2024 Mock Draft: 3 ways the Lions could wrap up the rest of the draft

The Detroit Lions pulled off a Day 1 trade in the 2024 NFL Draft to secure arguably the top cornerback in this class: Terrion Arnold. While Arnold is a perfect fit for the Lions' organization, both in mentality and schematically, the move to seal this deal cost the Lions a third-round pick (No. 73) in this draft.

While you can absolutely justify using a third-round pick to land one of the top players in the draft, it did leave the Lions in a bit of a precarious spot. Following Round 1, they now only have one pick on Day 2 (No. 61) and don’t pick again until pick No. 164 in the fifth round.

In order to explore how this change may impact general manager Brad Holmes’ approach to the remainder of the draft, I decided to turn to PFF’s mock draft simulator to run through a few scenarios.

First, I ran a mock draft with the picks as they currently stand, in order to explore the types of players and value of where they currently sit. Next, I opted to trade back from pick No. 61 in order to acquire another pick and reduce the gap between picks. Lastly, I pushed the chips and went all in, trading up for another impact player and examining how that may play out.

Let’s take a look at the three scenarios.

Stand pat and pick with what you have

In this scenario, I was hoping for a wide receiver, but none of the remaining were equal to the value the Lions could get in Christian Haynes—who could be a spot starter as a rookie and a full-time starter in 2025. From there, it was simply adding depth with Day 3 picks at positions that could use more competition. Unfortunately, I was not able to land a wide receiver, but that’s a very real possibility that the Lions have found themselves in.

Overall, I felt like I added some solid talent, but I was also hoping for more.

Trade back, reduce the gap, and add another pick

Trade parameters: Lions send pick No. 61 and the 2025 seventh-round pick (gained from the Cowboys in the Terrion Arnold trade) to the Jets and acquired picks No. 72 and 111, as well as a fourth-round pick in 2025.

With regards to the trade, dropping 11 spots isn’t overly problematic with the talent on the board, and also acquiring a fourth-round pick proves incredibly valuable. I also like adding another future pick, bumping the Lions up to three fourth-round picks in 2025.

In this scenario, I was able to land a wide receiver along with a guard on Day 2, which is a preferable outcome. Now, based on my evaluations, Mahogany isn’t as talented as Haynes, but getting both a rookie wide receiver who could contribute this season and guard who has future starting upside is still a nice outcome. Like in Scenario 1, I used the four Day 3 picks to fill depth holes on the roster.

Overall, I happily filled more holes but wasn’t thrilled with the decline in player value, which is a realistic outcome if the draft plays out in this manner.

Push the chips in and trade up for another impact player

Trade parameters: Lions acquire pick No. 53 from the Eagles and surrender pick No. 61 and a 2025 fourth-round pick (originally acquired from the Eagles via the D’Andre Swift trade in 2023).

This outcome leaves the Lions with less capital in 2025, more of an injury gamble at guard, and fewer Day 3 holes filled, but it’s a massive upgrade at wide receiver, which in my mind is the last glaring hole on this roster. This method goes against conventional wisdom by trading up for the second time in the same draft but it does line up with Holmes’ aggressiveness.

Overall, this scenario is more about adding quality over quantity, and with the state of this roster, I’m more in favor of this option than I originally thought I would be.