Grade the Lions' Draft + What Team Had the Best Draft?
Mates,
Lions had one pick in the 1st, one in the 2nd, two picks in the 4th and two in the 6th. They are as follows:
1: Terrion Arnold Bama CB
2: Ennis Rakestraw Mizzou CB
4: Giovanni Manu British Columbia OT
4: Sione Vaki Utah S
6: Mehki Wingo LSU DT
6: Christian Mahogany BC OG
Question #1: Value? Solid but not spectacular? Fantastic? Meets needs?
Question #2: Who had a great draft? How did our Harbaugh do?
Question #3: What do you think about where our various Wolverines got drafted and/or UFDA'd to?
XM
I was hoping the Lions would sign Trente Jones, but instead the Packers did.
April 27th, 2024 at 10:10 PM ^
The Packers are so good at finding offensive linemen. That's gonna hurt for years to come.
April 27th, 2024 at 11:30 PM ^
Excellent at moving his man. Not great at pass pro though.
I mean GB draft was awful so he has a chance to be their best prospect.
So…the Lions find some Polynesian guy who is 6’7”, 350#, runs a 4.95 40 and can bend. I don’t know if he makes it. I don’t know if Trente makes it. I think in 2024 we can say both the Lions and the Packers are good at building offensive lines.
I didn't say anything about the Lions being good or bad at finding O-Linemen. My point was only about the Packers.
April 28th, 2024 at 11:05 AM ^
Speaking of Trente. He was a guy I had hope would come back one more and be the Man at tackle for Michigan. Same with McGreggor on the other side of the ball. Not criticizing either guy for their choices, of course.
The Lions did fine. There is definitely a lot of "ask again later" with some of their picks, but they're in a position to take a lottery ticket or two. Excellent value in the CBs and Wingo it would appear.
Agree. If those two 4th round picks pan out, this may end up being a great draft for Detroit.
As a non-Lions fan, I really would have liked to see them get another edge to pair with Hutch. How many years of his contract are the Lions going to waste by letting him get doubled and tripled every play? At least they made a nice DT free agent signing a while ago, but I would have liked to see more.
While they didn't draft an edge, their big FA signing was an interior DL that will command double teams. Opposing OL will have to commit 4 bodies if they want to double both - 3 OL and a pulling G or TE or RB. I like those odds just fine.
their big FA signing was an interior DL that will command double teams.
On run plays, maybe. He's not really a big pass-rush guy from what I understand. Primarily a run-stopper.
Yea, it's fine addition but no one is scared of that DL. They used all their high draft picks on corners (which was a need, sure) and then in the 4th round took a developmental OT who may never see the field and a 4th string RB/special teamer.
We can say for sure that Lions improved their CB position. Did they improve any other position on the field? IMO, no. Granted they didn't have a bunch of needs, but only improving 1 position in the draft while trading away a 4th rounder from next year is a "meh" draft to me. C grade.
Everybody crapped on their draft last year and their first four picks look like studs.
EDGE class was considered weak this year. Liked a few days on day 3 that might have been worth a swing, but that’s just nitpicking. Any of the EDGE players worth taking were gone by 24 and certainly by 28. Would have had to give up more to move up and draft them (and CB was a greater need than EDGE IMO). Guys available to them at 28 and 61 were Robinson, Trice, Ellis, Kneeland and Braswell. Meh.
They absolutely improved their OL depth. DL too. When you have quality starters among almost every position, it’s hard to improve your starting lineup in the draft. Chiefs, 49ers, Eagles etc aren’t adding 4-5 starters every draft. They’re getting one or two starters, depth and developmental guys. Manu and Vaki are considered reaches but I’m going to give Holmes the benefit of the doubt considering how quickly he rebuilt the least talented team in the league when he took over and did it through the draft.
McNeil-Reader are as good of DT pair as you will find.
Decker’a contract is up in a year so they needed a developmental OT.
The Utah kid can play multiple positions plus special teams.
Mingo should bolster the interior push alongside Paschel. Magohany is their replacement for Zeitler in a year.
This was a weak class for edge and the Lions badly needed corners. B plus, A minus.
I don't understand the Vaki pick. They're clear he is to be a RB. But he played what two games, and the defenses probably didn't gameplan to stop the run, so he did better than he should have. They gave up a lot to get him. I hope it works out.
agreed, but analagous to yzerman, i will trust the plan. they have certainly earned that with what they've done these last 3 years.
Two thumbs up for the HolmesPlan.
One thumb up for the YzerPlan.
An incomplete for the HarrisPlan
And
A Chicago Sunroof for the WeaverPlan.
OP asked for opinions on other teams' hauls in addition to the Lions.
The Eagles got the most collective talent above the perceived draft slot. By quite a bit I believe. Now time will tell how well the predicted draft value matches the actual performance.
But if taking Penix at 8 when having just signed a QB to a guaranteed contract is getting low value from a pick, getting Quinyon & DeJean where Philly did is maxxing value out! They had some good later picks too, including Keegan. From the 24-hours later perspective, the Eagles won the draft.
JJ did very well with his selection by the Vikings, and Harbaugh did a good job starting to build a Harbaugh team. Wish he'd gotten Blake tho!
And, the Lions have Montgomery (25) and Gibbs (21) on relatively affordable deals (18m ea) locked up for 3 and 4 years respectively. Keeping a 3rd back seems more like UFA or Craig Reynolds (1m/yr) type of roster management, not a 4th round pick.
Honestly, he makes way more sense as a DB which is/was and potentially will continue to be a pain point moving into the 24 season.
My guess is they view him as an excellent special teams player, and a solid depth guy at RB and decided that was worth it at that point.
April 28th, 2024 at 10:00 AM ^
With kickoffs being rarely returned anymore, special teams players should not be an area of emphasis.
April 28th, 2024 at 10:24 AM ^
They changed the rules entirely and kickoffs will become more on a 1st down style run play...so this does make some sense.
I'll also add that a few very great and/or hall of fame coaches put heavy emphasis on great special teams players and I'll never fault the Lions for doing the same!
April 28th, 2024 at 10:37 AM ^
I believe the new Kickoff Rules will require physical players. Like a bunch of fast, hard hitting players. V does that. These new rules for the kickoffs are going to change things big time.
April 28th, 2024 at 11:09 AM ^
Why in the world would you trade up in the 4th round to get a 3rd string rb/ special teamer? That is terrible value and a little too much like Holmes trying to be the smartest guy in the room. Same with the other 4th round trade up.
I loved the first row picks however and the last two seemed good. But the middle two…woof.
Holmes is the smartest guy in the room. What are you even talking about?
I didn't think they would draft a RB but this guy is versatile can play all safety positions plus a PR and or KR and RB. I admit if the sole plan is to uae him as a RB then I am a bit confused but then again I am not in the Lions organization and they have way more time and money to scout players then I or any of us could think of
And, lest we forget, more time, money and expertise than ESPN or any of the other guys offering instant grades on draft picks.
They gave a third for a guy who can play safety, RB, and special teams.
NFL teams evaluate players on what skills they exhibit regardless of what opposing teams gameplan for.
April 27th, 2024 at 10:12 PM ^
I just watched GM Brad Holmes' press conference and he made it clear that they scouted him as a safety first and they admire his other traits and are curious what else he can be. He is a safety to them first, not a running back as you say. Exactly the opposite.
I skipped to the part where he's talking about Sione as a safety: https://www.youtube.com/live/TG0wcp-OQfY?si=-f9owHYIRCHP0kYO&t=324
April 27th, 2024 at 10:31 PM ^
Um, he talked mostly about running back and said at the end special teams. Safety doesn’t merit much discussion.
When he visited the Lions in a top 30 visit he talked to the offensive staff, not the defensive staff.
So the exact opposite of what you said,
I guess I heard what I wanted to hear. :P
April 28th, 2024 at 11:16 AM ^
Sounds like the typical Brad Holmes smoke screen to me!!
I felt like they saw him as a Swiss army knife - that they have a plan for him. Returner/special teaser that can grow into a depth piece elswhere?
I was assuming this was a designated Special Teams kind of pick.
They are in win now mode, which for every single Lions fan is all new territory. Which makes it hard for me to judge how good it was. Previously they needed almost everything. This year they needed to do something about the secondary and did just that so I'll give it an A-.
Hard to tell until a few years form now on who had a great draft.
I think the Rams trolled Harbaugh and drafted Corum. Just joking of course.
You might be indirectly correct, and they took him ahead of the chargers. To roll with gus Edwards and a hurt dobbins isn't ideal.
There's a good chance Manu will eat some opposing players. Should get some value just from that.
crazy at that sounds, maybe not that far off...
s
Six went into the pile... only two came out.
April 27th, 2024 at 11:26 PM ^
Anyone found Timothy yet?
Yeah, I think all the picks fit the Lions culture very well! I am also impressed with their UDFA's so far as well. If 1 or 2 of those stick... even better. I think they got great value out of every pick!
April 27th, 2024 at 10:24 PM ^
It's clear they value RAS scores with all of their picks today.
April 27th, 2024 at 10:36 PM ^
Had to look RAS, relative Athletic score up: As the Combine approaches, you will start hearing more about Relative Athletic Score (or RAS for short). The brainchild of Kent Lee Platte, RAS is a way of measuring a player’s athletic testing to their size as well as historically. We had Kent on “The Draft Countdown” Podcast this past week and got some insight on RAS and how it can be used to judge prospect’s athleticism. Each prospect is given a score from 0 to 10 based on how their RAS matches up to those of the same position throughout history. A perfect 10 is top of the group and the best athlete ever to work out at that position while a 0 would be the worst. The website color codes the grades by Green, Yellow, and Red to give a clear indication of where players stand. That perfect 10 is rare, but usually means great things for a player.
Hey, Detroit drafted two players from BC!
Love Manu's story:
Manu grew up in Tongo in the South Pacific and has looked up to [Penei] Sewell for years, saying his island is about a 45-minute flight from where Sewell grew up [on the American Samoan island of Tutuila] in the South Pacific. He's studied a lot of his film and has followed his journey to becoming arguably the best tackle in football.
"When I was in college I watched (Sewell's) draft day process. It was basically a blog of his whole day being drafted and I remember he ended the blog by saying, 'Any Polynesian kids out there and he named all the islands and I remember he said Tonga and said If you kids out there want to make it to the NFL you can truly make it if you put your mind to it.'
"I remember I was in my second year of college when he said that and I remember him saying that and it really motivated me and I told myself, 'If one of my fellow Polynesian brothers can make it, and he's giving me words of motivation, there's no reason why I can't do it either.' He's a true inspiration."
Sounds like a dream come true to go to Detroit. Hope he pans out.
April 27th, 2024 at 10:25 PM ^
For Boston! For Boston! We sing our proud refrain! For Bos... Oh, wait. You meant British Columbia!
Have another cold one, Cuz!
April 28th, 2024 at 10:34 AM ^
I heard the Dropkick Murphy's version of that i my head during your post.
They were the favorite band of an old friend of mine (r.i.p. Ed), so I saw them perform it live. Saw The Reverend Horton Heat and the Sex Pistols at the same show. I was really there for the Pistols, but the Dropkicks are a great band
Honestly, the entire NFC North had pretty good drafts and offseasons. I'm a Bears fan and not the biggest believer in Caleb Williams, but obviously he's the guy who they had to take. Odunze at 9 seems like a bit of a steal. Lions got 2 top corners and more OL beef -- jealous of that. Vikings got JJ and Turner, which didn't seem possible for any team to do prior to it actually happening. The Packers always draft well, so I'll just assume they did it again (until proven otherwise).
April 27th, 2024 at 11:01 PM ^
Caleb is a locker room cancer. Fool's gold.