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5 biggest winners for the Detroit Lions after the 2023 NFL Draft

By Brad Berreman

Jan 1, 2023; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff pumps up the crowd as he walks off the field following their win over the Chicago Bears at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2023; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff pumps up the crowd as he walks off the field following their win over the Chicago Bears at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports /
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Romeo Okwara, Detroit Lions
Credit: PackersNews-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 4: DE Charles Harris
No.3: DE Romeo Okwara

The 2022 season will go down as mostly a lost one for both Harris and Okwara. Okwara was out well into the season as he worked his way back from a torn Achilles in Week 4 of 2021, while a groin injury eventually landed Harris on IR and never saw the field again.

Both were potential offseason cuts for the Lions, and both took pay cuts to stay. In Okwara’s case, dramatically so. In both cases, it was surely a lack of likely opportunities to make more than what the Lions were willing to give them in a pay cut elsewhere. So take the financial haircut, and ideally an opportunity to stick around becomes clear with good health. Better than the unknown alternative, and the Lions being expected to be a good team surely helped.

The Lions drafted zero defensive ends/edge rushers this year. That’s great news for Harris and Okwara, who can both now be virtually written in ink on the 53-man roster.

The ranking order here is inconsequential. Harris and Okwara, both past season sack leaders for the Lions, are pretty big post-draft winners.

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