Welcome to Hindsight Hell
We are firmly in the dead zone right now. Training camp is still six weeks away. The preseason feels like a distant dream. This is the time of year when we do things like re-draft classes from two years ago and make ourselves feel worse about what could have been.
So here we are. The re-draft nobody asked for but everybody needs to see.
Let me be clear up front. I still think the 2024 draft class can bounce back. But this is a make or break season for those guys. No more excuses. No more waiting for development. Show up or get out of the way.
The Rules of Engagement
For this exercise, we are pretending the Lions never made a single move on draft day. No trades up. No trades down. No trade backs. Just the picks they walked into the draft with, and we are selecting players who were actually available at those slots.
That means no dream scenarios where we magically trade back into the first round or jump ahead of someone. If the guy is gone, he is gone. If he fell past where the Lions were picking, he is fair game.
Here are the original picks we are working with.
Round 1, Pick 29. Round 2, Pick 61. Round 3, Pick 73 from the Hockenson trade. Round 4, Pick 129. Round 5, Pick 164. Round 6, Pick 201.
Six picks. Six chances to rewrite history.
Pick 29: Cooper DeJean, CB, Iowa
The Lions traded up from 29 to 24 to grab Terrion Arnold. Cornerback was the biggest need on the board and Brad Holmes went and got his guy. I respect that.
But Cooper DeJean was sitting right there at 40 in the second round when the Eagles took him. And this past season he made All-Pro for the first time.
DeJean at 29 would have been a home run. The Lions get their corner without giving up assets, and they still have all their other picks to work with. This one hurts a little.
Pick 61: Cooper Beebe, IOL, Kansas State
The Lions doubled up on cornerback here with Ennis Rakestraw. Knowing what we know now, that was a luxury pick we could not afford.
Cooper Beebe has been a starting center for the Cowboys for the last two seasons. He can also play guard. Frank Ragnow retired abruptly and the Lions have been scrambling at the position ever since. Beebe could have been the answer before the question was even asked.
This is the kind of pick that keeps a front office up at night.
Pick 73: Jalyx Hunt, Edge, Houston
The Lions originally packaged this pick with the 29th to move up for Arnold. In this version of events, they keep it and take Hunt.
Hunt had 60 pressures and seven sacks last year for the Eagles off their bench. He is a rotational pass rusher who could probably start if you asked him to, but he struggles against the run. That means you still draft Derrick Moore later and let Hunt be the situational havoc guy.
Not a flashy pick. Just a good one.
Pick 129: Cam Hart, CB, Notre Dame
The Lions traded this pick to move up for Giovanni Manu. If they had just waited, Cam Hart would have been sitting right there.
Hart is still figuring things out, but he has shown enough to be a solid rotational corner with starter upside down the line. In Detroit, he would not need to play right away. He could develop behind better players and be ready when his number gets called.
Depth matters. Especially at corner.
Pick 164: Tyrone Tracy, RB, Purdue
The Lions have been looking for a David Montgomery replacement since 2024. Sione Vaki might be that guy. We will see.
But Tyrone Tracy ran for 839 yards in 2024 and 740 in 2025. He is not a star, but he is a proven contributor who can handle a real workload. The kind of back you can plug in and trust.
Tracy at 164 would have been incredible value.
Pick 201: Jalen Coker, WR, Holy Cross
Jalen Coker went undrafted. The Panthers signed him. Last week they gave him a three year extension.
Coker is the kind of X receiver the Lions have been hunting for years. Isaac TeSlaa might end up being that guy, and I believe in him. But the Lions had to use three third round picks to trade up and get him. In this scenario, they get Coker in the sixth round and keep all those picks.
It is almost too painful to think about.
The Bitter Taste of What If
This is not meant to trash Brad Holmes or the scouting staff. They have earned the benefit of the doubt a hundred times over. But draft classes do not exist in a vacuum. You can trust the process and still acknowledge when the process missed.
The talent was there. The Lions just did not grab it.
And yes, hindsight is perfect. Nobody knew DeJean would be All-Pro. Nobody knew Coker would go undrafted and then ball out. But that is what makes this exercise so brutal. The names were all right there on the board, and they walked right past them.
Maybe the guys they actually took will prove this whole thing wrong. I hope they do. But right now, sitting in the dead zone with nothing but time and regret, this re-draft stings.
So tell me. Am I being too harsh on the actual class or is this re-draft proof that the Lions whiffed harder than we want to admit? Drop your take below.
