Here it is. The 2024 NFL Draft is tomorrow and we will finally find out who the Detroit Lions are going to be selecting. Before we get to that, it's time to take one more stab at the predicting the Lions moves. 

To best do that, we're going to have to look at what the Lions have been telling us during the draft process. Who they've been looking at and who they've been talking to will give us the answers we're looking for. Let's jump right into it. 

Trade

Lions GM Brad Holmes has been bringing up the idea of trading down out of the first round three times now. He did it back in February at his post season presser, he did it again in an interview with Dannie Rogers and then he did it again last week. Each time he said he'd send Lions fans an apology letter.

Well, get ready to get that apology letter. Here's the proposal:

Lions get: 42nd and 59th picks

Texans get: 29th and 164th picks

The Lions now have three picks in the second round and it feels like a steal. The Texans moved up to take Cooper DeJean at 29 in case you were curious.

42nd pick: Xavier Legette, WR, South Carolina

I’m going with a receiver right out of the gate for multiple reasons. The first being that, as I noted in a editorial, receivers are going to come off the board fast in this draft and the Lions would be best to take one in the early going because the ones they more than likely want are going to be gone by the 61st pick. 

Legette is a receiver the Lions have had multiple interactions with. They had a formal meeting with him at the NFL Combine, attended his pro day and just brought him in for a top-30 visit as well. Legette is a big bodied guy that has tremendous contested catch ability and has opposing strength that allows him to win battles. 

59th pick: Marshawn Kneeland, ED, Western Michigan

This guy is rising up the board every week. There are even some that believe he can sneak into the first round. Most have him in the second though. For a draft that’s top heavy with edge rushers, the Lions really score here later with Kneeland. That speed and strength is a big win. If he can develop some more moves, he’s more of a problem than he already is. 

Kneeland was the first player to reportedly have a formal meeting with the Lions at the Combine. The Lions attended his pro day in Kalamazoo and he had a top-30 visit with the Lions in April. There's interest there. 

61st pick: Caelen Carson, CB, Wake Forrest

Carson is not the route that I would personally go. There are other cornerbacks, like Missouri’s Kris Abrams-Draine or Notre Dame’s Cam Hart, that I personally like more. But the point here is to pick players the Lions have shown interest in. They brough in ton of cornerbacks for top-30 visits and Carson is the best one that’s left. Others could be had later, but Carson is good. 

Aside for the the top-30 visit, the Lions also attended his pro day. 

Trade

Brad Holmes is not likely to limit the draft to just one trade, so I made a second one. This time we're trading down again. Here's the too good to turn down proposal the Browns offered:

Lions get: 85th pick and a 2025 third-round pick

Browns get: 73rd and 205th picks.

The Browns just set the Lions up with an extra day two pick in next years draft to move down 12 spots. I had to do it.

Trade

Yeah, I'm not done yet. I know I just got done trading but when we got to the 85th pick, the Houston Texans called to work out a trade so they could draft Florida State receiver Johnny Wilson. Here's what they offered: 

Lions get: 86th and 189th picks

Texans get: 85th pick

Remind Brad Holmes to write Texans GM Nick Caserio a thank you letter for making this draft possible.

86th pick: Zak Zinter, G, Michigan

As Michigan State fan, it pains me to say anything good about the Wolverines, but this guy was very good last year. So good that a lot of mocks had him going late in the first round until he broke his tibia and fibula. Draft experts will tell you I took him too early and maybe they’re right, but there’s now way he was there with the Lions next pick. 

He's a good fit in Detroit because he gets time to heal and time to learn. That and the Lions don't need him to start right away. He's been right down the road all this time and the Lions have had a lot of time to look at him. 

189th pick: Sione Vaki, S, Utah

I think every team in the league is smitten with this guy. We now know that the Lions and 49ers are the most smitten. What’s not to be smitten with? Vaki can do it all. He’s a decent safety, he can play running back on offense and he can be a return man too. He’s a three way player the possibilities are endless.

The Lions saw him at the Senior Bowl, had a formal meeting with him at the combine, went to his pro day and had him in for a top-30 visit. There is definitely interest there. 

 

205th pick: Qwan-Tez Stiggers, CB, Toronto (CFL)

It seems like every year there’s a “Brad Holmes find.” He did it with James Houston, Malcolm Rodriguez, Brodric Martin and Colby Sorsdal. These guys that are maybe off the radar for smaller schools and Holmes see something in them. I think Stiggers falls into that category. 

While other teams have looked at Stiggers, the Lions just feel like the right landing spot for him. The Lions have some positive history with bringing in players from the CFL or the UFL and making the most of it. Stiggers is someone that could be more than just an experiment. The talent is there. 

249th pick: Giovanni Manu, OT, British Columbia

Here’s your experiment right here. With one of the final picks in the NFL draft, Holmes goes back to Canada to get this giant and very athletic tackle. The 6-foot-7 and 350 pound tackle can flat out move for his size. He ran a 5.03 40-yard dash. 

He's a bit of a project like most seventh-round picks are, but if he can get a chance to work with Hank Fraley and arguably the best offensive line in football, you have to wonder what he looks like on the other side. 

The Lions just brought him in for a top-30 visit. 

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