DETROIT – Another NFL Draft has come and gone, and the Detroit Lions added six new players to what was already a Super Bowl-caliber roster.
Here are my final thoughts on what Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell pulled off across all three days.
Doubling up on cornerbacks
Holmes has always been a big-time believer in taking the best player available when it’s his turn to pick. Fortunately for the Lions, the best player available also happened to fill a need their first two times on the clock.
Cornerback was by far the Lions’ greatest weakness last season, and the situation only got worse with the departure of Cam Sutton due to legal issues.
But Holmes wasn’t going to let that problem fester. He attacked it with conviction, trading for Carlton Davis III last month and using each of his first two draft picks on corners.
Terrion Arnold was widely viewed as one of the top two cornerback prospects in this draft class, alongside Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell, who went to the Eagles.
To land Arnold in the mid-20s felt like a steal. The Alabama star fits the mold of a Dan Campbell player, with a certain confidence and toughness that should make him a Day 1 contributor.
The second round was icing on the cake. Detroit stayed put at No. 61 and selected Missouri cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr., a top-40 prospect on nearly every board.
Rakestraw isn’t as polished as Arnold, but he gives the Lions another option and turns what was a clear weakness one week ago into a unit with some quality depth.
End of Taylor Decker era?
With the departure of Jonah Jackson in free agency, guard was obviously a need for the Lions. Even though they signed veteran guards Graham Glasgow and Kevin Zeitler to hold down the starting spots this season, the near future comes with major questions.
But when the Lions turned their attention to the offensive line on Saturday, it was a tackle, not a guard, who first joined the Honolulu Blue.
Holmes gave up next year’s third-round pick to move up from the fifth to the fourth round on Saturday and select Giovanni Manu, a massive tackle from Canada.
Manu played for British Columbia last season, so nobody knows what to expect from him when he faces NFL competition. But Holmes obviously thinks very highly of the 6-foot-8 project, considering what he spent to draft him.
It’s unlikely Manu will play a major role for the Lions this season since Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell are locked into the starting tackle positions.
But does this move precipitate the end of the Decker era in Detroit?
Decker will turn 31 years old before the start of the 2024 season, and he’s in the final year of his four-year, $60 million extension. It’s still possible the two sides could agree to a short-term extension, but the Manu selection makes it feel less likely.
Manu is obviously too big to play on the interior, and the Lions wouldn’t spend a third-round pick on someone who will never start. So it seems like the writing is on the wall for the longest-tenured Lion.
The ‘Trust Brad Holmes’ player
I’ll admit it: I really don’t understand the Sione Vaki selection.
The Lions gave up next year’s fourth-round pick to move up 32 spots Saturday and draft Vaki in the fourth round.
It wouldn’t be such a surprising move if the Lions weren’t so intentional about selecting Vaki as a running back. He played both safety and running back in college, and the Lions lack safety depth behind Kerby Joseph and Ifeatu Melifonwu.
But the Lions have made it very clear that they drafted Vaki as a running back. And there’s not much room for a third running back to make an impact for the Lions behind Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.
It feels like the Lions must view Vaki as a potential star on special teams, which makes his official primary position pretty meaningless. This is another Campbell-type player who’s willing to do whatever he’s asked -- and do it with his ears pinned back.
If Vaki isn’t playing defense, he’s going to have to be incredible on special teams to be worthy of what the Lions paid. But Holmes has earned the benefit of the doubt.
Next year’s picks
By coming one play away from the Super Bowl, the Lions officially entered a win-now window, and that was reflected in Holmes’ draft aggression.
Four of the Lions’ six picks were made after Holmes traded up, and when the dust settled, Detroit was left without its third- and fourth-round selections for next year.
That might not sound like a big deal, but Holmes has turned those mid-round selections into the likes of Amon-Ra St. Brown, Kerby Joseph, Alim McNeill, and Ifeatu Melifonwu during his time in Detroit.
Those picks matter. It makes the spotlight even brighter on Manu and Vaki.
No edge rusher
If you didn’t want the Lions to draft a cornerback with their first-round pick, you probably thought they should grab an edge rusher. A partner in crime for Aidan Hutchinson was somewhere on every fan’s wish list.
Well, the Lions didn’t draft an edge rusher. At all. That could definitely create problems, but I think it’s pretty clear what happened.
After offensive players were taken with the first 14 picks of the draft, five of the next seven picks ahead of the Lions were defensive linemen. By the time Holmes could trade into the mid-20s, all of the elite options at edge rusher were off the board.
There was never an obvious value at edge rusher with the Lions on the clock. That’s a common problem for teams at the back-end of the draft because edge is such a premium position.
So Holmes pivoted to the next-best strategy. There’s more than one way to improve a pass rush, and one of the best is to give edge rushers more time to get to the passer.
Arnold and Rakestraw should help Hutchinson just as much as a third-round edge rusher, if not more. Better coverage could also allow John Cominsky or James Houston to thrive on the other end.
Defensive tackle addition
The Lions got great value in the sixth round with Mekhi Wingo, who was widely considered a top-100 prospect.
Wingo likely fell to the late rounds because he’s undersized, but he was a stud at LSU. The Lions also love to draft guys who were team captains in college, so that was another point in Wingo’s favor.
Detroit is strong on the defensive interior, with McNeill and free agent signee D.J. Reader, but it’s nice to add Wingo to that rotation and create some depth.
This is also a move for the future, as McNeill’s rookie contract expires following 2024. Unfortunately, he’s likely an odd man out as the Lions issue massive extensions to St. Brown, Sewell, and potentially the likes of Jared Goff and Hutchinson.
Future at guard
With his final pick of the draft, Holmes selected Christian Mahogany, another player who was expected to go off the board well before the sixth round.
While the Lions begin 2024 with a defensive interior of Glasgow, Zeitler, and Frank Ragnow, age is a major concern beyond this season.
Mahogany gets a year to work with offensive line coach Hank Fraley, likely alongside Manu, before the Lions start to restock their starting line next offseason. And if the injury bug bites the Lions again -- which it’s sure to do at some point -- Mahogany could find himself in a Colby Sorsdal-type role as a rookie.
