It would be easy to dismiss the value of the NFL Combine if you think of just a few players who didn’t perform well yet succeeded when they had a chance in the NFL. One in particular, Tom Brady who was the seventh quarterback selected by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 draft. Brady was the seventh quarterback selected. He had a horrible Combine showing — slow, no vertical jump to speak of. Well, history speaks for itself.

The NFL Combine starts Thursday in Indianapolis and it’s a key time for every NFL team. It’s not just the first-rounders that matter. They grab the headlines — if you haven’t heard quite enough about Andrew Luck, just wait for the next several weeks — but filling up on late-round talent is what can make or break an NFL general manager.

The Lions have had plenty of draft busts, many during the Matt Millen era.

So far Martin Mayhew has to be proud of the three Lions’ drafts under his direction. He didn’t always take the player that the fans thought he would, especially last year with Nick Fairley. But he’s restocked the cupboards stripped bare by Millen’s bad drafts.

Mayhew, JIm Schwartz and the rest of the staff will be busy early morning to late night for the next several days in Indianapolis. The fruits of their labor will show April 26-28 at the draft.

(Follow @PaulaPasche on Twitter. Get Lions news delivered directly to your phone by texting the keyword "Lions" to 22700. Msg & Data Rates May Apply. Text HELP for help. Text STOP to cancel.)