Detroit Lions announce signings of seven draft picks

Five were reported, and on Friday morning the Detroit Lions officially announced the signings of seven of their eight 2022 draft picks.

The Detroit Lions made some hay in signing their 2022 draft picks on Thursday, reportedly agreeing to terms with Jameson Williams, Kerby Joseph and James Mitchell. That made a total of five (out of eight) draft picks signed for Detroit, with Aidan Hutchinson and Chase Lucas signed earlier in the week.

Friday morning, the Lions announced a total of seven draft picks signings, with sixth-rounders Malcolm Rodriguez and James Houston added to the list.

The notable exception is second round defensive end Josh Paschal. There’s one spot open on the 90-man roster, and it’s clearly his whenever he signs. Why Paschal isn’t signed is not clear, but it’s not a big deal yet and it won’t necessarily be a big deal for awhile–even into the start of full OTAs in a couple weeks.

Over the Cap projects Paschal’s four-year rookie deal, at the No. 46 pick, at $8.42 million with a $3.3 million signing bonus. Slotted NFL rookie deals leave little for a player’s agent to haggle with the team over (offset language is occasionally something), so Paschal should be signed soon.

19 rookies now officially on the Detroit Lions roster ahead of OTAs

Lions rookie minicamp starts on Friday, and goes to Sunday. There will be 19 rookies in the fold right way, counting the 12 undrafted free agents, and it’ll be 20 if Paschal gets signed sometime in the next day or so.

Citing the public demand to know, the Lions also announced the jersey numbers for all eight of their draft picks on Friday morning.

Aidan Hutchinson: No. 97
Jameson Williams: No. 18
Josh Paschal: No. 93
Kerby Joseph: No. 31
James Mitchell: No. 82
Malcolm Rodriguez: No. 44
James Houston: No. 59
Chase Lucas: No. 36