As feared, I was overwhelmed with other things and failed to make any blog posts after the 2023 draft. Since it's possible that this could continue, I will combine everything into one large blog post for the 2024 draft.
In 2023 the Lions had traded TE T.J. Hockenson to the Minnesota Vikings for a 2023 second round draft pick, they also sent a fourth round pick in 2023 to the Vikings as well as a conditional pick in 2024, which turned out to be the Lions fourth round pick (129th overall).
Then in 2024 the Lions traded for cornerback Carlton Davis III, giving the Bucs their 3rd round pick in 2024 (92nd overall) but the Lions also received the Bucs 2024 sixth round pick (201st overall) and a 2025 sixth round pick.
So when the draft started Thursday night on April 25th the Lions had picks 29th overall in the first, 61st overall in the second, 73rd overall in the third (from Minnesota as part of the Hockenson trade), 164th overall in the fifth, 201st overall in the sixth (from Tampa), 205th overall in the sixth, and 249th overall in the seventh round.
While Lions fans waited and waited for the Lions pick at 29, the draft continued at first with all offensive players, which pushed some defensive players down the draft order. Brad Holmes couldn't take the chance of their target not making it to 29, so he packaged it along with the remaining 3rd round pick (73rd overall) to the Dallas Cowboys for the 24th overall pick in round one and the Cowboys 7th round pick in 2025. With the 24th overall pick the Lions then drafted CB Terrion Arnold from Alabama. I build my own top 300 board and I had Terrion Arnold ranked as the 11th best player in the draft. For the Lions to draft him at 24 was a steal (giving up a 3rd and getting a 7th next year was not so great). Terrion has a RAS (Relative Athletic Score) of 9.27 which is a way of saying he is an elite athlete. I would imagine the Lions were right in not waiting for Terrion at 29, as I do not believe he would still have been available. Here is his draft profile from PFN https://www.profootballnetwork.com/terrion-arnold-draft-scouting-2024/
The Lions next draft pick was the 61st overall spot, and the Lions stayed put and drafted Cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr from Missouri. That's right, back-to-back cornerbacks. Ennis has a RAS of 6.17, which is a good score, well above average, just not into the elite category. Many see him as a slot cornerback, which has become a specialty position in the NFL these days. However, he can play outside as well. On my board I had him at 40, so another good pick. Here is the PFN draft profile for Ennis https://www.profootballnetwork.com/ennis-rakestraw-jr-draft-scouting-2024/
Having traded both their 3rd round picks and their 4th round pick away, most fans thought they would be waiting a long time for the 5th round to get here when suddenly the Lions were on the clock in the 4th round. The New York Jets traded pick 126 to the Lions for the Lions 2025 3rd round pick. With their new draft capital the Lions proceeded to draft offensive tackle Giovanni Manu from British Columbia. Giovanni doesn't have a RAS because he's an international pathways player and didn't play U.S. college football. He also wasn't on my top 300 board so I added him at 301, though he is definitely not my 301st overall ranked player. There are very few (if any) draft profiles on him as well, since he wasn't on the radar on novice (and pro) writers. I did find this interview though, and found it very interesting https://www.thedraftnetwork.com/2024/04/23/giovanni-manu-nfl-draft-interview. The Lions must have felt another of the teams who visited with Manu was going to draft him, so they used next year's 3rd round pick to draft him in this year's fourth round.
While everyone was looking up Manu, and not finding much, the Lions were suddenly on the ticker for an upcoming draft pick again. Turns out the Lions traded their 164th overall pick in the 5th round this year and their 4th round pick in 2025 to the Philadelphia Eagles for picks 132nd overall in the 4th round and 210th overall this year in the 6th. With this new 4th round pick the Lions drafted Running Back / Safety Sione Vaki from Utah. Why RB/S? More on that later. Sione has a RAS of 7.95 (very good, near elite status) and was ranked 101 on my board, others though have him ranked much further down. I think the problem is, no one knows for sure how a team will use him, but an utility player even if only on special teams, is a must in today's NFL so this pick could work out very well for the Lions. Here is one profile to see what I mean https://www.thedraftnetwork.com/2024/01/12/sione-vaki-scouting-report-nfl-draft-2024
The Lions have traded away their 5th round pick this year so fans wait to see if any more trades are forthcoming. One more did. The Lions traded picks 205 overall and 249 overall to the Houston Texans for their 189th overall pick in the 6th round. With pick 189 the Lions draft Defensive Tackle Mekhi Wingo from LSU. Mekhi has a RAS of 8.18 (elite) and was ranked 128th on my board. A steal by any sense of the word. He's a bit undersized for a DT but some recent undersized DTs have done very well in the NFL lately due to their skill set. So crossing my fingers on this one a little bit, however I think he'll work out. Here are a couple of profiles on Mekhi https://www.thedraftnetwork.com/2024/04/03/mekhi-wingo-scouting-report-nfl-draft-2024 and https://www.profootballnetwork.com/mekhi-wingo-draft-scouting-2024/
Finally, the Lions kept their 210th overall pick they had acquired earlier and drafted Offensive Guard Christian Mahogany from Boston College. Christian has a RAS of 9.63 (elite) and was 115th on my board. That's even better than Wingo! So if Wingo was a steal, Mahogany is even more so. However, like any steal on day 3 of the draft, he's got work to do. Here is his profile https://www.profootballnetwork.com/christian-mahogany-draft-scouting-2024/
Since the draft is over and the Lions are out of draft picks anyway, you'd think I'd be finished with this post, but there are two more bits of information I'd like to share. After the draft teams race to sign undrafted free agents, guys who didn't get drafted. Like the other 31 teams, the Lions have done just that. Two in particular I will mention here, since both are on my top 300 board. The first is Wide Receiver Isaiah Williams from Illinois. Isaiah has a RAS of 6.34 (very good) and was 234th on my board. The other is Linebacker Steele Chambers from Ohio State who has a RAS of 4.63 (average) and was 245th on my board. The other UDFAs the Lions signed were not on my top 300 but that doesn't mean one or more of them won't make the team, or at least the practice squad. Here are the draft profiles for Isaiah and Steele: https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Isaiah-Williams-WR-Illinois and https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Steele-Chambers-RB-OhioState. The two were deemed a 6th and 7th rounder respectively by that site, and 5th rounders by me. No matter who is right, all these guys might help the Lions win games, including the one the Lions lost last year to keep them out of the superbowl.
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