Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Coming out of the first wave of NFL free agency, here’s a new three-round mock draft for the Detroit Lions.
Through the first week of NFL free agency, for better or worse the Detroit Lions prioritized re-signing their own free agents. Wide receiver DJ Chark and tight end Garrett Griffin have been the only two outside free agent signings, but on the flipside linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin has been the only significant departure.
Any free agents the Lions sign from here aren’t likely to move the needle much. A draft-rooted build has always been the best path. Detroit heads into April’s draft (as of here in mid-March with nine picks and five of the first 100 selections.
For this week’s mock, after the first wave of free agency, the focus is on those first five picks within the first 100 picks in April’s draft. Those picks are the most likely to yield players who make an immediate impact, though there can always be finds later (see Amon-Ra St. Brown, a fourth-round pick in 2021).
But after those first five picks, within the first 97 picks actually, the Lions won’t pick again for 80 picks (No. 177, late in the fifth round). So it will be important to hit on those top-100 selections, with or without trades that would add a pick in the fourth round, etc.
No trades were made in this mock spin. The draft order placement is the now official order, with compensatory picks locked in this past week. I did this mock on Pro Football Network’s draft simulator.