It’s finally here! The 2024 NFL draft kicks off tonight, and all the speculation finally gets resolved.
What will happen with the Detroit Lions? Good question. With the team picking 29th overall in the first round, there are so many variables that just can’t be known even before the Lions pick. Then there’s the tight-lipped, secretive nature of Detroit GM Brad Holmes and his staff who make the picks. Holmes loves to wheel and deal, which makes trying to see the team’s future an exercise in madness.
This is the final guess at what the Lions will do in the 2024 NFL draft. It may or may not be the best guess; we’ve gone through several other scenarios over the past few months.
First round: Cooper DeJean, DB, Iowa
Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
The chances Cooper DeJean is still on the board at No. 29 are sketchy, but if he’s there, it’s hard to imagine the Lions passing on an exceptional athlete with man coverage skills like DeJean showed at Iowa.
If DeJean is gone, I think the pick at 29 pivots to (in order):
Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama
Adonai Mitchell, WR, Texas
Darius Robinson, EDGE, Missouri
Marshawn Kneeland, EDGE, Western Michigan
Second round: Zack Frazier, IOL, West Virginia
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Frazier is another case where, if he’s still on the board, it’s very hard to see the Lions passing on him, no matter who else might be available. Frazier is an outstanding schematic and culture fit at a position group where two new starters could be needed in 2025.
If the Lions don’t go CB in the first round, Max Melton from Rutgers and Missouri’s Ennis Rakestraw should both be strongly in play here, in that order.
The alternate world first two rounds
We interrupt the final mock draft with two contingency projections…
The Lions trade up for Alabama CB Terrion Arnold and then select Ohio State DT Michael Hall in the second round.
Or…
The Lions trade out of the first round, falling back and selecting Missouri DL Darius Robinson and Georgia S Javon Bullard each in the second round. This is the scenario I went with in my final mock draft projection at Draft Wire.
Third round: Devontez Walker, WR, Noth Carolina
(Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
I’ve projected Walker to Detroit a couple of times in this draft cycle, and the feedback from team sources when I’ve approached them about the enigmatic North Carolina wideout has left me convinced the team is interested. Interested enough to draft him on Day 2? We will see, but it shouldn’t be a surprise if Walker winds up a Lion.
Other names here that wouldn’t surprise me one bit:
–Washington EDGE Bralen Trice
—
Fifth round: Trey Taylor, S, Air Force
: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports
Taylor is straight out of central casting for the Dan Campbell Lions. High football IQ. High character. Relentlessly competitive. Ridiculously athletic. And the Lions happen to need safety depth badly. The only question is if the Lions take him here or wait a round and risk that another team snags Taylor first.
Sixth round: Two picks
Florida Atlantic defensive tackle Evan Anderson (8) sacks Monmouth quarterback Marquez McCray in the second quarter at FAU Stadium on Saturday, September 2, 2023, in Boca Raton, FL.
Sticking with two repeat performers from previous mocks or projections here, too:
Evan Anderson, NT, Florida Atlantic
JD Bertrand, LB, Notre Dame
Anderson would back up D.J. Reader at nose tackle, while Bertrand would fill the special teams LB role with enough defensive ability to also have confidence he could climb the depth chart there as well.
Seventh round: Chigozie Anusiem, CB, Colorado State
Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Anusiem is another late-round/UDFA who very much fits what the Lions have desired at their position under Holmes/Campbell. Can’t rule out a kicker here, and it’s a good draft to need a kicker.