The 2024 Draft Was Always Going to Be Rough
Look, Brad Holmes has been lights out in almost every draft since he got here. But the 2024 NFL Draft was a disaster. Not just bad. A disaster. And when you go back and look at the 18 players Detroit brought in for top-30 visits before that draft, it becomes painfully clear why. The talent pool was shallow. The hits were few. And the one player who could have saved everything slipped right through their fingers.
What They Actually Did
Detroit took Terrion Arnold at 24 after 14 straight offensive players flew off the board. Nobody thought he’d fall that far. The Lions jumped. It did not work out.
Giovanni Manu from the University of British Columbia was another top-30 visitor. Twelve other teams brought him in. He went in the fourth round. That did not work out either.
Ennis Rakestraw is still on the 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 and Mary signed as an undrafted free agent. Every writer in town thought he’d make the roster. He never did. Bounced to the Titans practice squad and is currently nowhere. It is bizarre.
Sione Vaki was drafted as a safety but remains on the Lions’ roster as a running back. Behind Jahmyr Gibbs and Isaiah Pacheco he is never going to see the field in a meaningful way. The Lions missed a chance to develop him at his natural position and now he is stuck in roster purgatory.
The One That Got Away
Kool-Aid McKinstry. Arnold’s teammate at Alabama. 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 Holmes would take McKinstry at 29 and keep that third-round pick instead of trading up with Dallas for Arnold. The evidence is right there. Hindsight is a hell of a thing but this one stings.
Andrew Phillips from Kentucky went 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 whole lot better about the secondary right now.
Marshawn Kneeland made a ton of sense for the Lions. Top-30 visit. Formal combine meeting. Played in-state. Detroit needed an edge rusher. He 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. 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 is solid production.
The Rest of the Board Was Ugly
Cody Schrader from Missouri never got drafted and has bounced around with five different teams. Roman Wilson lit up the Senior Bowl but has managed just 12 receptions and 166 yards through two seasons with the Steelers. Mike Hall went to the Browns in the second round and was arrested on domestic violence charges before his rookie season even started. 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. Most Lions fans wanted him because he played Michigan. That is it.
What It All Means
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 did not produce many winners. The entire league struggled with this class. Detroit just happened to be picking in a range where the misses hurt more.
Brad Holmes is still the best general manager this franchise has ever had. One bad draft does not erase four great ones. But this one was rough and it shows. Rakestraw better prove he can play this season or this draft class is going to be remembered as the one stain on an otherwise stellar run.
Do you think Rakestraw can save this draft class or is McKinstry going to haunt us for the next decade? Drop your take below.
Look I’m not gonna sit here and pretend McKinstry wasn’t a miss because he clearly was. But Brad Holmes has shown he knows what he’s doing and one rough draft doesn’t erase what he’s built. Rakestraw still has time to prove something this year and I’m betting on him getting right.
This is the kind of stuff that keeps me up at night man. We had McKinstry right there and just passed on him for Arnold. I get that the talent pool was shallow but when you see those stats from McKinstry’s rookie year it’s hard not to wonder what could have been.
You know what though, after all the years of watching this franchise make terrible moves, I’ll take one bad draft class over the garbage we used to deal with. Holmes knows what he’s doing most of the time and Campbell’s got this team going in the right direction. One whiff doesn’t undo the good work.
Rakestraw needs to show up this year because if he doesn’t this draft class is gonna be a footnote on what could have been. The annoying part is the info was there with McKinstry and we just didn’t pull the trigger. Still got faith in Brad though.