The 2023 NFL season is officially over, so now it's fully on to and into the offseason. The next tentpole event on the league calendar is the NFL Combine, coming in a couple weeks, as the pre-draft process starts to hit a feverish pitch.
The pre-draft process, as always, has already launched with the East-West Shrine Game and the Senior Bowl. There were of course the expected lists of standouts and those who didn't perform well during those events, with some players appearing on both kinds of lists depending on the outlet.
The Detroit Lions have seven picks in the 2024 NFL Draft right now, including four in the top-100 as general manager Brad Holmes will be able to keep stocking the cupboard with young talent.
Using Pro Football Network's mock draft simulator, here's a fresh, post-Super Bowl seven-round mock draft for the Lions.
Detroit Lions post-Super Bowl 7-Round Mock Draft
First Round, No. 29 Overall: Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo
Mitchell had a strong week down in Mobile at the Senior Bowl, which has vaulted him up in the first round conversation as potentially the first cornerback off the board. Over his last two seasons at Toledo, he had 37 pass breakups with six interceptions (five in 2022).
Pro Football Focus was very high on Mitchell's work, with a 92.5 overall coverage grade in 2022 and a 91.5 grade last season. Breaking down to man and zone coverage, PFF gave him grades of 88.7 and 85.9 respectively there.
Any concern about the level of competition Mitchell faced in college was effectively put to bed going against some top wide receiver prospects down in Mobile. It was a surprise to see him last to No. 29 in this mock run, but he did and I snapped him up.