One look at the Lions’ 2024 top-30 visits explains why that draft fell apart
The Lions’ 2024 draft class looks even worse with the benefit of hindsight. A look back at Detroit’s pre-draft visits reveals just how few hits were on the board—and the one decision that could have changed everything.
The Detroit Lions have drafted well in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025, and 2026. But the 2024 NFL Draft was bad. Like, really bad. And after going back through the top 30 visit tracker from before that draft, looking at every player Detroit brought in and how their careers have played out, the picture becomes clear. This was never going to be a great draft for the Lions. The 18 players they met with tell the whole story.
The guys they did take
The Lions had Terrion Arnold in for a top 30 visit and wound up taking him 24th overall after 14 straight offensive players came off the board on draft night. Nobody thought Arnold would fall that far, and the Lions jumped at the chance. We know now that didn’t work out.
Giovanni Manu from the University of British Columbia was another top 30 visitor. The Cowboys, Giants, Jets, Patriots, Browns, Bengals, Colts, Packers, Chiefs, Broncos, and Cardinals all brought him in too. I mocked him to the Lions multiple times, but always in the seventh round or as an undrafted free agent. Somebody was clearly interested enough to take him in the fourth round. That didn’t work out either.
Ennis Rakestraw is still on the Lions’ roster but has not played yet after two injury-riddled seasons. This is going to be a big year for him to prove he can save this draft class.
Nate Lynn from William & Mary was another interesting case. The Lions signed him as an undrafted free agent, and every writer in town thought he would make the roster. He never did. He bounced to the Titans’ practice squad and is currently nowhere. It’s the strangest thing.
Sione Vaki remains on the Lions’ roster as a running back despite being drafted as a safety. I still think the Lions missed an opportunity to let him play safety, but behind Jahmyr Gibbs and Isaiah Pacheco, he’s never going to get meaningful snaps at running back either.
The guys they should have taken
This is where it stings. Kool-Aid McKinstry, Arnold’s teammate at Alabama, was the guy I thought the Lions would wind up with. Detroit had a top 30 visit with him and a formal combine meeting. McKinstry fell to the second round and went to the New Orleans Saints, where he started 17 games last season with 17 pass breakups, 3 tackles for loss, and 3 interceptions. This should have been the pick.
If you could go back in time, I think the Lions would take McKinstry at 29 and keep that third-round pick instead of trading up with Dallas for Arnold. The benefit of hindsight is a lot, but the evidence is right there.
Andrew Phillips, the cornerback out of Kentucky, wound up going to the Giants in the third round and has played 31 games with 3 interceptions and 12 pass breakups in 2025. McKinstry and Phillips together would have Detroit feeling a lot better about the secondary right now.
Marshawn Kneeland made a ton of sense for the Lions. They had him in for a top 30 visit and a formal combine meeting. He played in-state, and Detroit needed an edge rusher. Nealon went in the second round and looked to be in the beginning stages of a good career before he tragically took his life this past November. I really thought that kid would have been perfect for Detroit.
Jer’Zhan Newton might be the only other guy on this list the Lions wish they had. He played 17 games for Washington in 2025 with 5 sacks as a rotational player. That’s solid production.
The rest of the board
Cody Schrader, the running back from Missouri, never got drafted and has bounced around with five different teams. Former Michigan receiver Roman Wilson lit up the Senior Bowl but has managed just 12 receptions and 166 yards through two seasons with the Steelers. Defensive tackle Mike Hall went to the Browns in the second round and was arrested on domestic violence charges before his rookie season even started. Defensive lineman Khristian Boyd from Northern Iowa has 7 tackles and zero sacks across 10 games with the Saints.
Mike Sainristil has started 30 of 34 games for Washington and even got some Defensive Rookie of the Year votes, but the Lions already had Brian Branch in the slot. It feels like most Lions fans wanted him because he played Michigan.
What it all adds up to
When you look at all 18 players the Lions met with before the 2024 NFL Draft, it was never going to be great unless they had taken McKinstry or Newton. The talent pool they were fishing in just didn’t produce many winners. Let’s see if Rakestraw can change the narrative this season.
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