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NFL Draft 2024

Detroit Lions 2024 NFL Draft Guide

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Ryan Caldwell

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The 2024 NFL Draft will be held in Detroit, Michigan, beginning on April 25th and running until the 27th. Coming off of one of the franchise’s best seasons and falling just short of their first Super Bowl appearance, the Detroit Lions will look to bolster their roster in hopes of pushing them over the top to reach their ultimate goal. While the team has had a surplus of picks in the previous two drafts, this year they will have a more modest collection of picks. However, in a deep draft and with a GM who has a skill for talent identification, these picks could go a long way.

Draft Picks
  • Round 1, 29th overall
  • Round 2, 61st overall
  • Round 3, 73rd overall (from Vikings)
  • Round 5, 164th overall
  • Round 6, 201st overall (from Buccaneers)
  • Round 6, 205th overall
  • Round 7, 249th overall
Needs:

Cornerback: What a roller-coaster it has been at the CB position for the Lions. Coming into the offseason, CB was a major need and they acted quickly to trade a 3rd-round draft pick to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for Carlton Davis. Now with Davis and Sutton, the Detroit Lions thought they had a respectable starting duo. But not so fast, Cam Sutton was on the run from the police and was cut from the team. His inconsistent play had many already looking towards a potential upgrade in the draft, but now it is an absolute necessity.

With Brian Branch, you know you have the nickel position locked down but the outside corners have been an issue for the last few seasons now. Bringing in Amik Robertson and bringing CJ Moseley back should provide quality depth, I don’t know if you want to rely on either of these players to be your starting outside CB. Robertson is a great competitor and played a significant role for the Raiders and did well, but being undersized at 5’8″, there might be mismatches that you don’t want to have him lined up against making him better suited to be a #3 outside CB who rotates in whenever needed and also could play some nickel when Branch slides to safety.

Outside Wide Receiver: Amon-Ra St. Brown is a star slot receiver and one of the main drivers of the Lion’s offensive success. This season we also saw 2023 draft picks, running back Jahmyr Gibbs and tight end Sam LaPorta, explode onto the scene as stars. While Amon-Ra looks to dominate the middle of the field, so too do Gibbs and LaPorta. What the team needs now is to add another dimension to the offense.

Jameson Williams is a home run target and the fastest guy on the field at all times who is supposed to stretch the field vertically but he has not been consistent, and with the departure of one of Goff’s favorite targets in Josh Reynolds, the Lions are in need of a reliable outside WR who can help stretch the field both outside the hashes and vertically down the field. This player would preferably be a bigger-bodied possession receiver to complement the already strong offensive core.

Defensive End: Aidan Hutchinson is a defensive anchor for the Lions, but he can’t do it all on his own. While the acquisition of DJ Reader to play NT and shifted Alim McNeil to 3-Tech full-time will help open things up for Hutchinson by drawing double teams and providing more of an interior presence. Still, having another talented defensive end on the opposite side of Hutchinson could make the Lion’s defense a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks.

John Cominsky has done well in his role but offers limited pass rush. Signing Marcus Davenport could help address this, but he has not been a significant contributor the last two seasons for a variety of reasons and shouldn’t be leaned on for production. Mathieu Betts is an interesting “bet” on a very athletic and productive CFL star, but how he translates to the NFL is yet to be seen. Then there are previous draft picks, Josh Paschal and James Houston who are both talented players, but Houston was limited this last season to only two games, and Paschal while solid, has been inconsistent and not yet the answer at DE.

Offensive Guard: The Lions did very well in signing Kevin Zeitler to replace Jonah Jackson. Zeitler is coming off his first pro-bowl season and has made 181 career starts. He is a very reliable guard, but at 34 years old and only being signed for one season, he is more of a stopgap until the team can find a long-term solution. The dominance of the Detroit Lion’s offensive line is a driving force behind their ascension into legitimate Super Bowl contenders, and they need to do everything possible to ensure that this level of play can be sustained.

When the OL is dominant, they open up holes for the RB to go untouched, the QB has more time in the pocket without pressure, which means the receivers have more time for routes to develop and to get open. Getting a guard into the system now to get reps, learn the scheme, and develop behind Zeitler and Glasgow would be a better option than waiting to draft a guard until next year and being forced to rely on a rookie to learn on the fly.

Kicker: The Lions had been very spoiled at placekicker for a long time, going from Jason Hanson to Matt Prater with only a short gap between. Having someone you can rely upon to kick a game-winning FG from distance is very valuable and many times is what a game will come down to in the end. Whether it be Riley Patterson or Michael Badgley, this is still something that the Lions are missing. Both guys are respectable and expected to make routine kicks, but the gap between what Prater was doing and “routine kicks” is about as wide as it can get. Prater having made multiple 64-yard field goals (previously held the record) vs someone who you aren’t confident in beyond 50 yards completely changes the game.

The Detroit Panthers of the UFL began play recently and made headlines when their kicker, Jake Bates, who had never made a field goal in a game going back to high school, nailed a 64-yard game-winning field goal, however, the opposing team called a timeout to ice the kicker. He came back out and did it again. It has already been reported that the Lions have reached out to Bates and he would certainly give them the power leg that they have been missing, though with his limited sample size, it will be interesting to see how he performs for the Panthers as their season goes on.

Prospects to Watch:

CB:
Terrion Arnold, Alabama
Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alabama
Cooper DeJean, Iowa
Nate Wiggins, Clemson
Mike Sainristil, Michigan
Max Melton, Rutgers
TJ Tampa, Iowa State
Kamari Lassiter, Georgia
Jarvis Brownlee Jr., Louisville
Jarrian Jones, Florida State
DJ James, Auburn
Nehemiah Pritchett, Auburn
Cam Hart, Notre Dame
Khyree Jackson, Oregon
Renardo Green, Florida State
Caelen Carson, Wake Forest

WR:
Xavier Legette, South Carolina
Adonai Mitchell, Texas
Brian Thomas, LSU
Troy Franklin, Oregon
Keon Coleman, Florida State
Xavier Worthy, Texas
Devontez Walker, North Carolina
Roman Wilson, Michigan
Ja’Lynn Polk, Washington
Ricky Pearsall, Florida
Jalen McMillan, Washington
Malachi Corley, Western Kentucky
Johnny Wilson, Florida State

Anthony Gould, Oregon State

OG:
Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon
Zach Frazier, West Virginia
Troy Fautanu, Washington
Graham Barton, Duke
Christian Haynes, Connecticut
Kingsley Suamataia, BYU
Mason McCormick, South Dakota State
Cooper Beebe, Kansas State
Zak Zinter, Michigan
CJ Hanson, Holy Cross
Christian Mahogany, Boston College
Kiran Amegadjie, Yale

DE:
Laiatu Latu, Oregon
Jared Verse, Florida State
Darius Robinson, Missouri
Marshawn Kneeland, Western Michigan
Chop Robinson, Penn State
Jonah Elliss, Utah
Chris Braswell, Alabama
Bralen Trice, Washington
Adisa Isaac, Penn State
Brandon Dorlus, Orego
Nelson Caesar, Houston

Javon Solomon, Troy

K:
Cam Little, Arkansas
Joshua Karty, Stanford
Harrison Mevis, Missouri
Will Reichard, Alabama