The 2024 NFL season is over now, and it's right into pre-draft season. The Scouting Combine is coming, with the full list of invited players out out this week. For the Detroit Lions and general manager Brad Holmes, the draft has provided many core players who have driven the team's success over the last couple seasons.
While it's interesting to consider the Lions making a big move to surrender draft capital for someone like Myles Garrett, and the they should at least get involved in that conversation, it would mean a big shift from a core strategy Holmes does not seem at all inclined to shift from.
Future mock drafts may have some trades, in reflection of Holmes' general tendency to be willing to move around the board, but this time around we made it simple and stood pat.
Using Pro Football Network's mock draft simulator, here's a fresh post-Super Bowl mock draft for the Lions.
Detroit Lions 7-round post -Super Bowl mock draft
First Round, Pick No. 28: Mike Green, EDGE, Marshall
Green had a great week down at the Senior Bowl, so it's becoming very possible he's long gone by the time the Lions are on the lock at No. 28. But he was here for the taking in our post-Senior Bowl mock, and he was here again as a no-brainer pick.
That showing in Mobile dismissed concerns about Green's level of competition at Marshall, and he added a little weight, coming in at 251 pounds. There's no denying his production. Last season, he led the FBS with 17 sacks along with 23 tackles and 84 total tackles. In his two toughest games (Ohio State and Virginia Tech) he totaled three sacks and nine pressures.
Edge rusher is undeniably the Lions' biggest need, and Holmes doesn't ignore needs that are so obvious.
Second Round, Pick No. 60: Deone Walker, DT, Kentucky
Interior defensive line depth behind Alim McNeill, who's status for Week 1 next season is naturally in doubt as he works his way back from a torn ACL, and DJ Reader is a concern for the Lions. If Levi Onwuzurike leaves in free agency, it will be even more of a need.
Walker, a graduate of Cass Tech High School in Detroit, is simply a massive man (6-foot-7, 340 pounds). But he showed athleticism during drills at the Senior Bowl, so at the upcoming Combine it will be interesting to see how he comes out in athletic testing.
An injury cost Walker a couple games in 2024, but in 2023 he had 7.5 sacks and had the most quarterback pressures among defensive tackles that season. Evaluations of him have consistent points; lots of upside, great length and athleticism, struggles with pad level at his height, etc., but Walker's sheer potential seems to exceed lots of his peers in a deep defensive tackle class.