Welcome to day two of the 2024 NFL Draft. The Detroit Lions had one hell of a night one. You could hear how stoked the Detroit crowd was when the team selected Terrion Arnold with the 24th pick. It was like watching Cody Rhodes wins the WWE Championship at WrestleMania. 

Now there's six rounds left and it's time to see what the Lions can do in these next two days to keep building this team up. We worked up a six round mock draft that has the Lions going all in on this thing. Here's what we did: 

Trade

Right off the bat this felt like a good time to go all in. One player that was expected to go in the first round has fallen to the second and I couldn't let any other team draft him. So Brad called his old friend Dave Sears with the Cardinals and got the ball rolling on this trade:

Lions get: 35th, 71st and 138th picks

Cardinals get: 61st pick, 164th pick, 2025 second-round, 2025 third-round and 2025 sixth round pick

Yeah, the Lions had to give up some strong assets to move to the top of the second-round, but the player is worth the move.

Pick 35: Jackson Powers-Johnson, C, Oregon

There it is, the Lions get their interior offensive lineman of the future. Powers-Johnson played center in 2023, but he also played guard at Oregon. There’s a ton of talent with this guy. He can contribute right away as a rotational player or in relief if someone gets injured. He can then start for the long run starting in 2025. 

Powers-Johnson did not allow a single sack while at Oregon and he only allowed one quarterback hit. Even crazier is that he only allowed three total pressures in three seasons. The man is a wall. 

71st pick: Marshawn Kneeland, ED, Western Michigan

The Lions score again in the draft with another guy that falls to them. This time it’s Marshawn Kneeland. The Lions are going to need an edge rusher at some point, and Kneeland is the best guy left on the board at this point. 

Kneeland had six sacks in 10 games last year and was standout at the Senior Bowl and combine. That speed and bull rush is what is going to attract a a lot of teams. The guy flat out moves offensive linemen around. He does need to work on some other moves though. That's one reason why he could be had in this area. 

138th pick: Johnny Wilson, WR, Florida State

As a Johnny Wilson guy, a tear would be shed if the Lions brought him to Detroit and I got to cover his career in the league. 

The Lions need an X receiver and they got the biggest one in the draft. At 6-foot-7 and 237 pounds, he's a problem for opposing corners. What makes him even more of a problem is how fluid he is for that size. Don't forget the catch radius that he brings with an 84.7 inch wingspan. He can high point the ball and make crazy contested catches. Jared Goff is smiling somewhere.

201st pick: Sione Vaki, S, Utah

To be honest, I wouldn’t hate it if the Lions drafted this guy way earlier than this. Vaki is one of my favorite players of this draft and it’s because of what he can bring to the team. That’s everything. He can play on offense, defense and special teams. 

The Lions are heavily interested in Vaki per a source and the 49ers are too. That's why the Lions may have to grab him earlier if they want him bad enough. 

205th pick: Jalen Green, ED, James Madison

The Lions get the nations sack leader with the 205th pick. Green at 15.5 sacks last season and that was in a shortened year. He suffered a knee injury in November. If he hadn’t, he was well on his way to setting a single season FBS record. 

The Lions will have to wait for Green to be healthy, but the upside is really there once he is. It's like having another James Houston on the team. This one is a little more polished and his position is defined. 

249th pick: Joshua Karty, K, Stanford

The best kicker available in this draft by far. Karty has a big leg capable of hitting kicks from 60 plus and he has the clutch to get those kicks off in must hit scenarios. 

The Lions have also shown a lot of interest in Karty. They attended the Stanford pro day when no other player was working out there but him.  

Biggest needs for the Detroit Lions on day two of the 2024 NFL Draft

Day one is in the books for the Detroit Lions and it went very well for them. The board broke in the perfect way and it allowed the Lions to get the best cornerback in the draft in Alabama's Terrion Arnold. Now we move to day two where there's two rounds and plenty of decisions […]