The 2024 NFL Draft is coming to Downtown Detroit April 25-27

The NFL is All In on Detroit.

After Super Bowl 58 ends Sunday and either the Chiefs (Boo!) or the Niners (Boo!) claim the Vince Lombardi Trophy, the next marquee event on the NFL calendar is the 2024 NFL Draft, which is coming to Downtown Detroit for the first time April 25-27.

Michigan Sportsbooks already have odds posted on who the No. 1 pick will be in the NFL Draft, and as the draft gets closer, they’ll offer markets on various position picks and the range of where players are picked. DraftKings and BetMGM each have USC quarterback Caleb Williams as the favorite to go No. 1 (but with different odds).

Chicago has the first pick. And that makes it interesting right away.

The Biggest Draft Storyline

No one has to tell Lion fans about the Bears and their young quarterback Justin Fields. The Bears routed the Lions in Week 14, 28-13 and finished 7-10, but they have the No. 1 pick because of a trade they made last season with the Carolina Panthers.

The Panthers took Alabama QB Bryce Young last year and promptly went 2-15 (ugh).

The Bears control the whole draft. Fields hasn’t shown that he’s a Grade A superstar QB. He’s shown flashes. Will the Bears keep the pick and take a QB at No. 1? Or can they trade it away to a team looking for one of the star QBs coming out, like the Falcons, Commanders, Vikings or Raiders and stick with Fields? Then, will that team take Williams or Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye?

That’s the biggest question of the Draft, and odds are it’s resolved before the Draft starts.

Where Do The Lions Pick?

You finish in the NFC Championship Game and you don’t get a high pick in the Draft. That’s the way it works. The Lions will pick 29th overall in the first round.

They do have a full compliment of picks basically. They have two picks in the 3rd round from the TJ Hockenson trade, but no picks in the fourth.

The Lions 2023 Draft may go down as the best in franchise history with rookies Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta and Jack Campbell all contributing to this historic run.

The way the NFL works is having star rookies is about as good as it gets, because they don’t cost that much against your salary cap and you can build talent around them.

What Do The Lions Need?

For the next two months, expect to hear plenty of suggestions on what the Lions could do/should do (I’m going to do it too).

Pick No. 29 usually isn’t an impact player. Last year the Saints took DT Bryan Bresee out of Clemson at No. 29. He was a solid player for them on their defensive line.

At the moment (free agency could change things) the Lions don’t have one glaring weakness. Maybe cornerback? The Lions are in a spot where they can take a good player at 29 and develop him. My first thought is the Lions did have injury issues on the offensive line, and you can never have enough depth there. While it may not wow the home crowd, good offensive linemen are always in demand.

By:Darren Cooper

Born and raised in Louisiana, Darren Cooper has a fond appreciation for bayous, Mardi Gras beads and the sports betting industry. Darren has worked for multiple print and online publications since 1998, primarily as a sports columnist in the Northeast. He’s covered a Super Bowl (it was a blowout), the World Series (same) and the NBA Draft (man, those guys are tall). For the last few years he’s dug deep into the sports gambling industry as it exploded across America, learning how the legal sausage is made and how while all the sportsbooks look the same, they all have different identities and styles. He’s learned to always bet within his means -- and take the under. When not in front of his computer creating, Darren spends time with his three boys. He runs, reads and is always looking for the next big thing to write about.