Detroit Lions training camp raises new concerns about the 2024 draft class, and now it looks like there’s just one hope
Detroit Lions training camp is making one uncomfortable reality about the 2024 draft class harder to ignore. At this point, it feels like the entire class may come down to one player.
The Detroit Lions 2024 draft class is not aging well. Every day it looks worse, and training camp is only making that reality harder to ignore. When you go through this class pick by pick, the picture is bleak. And at this point, the entire class comes down to one man: cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr.
Terrion Arnold never looked like a first-round pick
You have to understand where this starts. First-round pick Terrion Arnold never looked like a first-round selection. He never got to the point everyone thought he would reach. Now he’s dealing with criminal matters in Florida with a trial coming up. Some other teams have shown interest, and Arnold has visited and worked out for a few of them. None have signed him yet. That situation speaks for itself.
Rakestraw is the final hope
Rakestraw is the guy right now. He’s the final hope that this draft class can produce somebody who can be a starter. So far in training camp, he’s looked pretty good, and he has every legitimate chance to be a starter on the Lions defense come September. He’s showing up. But the problem was never Rakestraw’s play. It was always the fact that he’s struggled with injuries. So far, so good. Knock on wood if you have to. I think there’s a chance he could beat out his competition and win that CB2 job. If Rakestraw can just get over the finish line, it would almost make up for everything else in this class. If he can stay healthy and be the player we know he can be for an entire season, it changes the whole conversation.
If he can’t, then we’ll always go back and talk about that 2024 draft class and wonder what Brad Holmes was thinking.
The rest of the class is falling behind
Giovanni Manu was already in trouble before camp started. He practiced for one day and then landed on the NFI list. We don’t know when he’s coming off, and it’s not looking good because Miles Frazier is starting to take reps at tackle. Colby Sorsdal can move himself ahead of Manu now, which he might have already done anyway.
Sione Vaki has been a really good special teams player, but he’s having bad luck. First day of pads on Monday, he gets poked in the eye hard and breaks his nose. Now he’s going to miss time. Meanwhile, there’s talk about how good Jacob Saylors looked on Monday, and Dan Campbell is talking about Sailors and Jabari Small. Vaki is falling behind.
When the Lions drafted Skyler Gill-Howard in April, a player who is essentially what Detroit wanted out of Mehki Wingo, it seemed like the writing was on the wall. This comes after a season where Wingo was active for maybe one or two games and was a healthy scratch nearly every week. Now he’s also behind Tyler Lacy, who keeps showing up. Levi Onwuzurike is starting to look healthier too. Wingo is buried on that depth chart.
Christian Mahogany might be the starting left guard on this team, but he hasn’t won the job yet. He’s got to fight off Frazier, Juice Scruggs, and Ben Bartch. All of them, with the exception of Bartch who is dealing with some injuries, have been getting first-team reps at left guard. Mahogany hasn’t separated himself.
Is this class cursed?
I don’t know what else to call it at this point. Pretty much everybody the Lions talked to before that draft just hasn’t worked out. Even the guys Detroit didn’t draft haven’t turned out to have great careers elsewhere. Maybe it was just a bad year. Maybe it was just not a good draft class for anybody.
All your hope has to go into Rakestraw at this point, and maybe Mahogany as well. We’ll see what happens.
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