4 biggest winners for Detroit Lions after the 2024 NFL Draft

2. WR Jameson Williams

Right or wrong, agreeably or not for some people, what the Lions did or didn't do in the draft at wide receiver stood to say something (and maybe a lot) about their true faith that Williams will have a full-on third-year breakout in 2024.

The Lions did not draft a wide receiver. Two UDFAs (Isaiah Williams, Jalon Calhoun) are coming in, with what feels like a real chance to win a roster spot. But those guys will not impact Williams' role in the offense, or his place in the pecking order for targets. Wide receivers toward the bottom of the roster (Tom Kennedy, Antoine Green, Tre'Quan Smith, etc.) should now be looking over their shoulders.

So Williams emerges from the draft as a clear winner. The Lions have done nothing, pending a possible (but unlikely) notable free agent wide receiver being signed, to block his runway to a breakout campaign.

1. K Michael Badgley

Brad Holmes promised competition for Badgley practically before the ink was dry on his new contract, which was done before free agency started for some reason. Re-signing Badgley also effectively took the Lions out of the free agent market for a kicker, which turned eyes toward early-season UFL star Jake Bates and the draft.

The Lions did not draft a kicker, which was fine all things considered. Then, they didn't even sign arguably the best undrafted kicker available (Harrison Mevis). Instead, former Michigan kicker James Turner is coming in as a UDFA to "compete" with Badgley.

Turner is simply hard to see as a real threat to take Badgley's job. His career-long field goal in college was 50 yards, so he'll need to really impress with his accuracy or Badgley will have to be pretty horrific to lose the job.

After last offseason's half-measures to add competition for Badgley (signing John Parker Romp out of the XFL) and bringing back Riley Patterson), Holmes seemed to promise a genuine effort to add competition/find a replacement. That did not happen, barring another team cutting a kicker the Lions could sign.

So Badgley comes out of the draft as the absolute No. 1 winner in Detroit.