Detroit marks a rough spot for Steve Cook’s Top 5 Quarterbacks of each NFL franchise. But who made the list???

The Detroit Lions have given me the toughest list to compile so far. There are two main reasons for this:

1. Lack of depth. Considering the Lions have been around since the 1930s, you would think there would be plenty of viable selections for a Greatest Lions Quarterback of All Time list. Unless you’ve regularly watched the Lions, then you understand the difficulty. Just not a lot of talent here. Joey Frickin Harrington is pretty high up on some of these franchise passing categories. Tells you all you need to know, right?

2. That being said, the choice between 1 & 2 is the toughest I’ve had so far. One is a legend from back in the 1950s that won multiple championships. The other has set every franchise passing record, yet has been overlooked when discussing elite passers of this century for a number of reasons, one of the main ones being the bad teams he’s been saddled with.

I’m trying to be nice to Lions fans here. That’s why we won’t mention Barry Sanders or Calvin Johnson after this sentence. Here are the top 5 Greatest Detroit Lions Quarterbacks of All Time!

5. Erik Kramer

It was a short run for Kramer as QB1 for the Detroit Lions, but he made the most of it. Taking the helm when Rodney Peete got injured, Kramer led the Lions to a 6-2 record during the 1991 season and their first (and most recent) NFC Championship Game appearance. That particular game didn’t go so well, but the divisional round game against the Dallas Cowboys saw Kramer throw for 341 yards and three touchdowns.

Kramer & the Lions went back to the playoffs in 1993, and he still holds franchise postseason records for touchdowns & completion percentage.

4. Scott Mitchell

Mitchell got on peoples’ radar in the early 1990s when he was Dan Marino’s backup with the Miami Dolphins. When Marino got injured in 1993, Mitchell got the nod and wound up starting seven games for the Dolphins. He showed enough during that stint to get signed by the Lions prior to the 1994 season, during which he struggled and people wondered if he was worth the money. 1995 was a rebound year and the best of Mitchell’s career, where he would throw for 4338 yards & 32 touchdowns, setting Lions records at the time.

Mitchell took the Lions to the playoffs in 1995 & 97, where they would lose each time in the Wild Card round. He was replaced by Charlie Batch in 1998, and ended his career with less than memorable stints in Baltimore & Cincinnati. He was last seen on national television as a contestant on The Biggest Loser, which isn’t exactly the best way to make a comeback.

3. Greg Landry

Mitchell’s quarterback coach during two of his seasons with the Lions happened to be a former QB of note for the franchise. Landry was the Lions’ first round draft pick in 1968, split time with Bill Munson the first couple of years, then became starter during the 1970 season. 1971 saw Landry make the Pro Bowl while throwing for 2237 yards & 16 touchdowns. He had another solid season in 1972, but 1973 saw him get benched after throwing 10 interceptions versus 3 touchdowns. He started a handful of games during the 1974 & 75 seasons, then returned with a vengeance in 1976.

You could say that Landry had the Spirit of ’76. He won the Comeback Player of the Year award, throwing for 2191 yards & 17 touchdowns & re-establishing himself in the league. At least until Gary Danielson was drafted.

2. Matthew Stafford

We all know life is easier for quarterbacks now than ever before. Rules have been slanted towards offense to the point where comparing numbers from the 21st century to the 20th is a rather silly thing to do. That being said, Stafford’s statistical achievements are still ridiculously impressive. He was the youngest quarterback to reach 20,000, 30,000 & 40,000 passing yards. Stafford was the first QB to in NFL history to complete 60% or more passes in each game of a season. He leads all-time Lions passing yards by nearly 30,000 yards. He’s thrown 164 more touchdowns than any other Lions quarterback. Sure, it helps that he’s played 63 more games than any other Lions quarterback, but the fact he kept that job so long certainly has to count for something.

Stafford’s weakness in any argument about successful quarterbacks: his lack of success. His Lions teams went 74-90-1. Stafford defenders have an easy response to that…take a look at the talent around him. Detroit had one running back rush for 1,000 yards during Stafford’s twelve seasons with the club. That’s not a great percentage. Detroit’s defense was worst in the NFL when Stafford came in, and other than 2014, when somehow they were top three in the league, it never got much better than mediocre. Stafford had one mega-talented teammate for most of his run with Detroit, and everybody else was kinda average. Another weakness: compared to his peers, he never broke out of the pack. Stafford’s only been to one Pro Bowl and has never led the NFL in yards or touchdowns, even though he threw over 5,000 yards in 2011! Still not enough to lead the league.

Even great quarterbacks need some talent around them. We’ll find out Stafford’s true ability to win with the LA Rams, who have some top players on both sides of the ball. I can’t hold his lack of wins with the Lions against him, but at the end of the day I have to go with his main competition in the top slot.

Honorable Mention: Dutch Clark

The Flying Dutchman was one of the first quarterbacks for the Portsmouth Spartans, the team that would move to Detroit and become known as the Lions. He was one of the most successful QBs of the era, being selected to the All-Pro team six out of the seven seasons he played. He even held the league’s scoring record at the time of his retirement. Of course, the game is so different now that it’s tough to compare him with even our number one pick, but he definitely warrants mention in a discussion of great Lions quarterbacks.

1. Bobby Layne

Matthew Stafford’s weaknesses are strong points for Bobby Layne. The Lions won three NFL Championships during the Blond Bomber’s eight seasons with the team, including his final season in 1958. Incidentally, the Lions’ most recent championship. Layne went to four Pro Bowls, was first-team All-Pro three times & was named to the 1950s All-Decade Team. He went 53-29-2 as QB1, and got some help from some pretty good talent. Had a fella named Doak Walker there for a few years.

Lions fans already knew about this, but the similarities between Layne & Stafford are interesting. Both men went to the same high school, Highland Park in Dallas. (That Walker fella went there too.) Now, both men have been traded by the Lions while in their early thirties. Layne still had one Pro Bowl season left in him. Does Stafford?

Hopefully, for Lions fans’ sake, Jared Goff can make his way onto this list sometime soon.

Next time: Green Bay! So picking a number one won’t get any less difficult…