for over 2,000 yards receiving in both 1997 and 1998.
By the time Morton and Moore left Detroit after the 2001 season, the trio had combined for ten 1,000-yard seasons, 20,917 receiving yards, 1,567 receptions and 122 touchdowns for the Lions over 11 seasons. Calvin Johnson has since eclipsed most of the records they set as individuals, but all three of them remain near the top of most Lions receiving record lists.
| Careers with the Lions | |||||
| Seasons | Games | Receptions | Yards | Touchdowns | |
| Herman Moore | 1991-2001 | 145 | 670 | 9,174 | 62 |
| Brett Perriman | 1991-1996 | 94 | 428 | 5,244 | 25 |
| Johnnie Morton | 1994-2001 | 126 | 469 | 6,499 | 35 |
| Totals | 365 | 1,567 | 20,917 | 122 |
In recent years, Moore has been a part of the local Lions TV pregame broadcast team. Perriman’s son, Breshad Perriman, is currently a receiver with the Baltimore Ravens. Morton appeared on “The Tonight Show” in 2001 and made a cameo appearance in the film “Jerry Maguire.”
Next: 4. Silver Rush
Silver Rush: Al “Bubba” Baker, Doug English, William Gay, Dave Pureifory
The Silver Rush was a dominant force in the NFL and one of the premier pass rushing groups in league history. From 1978-1982, Al Baker, Doug English, William Gay and Dave Pureifory reached unparalleled levels of efficiency at getting to the quarterback, setting every franchise record for sacks and combining for eight Pro Bowl appearances.
And some of them performed a cover of Queen’s “Another One Bites The Dust” with teammate Jimmy “Spiderman” Allen during the 1980 season. Doug English apparently hated the cover, which was played at the Silverdome on gamedays and was popular with the fans.
English was the first of the four to arrive in Detroit after being drafted by the team in the second round in 1975. He played in 131 games over ten seasons at defensive tackle for the Lions. He was named to four Pro Bowls during his career in Detroit, is tied for the NFL career record for safeties with four and is the unofficial franchise leader in sacks by an interior defensive lineman with 59. His career ended in 1985 after he suffered a neck injury.
Al “Bubba” Baker was drafted by the Lions in the second round in 1978 and made an immediate mark at defensive end, winning Defensive Rookie Of The Year after unofficially recording 23 sacks during the season (the NFL did not start officially keeping track of individual sacks until 1982). He continued to dominate, recording 75.5 sacks over five seasons in Detroit and being named to three Pro Bowls. After leaving Detroit, Baker played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns before retiring after the 1990 season. Baker is now a successful restauranteur in the Cleveland area.
William Gay was drafted by the Denver Broncos as a tight end in the second round in 1978 but was cut before the season began. He signed with Detroit and appeared in all 16 games his rookie season, playing on the defensive line. He was a rotational player until he got the start at defensive tackle in 1980. When Baker and Pureifory left after the 1982 season, Gay was moved to defensive end, where he racked up double-digit sacks in 1983 and 1984, including a team-record 5.5 sack effort against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1983, and led the NFL with six fumble recoveries in 1986. He also appeared in the 1984 Pro Bowl as an alternate. After leaving Detroit after the 1987 season, Gay played for the Minnesota Vikings for one season before retiring.
After graduating from Eastern Michigan, Dave Pureifory began his NFL career in Green Bay, where he played for six years before joining the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals released him in the middle of the 1978 season. The Lions signed him and immediately plugged him into the starting lineup, where he would stay for the next four seasons. Pureifory was undersized for a defensive end but used his quickness and tenacity to get into the backfield, and he was named the Lions defensive MVP in 1980. After injuries caused him to leave Detroit after the 1982 season, he would play for the Michigan Panthers and Birmingham Stallions of the USFL from 1984-1985.
Next: 3. Tobin Rote
Tobin Rote
While Bobby Layne gets most of the praise for quarterbacking the Lions’ championship teams of the 50s, Tobin Rote deserves his fair share of credit as well. Although he only spent three seasons in Detroit, the Lions would most likely have not won the 1957 NFL Championship if it were not for Rote, and his performance during that season alone justifies his inclusion.
He spent the first seven years of his career in Green Bay, where he led the NFL in passing touchdowns in 1955 and 1956. Rote was known for his ability to run the ball effectively, leading the NFL in quarterback rushing yards six times and holding the NFL career mark for rushing yards by a quarterback when he retired. Despite his success, the Packers opted to give second-year Bart Starr the starting nod in 1957 and traded Rote to the Lions.
Layne and Rote split time at quarterback in 1957, leading the Lions to a 6-4 record until Layne went down with a gruesome season-ending leg injury in the next-to-last game of the regular season. Rote finished the game, which the Lions won, and stepped in as the starter for the rest of the season. A win in the regular season finale against Chicago forced a playoff between Detroit and the San Francisco 49ers for the Western Conference crown and a spot in the NFL Championship game. Down 27-7 in the third quarter of the playoff game, Rote led the offense to three touchdowns in a matter of minutes to give the Lions the lead en route to a 31-27 victory in one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history.
Where Rote really left his mark was in the 1957 NFL Championship game. The Lions met the Cleveland Browns for the title for the fourth time in six years, the Lions having won two of the first three meetings, but the Browns having won the most recent matchup 56-10 in 1954. In the 1957 game, the Lions returned the favor almost down to the point, as Rote threw for four touchdowns and ran for one more in a 59-14 romp to claim the Lions’ most recent championship.
The next season, the Lions opted to trade Layne to the Pittsburgh Steelers and go with Rote as their starter. Rote played the next two seasons in Detroit, but his performance was underwhelming and he was released after the 1959 season.
Rote headed north of the border after leaving Detroit and joined the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts, where he set a CFL record by throwing for 38 touchdowns in 1960. In 1963, he returned to the United States to quarterback the San Diego Chargers. He led the Chargers to the 1963 AFL Championship and was named AP Player of the Year. He is the only quarterback to win both an NFL and AFL Championship. He retired after the 1964 season, although he did briefly attempt a comeback with the Denver Broncos in 1966. He was elected to the Packers’ Hall of Fame in 1974.
Next: 2. Fearsome Foursome
Fearsome Foursome: Alex Karras, Roger Brown, Darris McCord, Sam Williams
From 1962 to 1966, the Alex Karras, Roger Brown, Darris McCord and Sam Williams made up one of the most feared defensive lines in NFL history, the Detroit Lions’ Fearsome Foursome. Because the NFL did not keep track of sacks or tackles for individual players in the 60s, it can be difficult to quantify how talented the players from this era were, but the team recorded 235 sacks during that time, including a team-record 57 in 1962.
Alex Karras is perhaps the most well-known of the four because of his “mad duck” personality and post-football TV career. Karras immediately jumped into the Lions’ starting lineup at defensive tackle after being drafted in the first round in 1958. Karras started every game for the Lions from 1958 to 1962, earning three straight Pro Bowl bids from 1960 to 1962.
After being suspended for the 1963 season due to gambling he turned to professional wrestling for a year. Karras returned to the starting lineup in 1964 and started every game until 1969, making another Pro Bowl in 1965. After his career ended in 1970, he went on to a successful career in film and TV, including commentary for Monday Night Football from 1976-1979 and a starring role in the 80s TV show “Webster.” Karras was named to the NFL All-1960s Decade Team.
Roger Brown was drafted in the fourth round by the Lions in 1960. He was massive for his time, standing 6’5″ and weighing 300 pounds, and lined up next to Karras at defensive tackle. He appeared in every game for the Lions from 1960 to 1966 and was named to five straight Pro Bowls as a Lion from 1962 to 1966. He was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in 1967 and joined their “Fearsome Foursome,” which included Hall of Famers Merlin Olsen and Deacon Jones. He played in Los Angeles for three seasons before retiring after the 1969 season.
Darris McCord played in nearly every game for the Lions as a defensive end from 1955-1967 after being drafted in the third round in 1955, earning a Pro Bowl nomination when the Lions won the NFL Championship in 1957. McCord was the quietest of the four, and he developed a reputation as a solid player who went about his business. Brown said upon McCord’s death in 2013 that “(McCord) never was a rah-rah guy… But he was there for support, and he’d hold up his side. He was an outstanding teammate and a good player.” When McCord retired, his 168 games with the Lions was a team record.
Sam Williams is the only member of the four who was not drafted by the Lions. He was selected in the 24th round out of Michigan State by the Los Angeles Rams before joining the Lions in 1960. He played in every game for the Lions at defensive end from 1960-1965 and led the four with three defensive touchdowns over his career in Detroit. Williams ended his career after playing for the Atlanta Falcons in 1966 and 1967.
Any mention of the Fearsome Foursome would be incomplete without a mention of their greatest game, Thanksgiving Day, 1962, when the Lions stunned the eventual NFL champions and then-undefeated Green Bay Packers, 26-14. The Lions defense, led by defensive coordinator Don Shula, Hall of Fame linebacker Joe Schmidt and the four linemen, put the clamps on Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr, sacking him a reported 11 times in the game.
“Everyone watched that game,” Brown has said, “God and his 12 disciples were watching.” Brown played a part in seven of the Lions sacks in that game, including tackling Starr for a safety and also a strip-sack which Williams recovered for a touchdown. “I don’t think the German Luftwaffe could have stopped us that day.”
Next: 1. The Most Underrated Lions Of All Time
Lomas Brown and Kevin Glover
Blocking for Barry Sanders wasn’t easy. “It was tough blocking for him,” Lomas Brown says, “The play could call for Barry to run to the right and you’d look around he would be running to the left.”
Despite the inherent difficulty of trying to protect one of the most elusive and unpredictable players ever, left tackle Brown and center Kevin Glover proved up to the task, paving the way for eight of Sanders’ ten straight 1,000-yard seasons and keeping quarterback Scott Mitchell upright to direct the Lions’ prolific passing attack. Except for the time Brown didn’t.
Brown and Glover were drafted in the first and second rounds respectively of the 1985 draft and by the time Sanders joined the team in 1989, they were both starting. Brown made the Pro Bowl each year from 1990 to 1995, Glover was named to the game from 1995 to 1997. The two combined to play in 341 games over 24 combined seasons with the Lions.
Their consistent play over such a long time was a crucial element of the Lions’ offensive efficiency in the 90s. Barry Sanders had more room to run and Herman Moore, Brett Perriman and Johnnie Morton were setting records in large part because Brown and Glover were working hard in the trenches, giving the offense the chance to work.
Brown finished his 18-season career with the Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns, New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers after leaving Detroit after the 1995 season. He has since taken up broadcasting in local radio and with ESPN.
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Glover was let go by the Lions after the 1997 season and finished his career with the Seattle Seahawks in 1999. After retirement, he became a sports agent. He now oversees the alumni association in the athletics department at his alma mater, the University of Maryland.