After making their eight picks in the 2022 NFL Draft, who have the Detroit Lions signed in undrafted free agency?
The 2022 NFL Draft is in the books, and the quick reviews of the Detroit Lions‘ work have been positive far and wide. But the time rigth after the draft ends is a frenzy all its own, as teams sign undrafted free agents at a break-neck pace.
Before drafting him in the fifth round, the Lions had put in a call to Virginia Tech tight end James Mitchell about the possibility of landing him as an undrafted free agent. Many times teams will draft someone in the seventh round to avoid having to lobby for him as a UDFA, but the Lions really got ahead of it with Mitchell.
James Mitchell said the Lions had reached out about potentially joining the team as a UDFA, so he said he was surprised when the team drafted him in the fifth round.
— Justin Rogers (@Justin_Rogers) April 30, 2022
FWIW, most analysts had him in that fourth/fifth round range.
The Lions had a nice run through undrafted free agency in 2021, getting noted contributions from cornerback Jerry Jacobs, cornerback AJ Parker and tight end Brock Wright last season.
Which undrafted free agents have the Detroit Lions signed?
According to multiple reports, here’s who the Lions have signed as undrafted free agents. List will be updated as necessary.
Central Michigan WR Kalil Pimpleton
Appalachian State DT Demetrius Taylor
Appalachian State WR Corey Sutton
Tulsa WR Josh Johnson
TCU OT Obinna Eze
San Diego State RB Greg Bell
San Jose State TE Derrick Deese Jr.
Ferris State OL Zein Obeid
Michigan State OG/OT Kevin Jarvis
Southeastern Louisiana TE Nolan Givan
Virginia Tech CB Jermaine Waller
Miami (OH) CB Cedric Boswell
Eze, Deese, Jarvis and Givan all got noted guaranteed money from the Lions to sign as a UDFA.
The #Lions signed TCU OT Obinna Eze to a UDFA deal that includes a $20k signing bonus and $150k base guarantee. $170k in total guarantees.
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) May 1, 2022
Detroit Lions signed Michigan State guard Kevin Jarvis to an undrafted deal that includes $155,000 total guaranteed, with $140,000 of his base salary guaranteed, plus a $15,000 signing bonus, per a league source
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) May 1, 2022
The #Lions are signing TE Derrick Deese as a UDFA. Deal includes $100k in total guarantees ($5k signing bonus).
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) May 1, 2022
Detroit Lions signing tight end Nolan Givan to a free agent deal that includes $10,000 signing bonus, per a league source
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) May 1, 2022
From this corner, the most interesting player on this list is Pimpleton, who was a multi-purpose weapon at Central Michigan. That said, Taylor, Deese, Givan, Sutton, Bell, Eze, Jarvis and Waller are pretty interesting as well.
Given where the Lions could be looking for reinforcements (if only for depth), there are opportunities for several of these undafted free agents to stick around on the 53-man roster or practice squad.