Discussion: Who will the Detroit Lions select in the 1st round?

Happy Draft Day!

The 2024 NFL Draft will finally kick off on Thursday night right here in Detroit. It’s going to be an amazing night with our city right there in the middle of the spotlight.

And for our Detroit Lions, it’s just another opportunity to replenish the roster with young, impressive talent. Given that the Lions spent Wednesday handing out monster deals to their foundational core, it underscores the importance of the draft. They will need to balance these mega-deals with other foundational pieces on affordable rookie deals. General manager Brad Holmes has done an excellent job of that so far, but it’ll need to continue.

Last year, Holmes shocked a lot of people with his first-round strategy—nabbing a linebacker and a running back: two positions of relatively low need and positions that are not typically considered great value in the first round. But it worked, and it worked quite well.

Heading into this draft, that level of unpredictability is exponentially higher with the Lions currently slated to pick 29th overall. There are fewer needs on the board—not that Holmes would pay any attention to them—and there are way more possible players who match up to the value of the 29th pick.

Regardless, it’s draft day. So it’s time to plant our flag for one specific player.

Who will the Lions select in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft?

My answer: I’m not going to dive particularly deep on this one, because I made my case on Wednesday. I think West Virginia offensive lineman Zach Frazier has DETROIT LION written all over him.

I know some believe he’s better valued as a second-round pick, and if the Lions get him after trading down, even better. But I’m not so sure the Lions would risk potentially losing him with a trade down. He’s the absolute competitor and physically dominant offensive lineman that they dream of.

Some have concerns he’s a center-only prospect, but I’m not one of them. He played his freshman season at left guard and thrived at it. Yes, he’s lacking in some of the athleticism that Detroit likes when they’re pulling their guards, but his tenacious, unrelenting attitude makes up for that.

I understand Frazier is an unconventional pick for the Lions at 29, but that’s what makes it even more likely, in my opinion. Holmes doesn’t follow the popular path.

Let’s hear your predictions for the Lions’ first-round pick: