ALLEN PARK -- With the Detroit Lions poised to pick in the top 10 for the 24th time in the common draft era, now seems like as good a time as any to take a look back and determine just what kind of player they can expect to add this week.

If history is any indication, they could hit a home run. Or even more likely, they could strike out entirely.

We've gone back and rated each Lions top-10 pick in the modern era as either a "miss," "hit" or "home run." An inexact science, of course, and there were several players who didn't fit comfortably into any of those categories. But that's what my editor asked for and I enjoy receiving a paycheck every other week.

With that, let's dive into Detroit's history in the top 10.

Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

Eric Ebron

Year: 2014

Drafted: 10th overall

College: North Carolina

Position: Tight end

Breakdown: Ranked among the top 10 tight ends in receiving his final two years in Detroit. Of course, he was also plagued by maturity and consistency issues and scored only 11 touchdowns overall -- a figure he surpassed in just one season in Indy. Ultimately, Ebron was a talented player who was just too flawed to ever be anything more than fine. And fine just isn't good enough when you're picking in the top 10, especially when you consider who Ebron was taken over. Taylor Lewan, Aaron Donald and Odell Beckham were the next three players off the board. Whoops.

Verdict: Miss

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Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

Ezekiel Ansah

Year: 2013

Drafted: Fifth overall

College: BYU

Position: Defensive end

Breakdown: Ansah led his draft class by raking quarterbacks for 30 sacks in his first three years in the league. He had 14.5 in 2014 alone, which trailed only guys named J.J. Watt and Khalil Mack. It sure looked like Detroit had hit a home run here. Then it all fell apart. Ansah was limited to 18 sacks the last three seasons while battling injuries to his back, shoulder, ankle, knee, brain and God knows what else. The Lions paid a cool $17.143 million to bring him back last year on the franchise tag. For their money, they got four sacks on 146 snaps. That's $117,417.81 per snap. Again: Whoops.

Verdict: Hit

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Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

Ndamukong Suh

Year: 2010

Drafted: Second overall

College: Nebraska

Position: Defensive tackle

Breakdown: A defensive tackle who finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting? Then was drafted second overall, higher than anybody at the position since 1997? I mean, it would have been difficult for expectations to be any higher for Suh in Detroit. And yet he managed to meet all of them from the get. He was crowned NFL defensive rookie of the year in 2010, and a starter for the Pro Bowl. He earned four of those nods in five seasons in Detroit, and was first- or second-team All-Pro in all of them. Yes, he also had a nose for trouble, including facing record fines for player safety violations and nearly getting suspended for a playoff game in 2014. He also played hard ball with his contract, expressed no real interest in returning and left without winning anything at all. But few defensive players were more dominant than him during his half-decade in Detroit.

Verdict: Home run

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Matthew Stafford

Year: 2009

Drafted: First overall

College: Georgia

Position: Quarterback

Breakdown: Drafted to be the savior of a franchise that was coming off the first 0-16 season in NFL history. Ten years later, he holds every major passing mark in team history. No quarterback in NFL history has passed for 20,000 yards faster than him. Or 25,000 yards. Or 30,000 yards. He's one of just five men ever to pass for 5,000 yards in a single season, and you're on a first-name basis with all the others: Peyton, Drew, Tom and Dan. Simply put, Stafford has been the best and most prolific QB ever to don a Lions uniform -- and yet, it hasn't been enough to win a single playoff game. It hasn't been enough to win a single division title. And until the Lions are able to win something -- anything at all -- the Stafford era will always ring hallow.

Verdict: Hit

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Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

Calvin Johnson

Year: 2007

Drafted: Second overall

College: Georgia Tech

Position: Receiver

Breakdown: There were scoffs when Detroit used a top-10 pick on a receiver for the fourth time in five years, but this time Matt Millen got it right. Megatron became the most dominant wideout of his era, including setting NFL records for most yards in a regulation game (329) and in a season (1,964) despite facing Calvin-specific defenses throughout his career. He shattered the all-time Lions records for catches (731), yards (11,619), touchdowns (83) and just about everything else -- even though he also walked away from the game at just 30 years old. It's really too bad he remains estranged from the team, a beef that seems to be over the bonus money Detroit made him pay back upon retirement, because Johnson was everything you could have possibly asked for in a player on and off the field.

Verdict: Home run

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Ernie Sims

Year: 2006

Drafted: Ninth overall

College: Florida State

Position: Linebacker

Breakdown: Made the all-rookie team in Year 1 and finished with 420 tackles in four seasons with Detroit. That's OK. But again, you expect better-than-OK when you draft this early. You expect players that can change a franchise, and Sims wasn't that. Detroit won just 12 games before pulling the plug, sending Sims to Philadelphia in the trade that net them Tony Scheffler.

Verdict: Miss

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Mike Williams

Year: 2005

Drafted: 10th overall

College: USC

Position: Receiver

Breakdown: Do you really want me to remind you about taking this guy after he sat out a year? Over DeMarcus Ware? And Shawne Merriman? And Derrick Johnson? And Roddy White? And Aaron Rodgers? Even though Williams was already well on his way to getting fat? Didn't think so.

Verdict: Miss

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Roy Williams

Year: 2004

Drafted: Seventh overall

College: Texas

Position: Receiver

Breakdown: Caught 262 passes for 3,884 yards and 29 touchdowns in four-plus seasons with Detroit. He even made a Pro Bowl. Hey, as far as Matt Millen goes, this pick could have gone a lot worse. Especially when you consider Detroit was able to flip Williams for three draft picks, including a first-rounder, right before he got bad.

Verdict: Hit(ish)

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Charles Rogers

Year: 2003

Drafted: Second overall

College: Michigan State

Position: Receiver

Breakdown: Caught two touchdowns in his NFL debut. Caught two touchdowns the rest of his career, and wound up smoking his way out of the league. Like I said, that whole Roy Williams thing could have gone a lot worse.

Verdict: Miss

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Joey Harrington

Year: 2002

Drafted: Third overall

College: Oregon

Position: Quarterback

Breakdown: I love to remind the Matthew Stafford haters that, yeah, OK, he hasn't won a playoff game. I get it. But man, y'all forget how hard it is to find a quarterback in his league. Detroit spent years roaming the desert looking for one. Entire generations of players came and went through the halls of Allen Park without ever playing a down with a capable QB. Consider this guy, the last time the Lions drafted a quarterback to save them. He threw 48 touchdowns and 46 interceptions before Detroit finally pulled the plug after three seasons. His record: 15-28. Of course, the more stories I hear about Steve Mariucci, his system, his preparation, the more I realize how much of the blame he shares for Harrington's fall. The kid never had a shot.

Verdict: Miss

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Chris Claiborne

Year: 1999

Drafted: Ninth overall

College: USC

Position: Linebacker

Breakdown: Another top-10 linebacker, a whole lot more meh. He had at least 100 tackles in three of his four seasons in Detroit. He was all right. You just wouldn't take him ninth overall again.

Verdict: Miss

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Bryant Westbrook

Year: 1997

Drafted: Fifth overall

College: Texas

Position: Cornerback

Breakdown: Most corners need some time to acclimate to the NFL before they're ready to start. Not Westbrook. He started 14 games as a rookie, and the kid held his own. He led Detroit in passes defended, picked off two others, scored one touchdown and was named to the all-rookie team. He led the NFL in interceptions in 2000, one of which he returned for a 101-yard touchdown, before a torn Achilles tendon ended his season. Westbrook was a hit in Detroit, although another torn Achilles ended his career before he could turn it into something more. He was done by age 28.

Verdict: Hit

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Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

Herman Moore

Year: 1991

Drafted: 10th overall

College: Virginia

Position: Receiver

Breakdown: Before there was Calvin Johnson, there was Herman Moore. He rewrote the Lions' record book while starring for some of the best teams in the franchise's modern history. His 670 catches, 9,174 yards and 62 receiving touchdowns were all club records until Johnson came along. Fun fact: He once drained a 25-footer in my face during a charity basketball game, and has never mentioned it since. Good guy.

Verdict: Home run

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Andre Ware

Year: 1990

Drafted: Seventh overall

College: Houston

Position: Quarterback

Breakdown: Six starts. Five touchdowns. Eight interceptions. Total flop.

Verdict: Miss

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Barry Sanders

Year: 1989

Drafted: Third overall

College: Oklahoma State

Position: Running back

Breakdown: What could possibly be said that hasn't already been said? Look, unless the Lions took Tony Mandarich, they weren't going to screw up this pick. Troy Aikmen, Derrick Thomas and Deion Sanders were the other top-five selections. Each made his way to the Hall of Fame. Still, there was something different -- something special -- about the way Barry did it. Which was unlike anybody else who has strapped on a shoulder pad in the National Football League. He spun his way to 15,269 yards, which was second at the time of his sudden retirement. There's no telling what he could have done to the record book if he stuck around. There are just so many parallels to the Calvin Johnson saga. Both broke the mold, and did it with grace, and eventually stunned the sporting world by walking away early, broken down from too many hits and not enough winning.

Verdict: Home run

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Benny Blades

Year: 1988

Drafted: Third overall

College: Miami (Fla.)

Position: Safety

Breakdown: An enforcer who endeared himself to fans everywhere he played, first at the University of Miami and again in Detroit. He racked up 815 career tackles in nine years with the Lions, which remains second on the franchise's all-time list. He picked off 14 passes, forced nine fumbles and broke who-knows-how-many bones with his trademark blasts. Blades was named defensive captain for five straight seasons, and was a key piece for not one, but two Lions division championship teams. (They still haven't won one since.)

Verdict: Hit

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Reggie Rogers

Year: 1987

Drafted: Seventh overall

College: Washington

Position: Defensive end

Breakdown: He was known for thrilling crowds on the football field as well as the basketball court at Washington. Detroit never got to see the side of him. Rogers played in just 11 games over two seasons before his career was derailed by a DUI crash that killed three teenagers. He was later arrested for assault and other criminal traffic violations, and spent a year in jail after he was convicted of drunken driving for the sixth time. He was found dead on the porch of his Seattle home in 2013, the apparent result of substance abuse.

Verdict: Miss

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Lomas Brown

Year: 1985

Drafted: Sixth overall

College: Florida

Position: Offensive tackle

Breakdown: Barry Sanders was so transcendent, he would have been good for just about anybody. But he did need somebody to block for him, and nobody did it better or more consistently than Brown. He became one of the league's premier tackles in his 11 years in Detroit, including making the Pro Bowl seven straight times from 1990-96. He started 163 of his 164 career games for the Lions, a durable start to an impressive 18-year career.

Verdict: Home run

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Billy Sims

Year: 1980

Drafted: First overall

College: Oklahoma

Position: Running back

Breakdown: Played just five seasons before knee problems derailed his career, but what a career it was. Sims made three straight Pro Bowls from 1980-82, and finished with 5,106 yards and 42 touchdowns. He averaged 4.5 yards every time he carried the football as a professional.

Verdict: Home run

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Photo Courtesy Penn State Athletics

Keith Dorney

Year: 1979

Drafted: 10th overall

College: Penn State

Position: Offensive line

Breakdown: Barry Sanders had Lomas Brown. Billy Sims had Keith Dorney. OK, so maybe Dorney (pictured at far left) wasn't quite as good as Brown, but he proved to be a reliable blocker in a nine-year career with Detroit. He made the Pro Bowl in 1982 and was named offensive captain from 1983-87.

Verdict: Hit

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James Hunter

Year: 1976

Drafted: 10th overall

College: Grambling State

Position: Cornerback

Breakdown: Nicknamed "Hound Dog" for his long strides, Hunter wasted no time making an impact in Detroit. He picked off a team-high seven passes in 1976 and finished runner-up to Hall of Famer Mike Haynes for defensive rookie of the year. He racked up 27 interceptions in just seven seasons, which still ranks seventh in franchise history. For comparison, Darius Slay has 17 picks in six years (despite playing in a more pass-centric era).

Verdict: Hit

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Photo Courtesy Penn State Athletics

Ed O'Neil

Year: 1974

Drafted: Eighth overall

College: Penn State

Position: Linebacker

Breakdown: Detroit is currently slotted to pick eighth overall for the first time since taking this guy all the way back in 1974. O'Neil played six seasons in Detroit before finishing his career in Green Bay. He went on to have a long coaching career that took him to NFL Europe and the CFL.

Verdict: Miss

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Mel Farr

Year: 1967

Drafted: Seventh overall

College: UCLA

Position: Running back

Breakdown: His career was shortened by injury, but Farr was one of the great offensive talents of his day when healthy. He was named the league's rookie of the year after leading Detroit in both rushing and receiving in 1967. He was chosen for the Pro Bowl that season and again in 1970. In seven seasons in Detroit, Farr had 4,446 yards from scrimmage and scored 36 touchdowns.

Verdict: Hit

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For those scoring at home, that's nine misses, eight hits and six home runs in the top 10. So based on their history, the Lions have a 60.9 percent chance of at least hitting on Thursday night's pick. Then again, they have a better chance of striking out than they do acquiring a generational kind of talent. Of course, current GM Bob Quinn has made exactly zero of these 23 picks, so none of this really means anything at all.