Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Documentary: Millen didn't want to draft Mike Williams

Back in 2005 the Detroit Lions had their sights set on drafting DeMarcus Ware with the 10th puck of the NFL Draft. Of course everyone knows they ended up with Mike Williams, which gave the Lions their third consecutive first round receiver.

Williams flamed out in Detroit and Ware is a seven time Pro Bowler with the Dallas Cowboys.

In a documentary titled “A Football Life: Matt Millen”, Millen's son Matthew says that Millen didn't want to draft Williams but was talked into it by other members of the organization.

Matthew Millen, Matt’s oldest son, said that he was in the Lions’ war rooms in 2002-08 and heard the exchange that swayed Millen’s mind.

“The Mike Williams draft, I got really mad at him because we had talked all up to that point about, ‘DeMarcus Ware is a stud. He’s going to be a great pass rusher, he would fit our scheme, and he’d be the guy that I’d take,’” Matthew Millen said. “It gets to pick 10, and there’s DeMarcus Ware, so I’m thinking, ‘All right, we got our guy.’ And then all of a sudden, there’s chatter from some other people in the room that, ‘You know what, if we got this wide receiver and paired him with Roy Williams and some of the other weapons we have, we’d be a really potent offense.’ And I can see his mind starting to change.”

“I’m like, ‘Great, the buffoon just picked another wide receiver,’” Matthew Millen said. “That’s what everyone’s going to think.”

Matthew was correct about his assumptions. Lions fans were pissed and the media got the last laugh on the Lions.

In the end it sounds as if Millen is throwing someone else under the bus instead of admitting to his mistakes.

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