Coming out of Jackson State, Cornerback, Lem Barney made an immediate impact for the Lions winning the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and leading the NFL in Interceptions.  He wouldn’t duplicate that feat as opposing offensive coordinators knew to avoid him like the plague but he was still a seven-time Pro Bowler with 56 total picks and over 1,000 Interception Return Yards.  Barney was also a major asset on the return game.

Bobby Layne was an absolute beast at the University of Texas but it took a few years, a few stops, and engineering a trade to the Detroit Lions before he was allowed to truly showcase his skills.

Easily the best defensive player the Detroit Lions have ever had, Joe Schmidt was a dominating Middle Linebacker who would become the defensive captain of the team in 1956 and continue in that role for nine years.

Nowadays football players are retiring early, but the retirement of Barry Sanders caught everyone completely off-guard as he retired while still an elite player and less than 1,500 Yards from breaking the rushing record, which he had he continued to play would have likely set a mark that would have been unattainable.