Detroit Lions Legends Lomas Brown and Jason Hanson entered the NFL as high draft picks but with very little fanfare and impact on TV ratings.
Both can only imagine what it would be like if they could re-start their careers and join the festivities in the 2024 NFL Draft that will be held at Campus Martius in downtown Detroit.
Brown and Hanson represented the Lions at what was called "The Official Launch" of the 2024 draft in a lively ceremony on the Campus Martius site Thursday afternoon.
"I think it would be awesome," Brown said. "It's going to give us two years to prepare. We're going to put on a show.
"People don't see how Detroit throws a party. They're going to be impressed. With all the natural resources we have around here ... there's so much to do.
"Everyone's going to see what a great sports region this is. I can't wait. I don't know why I'm so excited, but I am."
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The draft itself has become big business in recent years. There was talk Thursday of Detroit hosting a 2024 draft that potentially could exceed the 600,000 fans who attended the 2019 draft in Nashville.
Hanson spoke of the fan reaction the players and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell get when the players' names are called on draft day and they walk out on the stage to be embraced by Goodell.
"You walk out, and they're booing or they're cheering," Hanson said. "The reaction the Detroit fans will give them will be great -- for better or worse.
"It's all part of the moment of stepping into the big time of the NFL."
Brown was one of the top offensive linemen when he was drafted in the first round and sixth overall out of Florida in 1985.
Hanson was drafted in the second round and 56th overall out of Washington State in 1992. Brown played 18 seasons, the first 11 with the Lions, and made seven Pro Bowls.
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Hanson played 21 seasons, all as a Lion, and was one of the most prolific kickers in NFL history.
Both were TV spectators on draft day.
"I was in my parents' basement in Spokane," Hanson said.
Brown had a similar view in Miami.
"I was in my living room with my parents and my oldest daughter," Brown said.
"Just me and the family."