The 2024 NFL draft is under way and the Detroit Lions have begun to make their picks. Here is a list of the Lions brand new players:

24th pick: Terrion Arnold, Cornerback, Alabama

The Lions lucked out like crazy in the first round. The first 14 players off the board were offensive players. Then when the pass rushers started coming off the board, that pushed the corners to within range for the Lions. They had to move up to the 24th pick to make sure they got this done, but they did it. A solid night one for the Lions. 

Arnold is the drafts top cornerback and has the ability and personality go become an elite lockdown cornerback in the NFL. 

61st pick: Ennis Rakestraw, CB, Missouri

The Lions doubling down on cornerbacks felt like something that could happen, but I don’t know if anyone thought that they would do it with back to back picks or that they would get their top two corners on the board. 

Ennis Rakestraw is someone that could have easily bene a first round pick in another year where offense wasn't so heavily favored. The Lions getting him at 61 is a big get and they managed to form a really solid duo for the future. 

Rakestraw is not a ballhawk, but he is a guy that's going to shadow players well enough to where quarterbacks aren't going to target him a ton. He was only targeted 28 times in 2023 for example. The big thing to like is that he is tackling machine who hits everything that comes his way. 

126th pick: Giovanni Manu, T, British Columbia

Who saw this one coming? The Lions brought Manu in for a top-30 visit and they must have really liked what they saw, because they moved a future third-round pick to go up and get him.

Manu has some impressive numbers. He's 6-foot-7 and 352 pounds. He got that body moving with a 4.96 40-yard dash and 33.5 inch vertical. The guy is big, but he's a big athlete. 

This one feels like a project for the Lions. They have a ball of clay here and if they can mold it into a starting tackle, this is a great pick.

132nd pick: Sione Vaki, S, Utah

The Lions were heavily interested in this kid and they did what they had to do to go get him. Vaki is a Swiss army knife that can play in all three phases. 

The interesting thing we learned is that when Vaki did his top-30 visit, he only met with Ben Johnson and Scottie Montgomery. That doesn't mean he's just an offensive player. The Lions will look to use him a lot on special teams in multiple roles just like Utah did. He could even be a return man like he was in high school.

Then he'll play safety on the defensive side of the ball as someone that fits into the rotation. 

189th pick: Mehki Wingo, DL, LSU

The Lions got a major steal here with a player that was expected to go much higher than he actually went. 

Wingo is a tough player who plays violent football. He's also a big leader. He was a captain and was also awarded the No. 18 jersey by LSU. That's a big deal to be awarded that number as it they give it the guy who best exemplifies their culture. 

Wingo had five sacks in a shortened season last year. He would have had more if he did not have to have surgery for a lower body injury. He did fight his way back to play in the Tigers bowl game though. 

210th pick: Christian Mahogany, G, Boston College

Another steal from the Lions. We were doing mock drafts with him in the third-round this year. He was one of Dane Brugler’s top 100 players in The Beast. It’s just insane that he was drafted in the sixth-round. It seems like this is another case of teams overthinking things and missing out. The Lions did not.