Chris Burke of The Athletic has an outstanding piece on the oral history of the 2009 Detroit Lions and their process in deciding to draft Matthew Stafford first overall.
Burke talked with then general manager Martin Mayhew, head coach Jim Schwartz, offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, and, of course, Stafford himself to get the scoop on the kind of pre-draft process they put Stafford through, the outside pressure from fans who overwhelmingly wanted Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry, and the internal team debate between Stafford and Marc Sanchez, the second player off the board in the 2009 NFL Draft.