The roots of the Detroit Lions’ emergence from the ashes of a dismal history, and the relative low point of the Matt Patricia era, to make the NFC Championship Game last season are in one place.

The three drafts of general manager Brad Holmes (to this point, of course) have yielded many of the core pieces of the team, now and looking forward. This year’s draft should yield more of the same, under a general “best player available” philosophy. That philosophy has served the Lions well, and applies to this year’s draft more than any other thus far in the Holmes/Dan Campbell regime.

Not that long ago, a list of Lions’ draft gems from the last decade would not have been been long. The work Holmes has done in those recent drafts has widened those possibilities greatly, but a bit of the work former general manager Bob Quinn did should not be discounted.

The last player who was left from Quinn’s final draft before departing in free agency this year (Jonah Jackson), became a reliable starter, earned one Pro Bowl nod and got a big contract from the Rams. As much attention as Holmes gets for going against the grain of perceived positional value, Quinn did it with some of his first-round picks too.

With the criteria defined as the last 10 drafts (2014-2023), here are the best Lions’ draft gems over the last decade.

Ranking the Detroit Lions’ best draft gems from the last decade

10. S Quandre Diggs: Sixth Round (Pick No. 206), 2015
Diggs went from a sixth-round pick to being a versatile defensive back for the Lions, culminating in a nice 2018 season (78 tackles, three interceptions, eight pass breakups. He ran afoul of Matt Patricia (how dare he?), and was traded to the Seattle Seahawks during the 2019 season. He only made three straight Pro Bowls in Seattle (2020-2022), which might have been nice to see him do even once in a Lions’ uniform.

Diggs as a Lions’ draft gem has some “what might have been had he stayed?” vibe. But a sixth-rounder who has played 10 NFL seasons (and likely counting) at a fairly high level is a rarity, so he makes this list.

9. DB Brian Branch: Second Round (Pick No. 45), 2023
Branch didn’t wow in athletic testing at the 2023 NFL Combine, so he fell to the second round. But those who paid attention knew he was a good football player, and was not slow on tape as he played all over the field in Nick Saban’s defense at Alabama.

Branch settled into the slot corner role for the Lions as a rookie, with excellent all-around numbers as cover man and a run defender. He may see more snaps at safety this year, and he acknowledged some things he’s working on heading into his second season. He was so good that Bucky Brooks of NFL.com has mentioned him in connection with a list of prospects in this year’s draft whose game tape trumps subpar testing numbers.

When Branch fell like he did, the Lions moved up a few picks in a deal with the rival Packers to get him. He looks like a core piece of the defense for years to come.

8. OT Taylor Decker: First Round (Pick No. 16), 2016
Decker was Quinn’s first first-round pick as Lions’ general manager and he’s now the longest-tenured player on the team. While underappreciate in terms of league-wide accolades (zero Pro Bowls or All-Pro teams in his career), the Ohio State product has been everything a team hopes a first-round pick left tackle will become. High level performance, steady, reliable, tough, a team leader. Last season, he became the fourth offensive tackle in Lions’ franchise history to start 100 games for the team.

Decker is now entering the final year of his contract, his age-31 season, but he has made it clear he wants to spend his entire career in Detroit. An extension this offseason to keep him around for a couple years beyond next season feels like a lock, despite some incredibly faint rumors he may be on the trade block.

7. DT Alim McNeill: 3rd Round (Pick No. 72), 2021
The Lions went defensive tackle with back-to-back picks in Holmes’ first start, following Levi Onwuzurike in the second round (pick No. 41) with McNeill in the third. In many ways, with a nod to a back injury that has greatly impacted Onwuzurike’s career, McNeill has been what they hoped Onwuzurike would be.

McNeill has made steady progress over his first three NFL seasons. Last season’s breakout campaign naturally followed an offseason where he worked his butt of to improve his game and get trimmer physically. If nothing else, that offseason work paying off the way it did stands as a great example for his younger teammates.

Now, entering the final year of his rookie contract, McNeill is in line to get paid like a lot of defensive tackles are getting paid. Not that he needs any more motivation to perform like he did last year, or be even better, but it’s definitely there now.

6. RB Jahmyr Gibbs: First Round (No. 12 overall), 2023
There was some buzz that a lot of teams liked Gibbs better than the general consensus best running back in last year’s draft class, Bijan Robinson. The Lions were clearly one of them, moving down from No. 6 to No. 12 in the first round and still taking him there.

Gibbs was eased into action early as a rookie. But once he was healthy after missing two games, and with David Montgomery out a few games himself, he took off from there.

Over the final 11 regular season games last year, Gibbs had over 1,000 scrimmage yards with 38 receptions and 11 total touchdowns (10 rushing).

It’s a scary thought for opposing defenses, and not unrealistic to think, that Gibbs can be even better in his second season and beyond. On plenty of other teams, he might be No. 1 on a list like this.

5. C Frank Ragnow, First Round (No. 20 overall), 2018
It’s rare to draft a center in the first round, and Quinn did in 2018 with Ragnow. After starting all 16 games at left guard during his rookie season, he moved to center the next year and he has not left that post.

Leaving aside 2021, when he missed 13 games with a turf toe injury he’s still managing, Ragnow has been a top-six graded center in the league by Pro Football Focus each of the other four seasons (2019, 2020, 2022, 2023). Last season, despite a litany of injuries you’d likely forget something when you list out, he was PFF’s No. 1-graded center.

Ragnow’s career will surely be shortened by the injuries he’s had. But he’s the literal center of one of the best offensive lines in the NFL for how ever many more years he plays, and he’s been a long-term core player at a position a lot of teams only hope to find one at.

4. DE Aidan Hutchinson: First Round (No. 2 overall), 2022
Fortune smiled big on the Lions when the Jacksonville Jaguars passed on Hutchinson to take Travon Walker No. 1 overall in the 2022 draft. With a need at edge rusher, not to mention him being a Michigan native and a University of Michigan product, a more ideal fit could not have been found.

The Lions turned in the card with Hutchinson’s name on it so quickly the NFL did not like it. Not that Dan Campbell cared, citing an unwillingness to take part in the “whole dog and pony show” as the league wants draft drama for the sake of its television partners.

Hutchinson had 9.5 sacks as a rookie, and he did even better with 11.5 sacks last season. He has quickly become one of the best edge rushers in the league, with room from improvement that he has cited himself.

3. TE Sam LaPorta: Second Round (Pick No. 34), 2023
The Lions had a great need at tight end after trading T.J. Hockenson, and it was a lead-pipe lock they were going to come out of the 2023 draft with one. They took LaPorta early in the second round, despite the generally-regarded No. 1 tight end in the class (Michael Mayer) still being available.

It absolutely worked out, better than could have been expected off the bat. LaPorta set every single season record for a Lions’ tight end as a rookie, along with setting the new record for receptions by a rookie tight end in league history (86).

LaPorta is on a trajectory to be regarded as the best tight end in the NFL within the next couple years. There’s not much more to be said.

2. OT Penei Sewell: First Round (No. 7 overall), 2021
The first draft pick of Holmes’ tenure was one the Lions’ draft room was very excited to get, to say the least. Sewell has become one of the best offensive tackles in the NFL, and arguably the best right tackle in the league, in just three seasons. He will not turn 24 until a month into next season (Oct. 9).

By PFF grades, Sewell was the No. 1 offensive tackle in the league overall (92.8) and as a run blocker (95.1) last season. Over the last two seasons, according to PFF, he has allowed just three sacks. When he gets his next contract, he may reset the top of the tackle market.

As was the case with Decker, teams envision a first-round pick offensive tackle becoming a core piece for years to come. Sewell has become that instantly based on his talent level, and he’s become a more vocal leader along with being an on-field example and tone-setter to cement his place as a core player in Detroit.

1. WR Amon-Ra St. Brown: Fourth Round (Pick No. 112), 2021
With a nod to his being the 17th wide receiver taken in the 2021 draft, and the chip on his shoulder that gives him, “The Sun God” is atop the mountain here. He has been one of the most productive wide receivers in the NFL over the last three seasons, and his numbers would be even better if he hadn’t started slowly as a rookie.

Along with his high level of production, St. Brown has a famous post-practice routine where he catches a couple hundred passes off a JUGS machine. So he’s a leader, an example, etc. and a core piece of the team until further notice. On that note, he is set to become one of the highest-paid wide receivers before this offseason is over.

There’s not a lot new that can be said about St. Brown. He could have been seen as a potential draft steal for whoever wound up with him in the 2021 draft. The Lions clearly saw the intangibles beyond his talent that would allow him to become a star in the NFL, and it has happened.