Editor's note: Clark Judge, Pete Prisco and Mike Freeman are traveling to every NFL training camp and filing daily reports and analysis.
Lions: Five things to know | 
Freeman
ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- The only thing that has kept Detroit's Matt Millen from drafting Don Hutson is Hutson is dead. Still, Millen thought about it.
Knock, knock.
"Who's there?"
Matt.
"Matt who?"
| Community Focus | |
 One man vs. One fan | |
ChefJJ: "I agree with the 8-10 win range for the Lions, hopefully more towards the top end of that range though. With questions on whether the D improves and if the line helps the O become more balanced, a 10-6 season would be impressive." |
Matt, who you drafting at wide receiver this year?
Not since Chad Johnson looked into a mirror has anyone loved wide receivers so much.
Yet for all the deserved abuse Millen has taken for picking an abundance of wideouts -- and some bad ones at that -- Millen has finally made an excellent selection. Indeed his most recent wide receiver choice could be the next Art Monk.
Detroit's Calvin Johnson, just in his second year, is already practically unstoppable. You read that right. Almost unstoppable.
I said, unstoppable.
"He's already a guy who might require constant double-teams," said one NFC scout.
How about that? Millen got one right. At least for now, very right.
Johnson is tall and strong and doesn't drop many passes. He's faster than Monk for sure but his style reminds me of a dead-on copy of the recent Hall of Fame inductee.
| Out of Nowhere Man |
 Linebacker Jordan Dizon is a second-round pick out of Colorado who fits with what the Lions do. Detroit has a small but quick defense, and while Dizon is just 6-feet, his speed is fairly impressive. He has a lot of ground to make up, however. Dizon had a lengthy holdout and there was also an off-the-field issue right before the draft. He was arrested on a DUI charge. |
| Who is your Out of Nowhere Man? |
There were flashes of Johnson's potential last season as he struggled through far more severe back issues than either Johnson or the Lions publicly discussed. Despite painful issues Johnson was still able to lead all rookies in yards per catch (15.8) and was second in receptions (48) and receiving yards (756).
There was another glimpse into Johnson's future during Detroit's preseason game against the New York Giants. Johnson played just two series yet still caught four passes for 78 yards. When the Giants attempted to cover Williams one-on-one he burned them deep for 38 yards. "Calvin, one-on-one, I'm going to take my chances with that pretty much all the time," quarterback Jon Kitna said. "He makes plays on the ball when it's in the air. He's got great body control.
"If it was a first-down call on that play, I would've thrown it down the field to see if he could outrun somebody. But, being a third-down call, I just wanted to give him a chance to catch it."
Johnson and Roy Williams -- another Millen wide receiver pick -- will be the focus of the passing game this year. In fact no one should be surprised if Johnson easily vaults past Williams as Kitna's top target.
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Positives: Johnson has plenty of speed and size. He can win jump balls, which should help in the red zone, and also goes over the middle. Now that he's healthy from the back injury, he should put up great stats in his second season. Negatives: No more Mike Martz could mean less focus on the passing game in Detroit, which means less opportunities for Johnson. Roy Williams is in a contract year, so he could dominate the offense as well. Jon Kitna tends to make mistakes, but he needs to start ahead of Dan Orlovsky and Drew Stanton for Johnson to succeed. Outlook: Johnson will play well in 2008. He should be drafted as a low-end No. 2 option, but you can count on him to be a dependable starter for your Fantasy team. Look to draft Johnson somewhere around Round 6 or 7 in all leagues. -- Jamey Eisenberg RB: Kevin Smith (70th overall) QB: Jon Kitna (136th overall) WR: Roy Williams (48th overall) TE: None drafted |
| 2008 Fantasy Draft Prep |
"They're two first-round draft picks, top-10 picks," Kitna told the media. "They're really good athletes and they're physical and they'll typically win those battles against anybody who lines up against them."
Johnson's story is even more interesting when you look at who drafted him. Millen is considered by most people in football to be one of the worst personnel men in the history of the game. That's not an overstatement or exaggeration. At one point, four of Millen's five No. 1 picks were wide receivers. That's an impossibly dumb thing for a personnel man to do and likely will never be duplicated.
The website Coldhardfootbalfacts.com has chronicled Millen's draft follies in great detail. In 2003 Millen drafted Charles Rogers (who is now out of football) when he could've had players like Troy Polamalu, Dallas Clark or Nick Barnett. In 2004 he picked Roy Williams -- who's had a slightly above average career -- when he could have had Ben Roethlisberger. One year later Millen selected Mike Williams (a lot of Williams and Johnsons on the Lions -- not that there's anything wrong with that) who was a disaster when Shawne Merriman was still there, among many other possibilities.
In 2006 he picked Ernie Sims, a terrific linebacker. Then came Johnson. Actually two of Millen's best picks might have emerged from his last two drafts. Runner Kevin Smith was a third round pick in 2008, and should end up contributing heavily.
The Lions are actually making draft strides. They're small strides. They are strides so small an ant can step in them. But they are strides nonetheless. The problem is Millen has been so utterly and outrageously foul he'd need to pick seven consecutive Jim Brown-caliber talents to make up for his gross mistakes.
Maybe Johnson could somehow be the first step in the Millen Redemption Tour.
