I don’t know about you, but Halloween has always been a favorite holiday of mine. Think about it. You get an excuse to eat candy, dress up—if that is your thing—and to watch even more horror movies than usual. Maybe that last part is just me, but you get the picture.
With the holiday falling on a Friday this year, it got me thinking about a poll ESPN ran back in the day that was centered around Halloween and the NFL. Who was the scariest player in the league? And given the fact that this was sometime in the early 2010s, the Detroit Lions had two players on their roster that struck fear into the hearts of players and coaches around the league—a young defensive tackle out of Nebraska named Ndamukong Suh, and a Hall of Fame wide receiver by the name of Calvin Johnson.
I can’t find the segment today, but I remember those two being ranked one and two respectively in the poll, and for good reason. Fast-forward to present day, and the Lions have several players on their roster that likely send shivers up an opponent’s spine, with All-Pro right tackle Penei Sewell being at the top of the list in my mind.
In honor of today, let’s get into it. Who do you think is the scariest, most Halloween-worthy player in Lions’ history?
My answer: All hail, Megatron. The perfect nickname for the perfect wide receiver. If you are a younger fan and reading this, the Transformers movies were really big around that time period, and Calvin Johnson was unlike anything anyone had seen before. Standing at 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds, Johnson had an otherworldly blend of size, speed, and skill at the receiver position.
Defensive coaching staffs would spend all week in an attempt to not allow Johnson to beat them, only to see him do it anyways. Wearing number 81 in the now-old Lions’ jerseys, rocking the dark visor, the calm, quiet demeanor—Johnson had a near-perfect receiver aesthetic, and is my selection for the scariest player in Lions’ history.
What about you? Who do you think is the scariest player in Lions’ history? Let us know in the comments below.
