Congratulations to Colorado’s Travis Hunter, the winner of the 2024 Heisman Trophy. Hunter becomes the 89th winner of college football’s most prestigious award.
Hunter now progresses to the 2025 NFL Draft, where he is expected to be a top-5 overall pick. That will preclude Hunter from joining the long history of Heisman winners who were drafted by the Detroit Lions.
No team has drafted more Heisman Trophy winners over the years than the Lions. Detroit has selected 10 Heisman winners over the years, including two of the first three. It’s been 35 years since the last one, however; Detroit hasn’t drafted a Heisman winner since selecting Barry Sanders and Andre Ware back-to-back in 1989 and 1990.
All of the Heisman Trophy winners drafted by the Lions over the years, with the year of selection:
1937 – Larry Kelly
1938 – Clint Frank
1943 – Frankie Sinkwich
1947 – Glenn Davis
1950 – Leon Hart
1956 – Howard Cassady
1970 – Steve Owens
1980 – Billy Sims
1989 – Barry Sanders
1990 – Andre Ware