The 2024 NFL Draft marked the very first time the Detroit Lions hosted the annual event, and boy did they show out.
From Night 1, you could tell Detroit was ready for the moment. Lions fans packed the place out and let the rest of the league know this organization was no longer a laughing stock. Based on last year's performance and the momentum they're riding into the coming season, these Lions are a different story.
A short while into Day 3 of the draft, governor Gretchen Whitmer made a historic announcement in regards to just how much of an impact Lions fans made on the draft.
Whitmer announced that Detroit had broken the NFL Draft's all-time attendance record, seeing more than 700,000 fans come through for the big weekend.
Detroit has broken the NFL Draft's all-time attendance record with more than 700,000 fans, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 27, 2024
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Detroit continues to do things their way, and Lions fans wouldn't want it differently
Kind of in line with Detroit showing out for the draft, the Lions organization attacked the weekend just the way you would have expected them to. Going into the draft, Detroit absolutely needed to address their secondary.
In Round 1, that's exactly what they did, as they selected Alabama standout cornerback Terrion Arnold. Coming into the draft, Arnold was ranked as the top cornerback in his class by many experts, and the Lions found him late in the first.
Detroit continued attacking the secondary in Round 2 when they went with Missouri cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr., who also could have gone in the first round and provided the Lions with tremendous value.
To kick off Day 3, Detroit made a somewhat-confusing trade up into the fourth round when they sent a 2025 third rounder to the New York Jets and selected an offensive lineman who had been ranked as the consensus 333rd prospect in this class.
Yes, the Lions took Giovanni Manu at no. 124 overall when they likely could have gotten him much later. But, that's just how this team operates. They're sticking to their convictions and doing things their way, no matter what.
The city of Detroit and Lions organization, altogether, continue to do things the only way they know how: their way.
And, they broke an all-time record in that fashion, in the process.