The 2024 NFL Draft is in the books and the Detroit Lions would up with blank picks. It's hard to grade players that we haven't seen yet, but what we can do is grade the pick knowing what we know now. So let's do that. Here's our grades for the Lions 2024 rookie class:

24th pick: Terrion Arnold, CB, Alabama

The Lions really started this thing off with a bang. They needed cornerback help and they got the very tippy top guy in the draft. They also got him with tremendous value with the 24th pick after the first 14 picks were offensive players and cornerbacks got pushed down the board. 

Arnold is a lockdown corner and an immediate starter. He also has the an elite personality that Lions fans are going to absolutely love.

Grade: A+

61st pick: Ennis Rakestraw, CB, Missouri

The Lions are going all in on cornerbacks. Rakestraw hasn’t been considered a first round talent since the beginning of the draft process, but the idea that he would be here at 61 was not on anyone’s mind. 

Taking two cornerbacks seemed like something that could happen for the Lions. Taking them back to back and getting two of the top guys did not seem like something that was going to happen. 

The player is good and the Lions cornerback room is going to be strong. I also get that best player available is important to this team, but it felt like they could have traded down from this pick to pick up more draft picks. That hurts. 

Grade: B

126th pick: Giovanni Manu, T, British Columbia

Manu was a shocker of a pick. The Lions showed interest ahead of the draft when they had him in for top-30 visit, but the expectation was that if they were interested, they would likely wait till later to do it. 

Instead the Lions traded up into the fourth-round and made it happen. From a project standpoint, Manu has everything you could hope for in terms of size and athleticism. If the Lions can mold and shape him into a starting left tackle some day, then this is gigantic win. 

Still, I have to go a little lower on the grade since it feels like he could have been had a round later. 

Grade: C

132nd pick: Sione Vaki, S, Utah

The Lions scored big here with the Vaki pick. They now have a player that can bring a lot to the table from all three phases. He can play safety, running back, return man and gunner. 

Of all the players that the Lions met with in the pre-draft process, it was Vaki that had the most meetings. The Lions talked with him at Senior Bowl, had a formal meeting at the combine, went to his pro day and had a top-30 visit. They were in contact with Vaki going into the weekend as well. They wanted this guy and they made moves to get him. 

Grade: A

189th pick: Mehki Wingo, DL, LSU

What a steal for the Lions in the sixth round. Mehki Wingo is someone that was slated to go in the fourth round and has been mocked as high as the third round. He was Dane Brugler’s 9th ranked defensive tackle in The Beast. That’s higher than Titans lineman T’Vondre Sweat who got picked in the second round. 

He's a player that can play right away for this team and he has the highest of character. A total Holmes and Campbell type player. The only reason it's not an A is becasue he's a bit undersized and is coming off an injury.

Grade: B+

Final cumulative grade for the Lions 2024 NFL Draft

It’s hard to be upset about anything the Lions did in this draft. Frankly, I think they nailed it with every pick. They really strengthened up the secondary with Terrion Arnold, Ennis Rakestraw and Sione Vaki.

Then they got an offensive weapon in Vaki as well. Plus they drafted their potential left tackle of the future in Giovanni Manu and got a steal for the interior defensive line with Mehki Wingo. 

The only thing that holds the grade back is that the Lions did not do enough to help with edge rushers. In fact they didn't really do anything. still, what a draft class for Detroit. 

Final grade: B+

 

210th pick: Christian Mahogany, G, Boston College

I don’t know what happened here. Mahogany was a third round prospect coming into this draft. He was a top 100 player as well. Somehow the Lions were able to get him with the 210th pick. 

This is your right guard of the future right here. He can come in and spot start now, but after a year with these lineman and hank Fraley, he should be ready to challenge for a starting spot. 

Grade: A

Lions bringing in Tongan Canadian sensation Giovanni Manu with the 126h pick in the 2024 NFL Draft

If you've been following the top-30 visits for every team in the last couple weeks then you have seen the name Gionvanni Manu. The Tongan offensive tackle out of British Columbia University had a very impressive workout that saw him run a 4.96 40-yard dash and jump a 33.5 inch vertical leap at 6-foot-7 and […]