THE OFFICIAL KECK THOUGHTS 2024 NFL MOCK DRAFT

Getting it in right under the wire so I didn't have time to do full write-ups for my thinking behind various picks, but here is the Official Keck Thoughts 2024 Mock Draft! 

As always these are my predictions for where I think teams will pick players. I don't typically project trades, but for a second straight year I will. I'm sure there will be more trades than I have projected, but these are ones I felt made the most sense. 

I did better in 2022 than I did in 2023 with correctly predicting players to teams, but last year I still had about 5 or 6 correct. Hoping to do better this year, but we'll see!

KECK THOUGHTS 2024 NFL MOCK DRAFT 

#1.) Chicago Bears - Caleb Williams, QB, USC

#2.) Washington Commanders - Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU

#3.) New England Patriots - Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina

#4.) Arizona Cardinals - Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State

#5.) Los Angeles Chargers - JC Latham, OT, Alabama

#6.) New York Giants - Malik Nabers, WR, LSU

#7.) Tennessee Titans - Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame

#8.) Minnesota Vikings (trade with Atlanta) - J.J. McCarthy, QB, Michigan

#9.) Chicago Bears – Rome Odunze, WR, Washington

#10.) New York Jets - Taliese Fuaga, OT, Oregon State

#11.) Atlanta Falcons (trade with Minnesota) – Dallas Turner, Edge, Alabama

#12.) Denver Broncos - Bo Nix, QB, Oregon

#13.) Oakland Raiders - Michael Penix, Jr., QB, Washington

#14.) New Orleans Saints - Olu Fashanu, OT, Penn State

#15.) Indianapolis Colts - Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia

#16.) Philadelphia Eagles (trade with Seattle) - Terrion Arnold, CB, Alabama

#17.) Jacksonville Jaguars - Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo

#18.) Cincinnati Bengals - Byron Murphy II, DT, Texas

#19.) Los Angeles Rams - Johnny Newton, DT, Illinois

#20.) Pittsburgh Steelers - Graham Barton, OT, Duke

#21.) Miami Dolphins - Troy Fautanu, OT, Washington

#22.) Seattle Seahawks - Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia

#23.) Detroit Lions (trade with Minnesota) - Jared Verse, Edge, Florida State

#24.) Dallas Cowboys - Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma

#25.) Green Bay Packers - Cooper DeJean, CB, Iowa

#26.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Chop Robinson, Edge, Penn State

#27.) Arizona Cardinals - Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson

#28.) Buffalo Bills - Brian Thomas Jr., WR, LSU

#29.) Minnesota Vikings (trade with Detroit) - Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama 

#30.) Baltimore Ravens - Laiatu Latu, Edge, UCLA

#31.) San Francisco 49ers - Adonai Mitchell, WR, Texas

#32.) Kansas City Chiefs - Jordan Morgan, OT, Arizona

Hope you've enjoyed the Mocking the Detroit Lions 2024 Draft series and this, the Keck Thoughts Official 2024 NFL Mock Draft. And enjoy the draft!

MOCKING THE DETROIT LIONS' 2024 NFL DRAFT: TRADE DOWN SCENARIO

We are just one day away from the 2024 NFL Draft, and we are at the end of our Mocking the Detroit Lions' 2024 NFL Draft series here at Keck Thoughts.

In our previous scenario we explored a potential trade up in Round 1. This time we're going to try to trade down likely out of the first round and see how our draft plays out.

Per usual, an explanation for how I typically handle mock draft simulations for these posts:

• I try to think along the lines of Lions GM Brad Holmes and Head Coach Dan Campbell...but ultimately I'll be making a lot of picks with what I think just makes sense given the circumstances.

• Due to the nature of mock draft simulators being an algorithm and subject to randomness, we must keep in mind that some players may fall in these simulations and be available to me when they probably won't be available for Detroit in real life. Each site also has their own rankings for the players in the draft, so there will be some variance in that alone. This time I opted for Pro Football Network's because I prefer how their draft simulator actually calls you with trade offers, whereas Pro Football Focus' does not.

As I always mention, this is more of a thought exercise to see who the Lions might have available to them and who they might draft in reality. Three years I did three different exercises, three different scenarios, and at various points in those exercises I had Detroit draft Levi Onwuzurike, Alim McNeil, and Amon-Ra St. Brown, all of whom Detroit actually did draft that year. Last year I also had Hendon Hooker and Jahmyr Gibbs to the Lions at various points. So again, that's the kind of thing we're talking about here. 

The draft results are right below this sentence if you just want to take a glance at the actual picks, and after the jump/below the picks is a full recap and breakdown of the simulation and my thinking behind each pick. Enjoy!

DETROIT LIONS MOCK DRAFT SCENARIO: Post-Free Agency Edition

Team Needs: Cornerback, Defensive Line, Interior Offensive Line, Wide Receiver, Safety, Offensive Tackle, Place Kicker, Tight End, Linebacker, Quarterback, Running Back

DRAFT RESULTS

MOCKING THE DETROIT LIONS' 2024 NFL DRAFT: TRADE UP SCENARIO

We are just 8 days away from the 2024 NFL Draft, so let's keep it going with another entry in our Mocking the Detroit Lions' 2024 NFL Draft series here at Keck Thoughts.

In our last scenario we didn't move off of any of Detroit's actual draft positions. This time in an effort to experiment with possible scenarios and to keep learning about other players, we're going to try to trade up in the first round and see how our draft plays out.

Per usual, an explanation for how I typically handle mock draft simulations for these posts:

• I try to think along the lines of Lions GM Brad Holmes and Head Coach Dan Campbell...but ultimately I'll be making a lot of picks with what I think just makes sense given the circumstances.

• Due to the nature of mock draft simulators being an algorithm and subject to randomness, we must keep in mind that some players may fall in these simulations and be available to me when they probably won't be available for Detroit in real life. Each site also has their own rankings for the players in the draft, so there will be some variance in that alone. This time I opted for Pro Football Focus' draft simulator to change things up and because they now allow you to change the slider on which draft board you want to go off of.

As I always mention, this is more of a thought exercise to see who the Lions might have available to them and who they might draft in reality. Three years I did three different exercises, three different scenarios, and at various points in those exercises I had Detroit draft Levi Onwuzurike, Alim McNeil, and Amon-Ra St. Brown, all of whom Detroit actually did draft that year. Last year I also had Hendon Hooker and Jahmyr Gibbs to the Lions at various points. So again, that's the kind of thing we're talking about here. 

The draft results are right below this sentence if you just want to take a glance at the actual picks, and after the jump/below the picks is a full recap and breakdown of the simulation and my thinking behind each pick. Enjoy!

DETROIT LIONS MOCK DRAFT SCENARIO: Post-Free Agency Edition

Team Needs: Cornerback, Defensive Line, Interior Offensive Line, Wide Receiver, Safety, Offensive Tackle, Place Kicker, Tight End, Linebacker, Quarterback, Running Back

DRAFT RESULTS

MOCKING THE DETROIT LIONS' 2024 NFL DRAFT: POST-FREE AGENCY EDITION

The pre-draft season continues, and so does our Mocking the Detroit Lions' 2024 NFL Draft series here at Keck Thoughts.

The Lions have had a moderately active offseason and General Manager Brad Holmes has done a nice job of addressing the biggest needs the Lions had entering March. The secondary has been bolstered with the trade for Carlton Davis and the signing of Amik Robertson, the defensive line has added the talents of D.J. Reader and Marcus Davenport, and the offensive line has been solidified with the re-signing of Graham Glasgow and the signing of Kevin Zeitler. If you notice, those were positions one, two, and three on my Team Needs list.

There's still some work to be done and plenty of quality, veteran free agents are still available. The secondary in particular will need more attention following the release of Cameron Sutton following his arrest warrant for domestic violence.

But Holmes has done such a good job with signings and trades so far that he has positioned himself to draft best player available with every pick. (To be honest that's Holmes' M.O. anyway, but he really made sure he could do what he wants in April.)

Per usual, an explanation for how I typically handle mock draft simulations for these posts:

• I try to think along the lines of Lions GM Brad Holmes and Head Coach Dan Campbell...but ultimately I'll be making a lot of picks with what I think just makes sense given the circumstances.

• Due to the nature of mock draft simulators being an algorithm and subject to randomness, we must keep in mind that some players may fall in these simulations and be available to me when they probably won't be available for Detroit in real life. Each site also has their own rankings for the players in the draft, so there will be some variance in that alone. In this particular exercise I used Pro Football Network's simulator because that's what we used in the previous exercise and I wanted a little consistency between this one and the last one.

And as I always mention, this is more of a thought exercise to see who the Lions might have available to them and who they might draft in reality. Three years I did three different exercises, three different scenarios, and at various points in those exercises I had Detroit draft Levi Onwuzurike, Alim McNeil, and Amon-Ra St. Brown, all of whom Detroit actually did draft that year. Last year I also had Hendon Hooker and Jahmyr Gibbs to the Lions at various points. So again, that's the kind of thing we're talking about here. 

The draft results are right below this sentence if you just want to take a glance at the actual picks, and after the jump/below the picks is a full recap and breakdown of the simulation and my thinking behind each pick. Enjoy!

DETROIT LIONS MOCK DRAFT SCENARIO: Post-Free Agency Edition

Team Needs: Cornerback, Defensive Line, Interior Offensive Line, Wide Receiver, Safety, Offensive Tackle, Place Kicker, Tight End, Linebacker, Quarterback, Running Back

DRAFT RESULTS

MOCKING THE DETROIT LIONS' 2024 NFL DRAFT: PRE-FREE AGENCY EDITION

Annnnnnd we're back! Welcome back to another NFL Draft season here at Keck Thoughts. Getting started a little later than we did last year, but I wanted to get this first exercise done and posted before NFL free agency kicks off.

As usual, some explanation for how I typically handle mock draft simulations for these posts:

• I try to think along the lines of Lions GM Brad Holmes and Head Coach Dan Campbell...but ultimately I'll be making a lot of picks with what I think just makes sense given the circumstances.

• Due to the nature of mock draft simulators being an algorithm and subject to randomness, we must keep in mind that some players may fall in these simulations and be available to me when they probably won't be available for Detroit in real life. Each site also has their own rankings for the players in the draft, so there will be some variance in that alone. In this particular exercise I used Pro Football Network's simulator in large part because Pro Football Focus has seemingly gotten rid of the ability to switch between their simulator using their own rankings and their users' rankings, and currently a lot of PFF's rankings just don't jive with reality (i.e. LSU QB Jayden Daniels always seeming to be available at pick 29).

• I've compiled my personal priority list for what I think Detroit's needs are this offseason, but the more we see how Brad Holmes drafts the more we see he leans more towards who the best player on his board is, oftentimes with disregard for perceived team needs. So we won't be beholden to drafting for needs over best player available.

And as I always mention, this is more of a thought exercise to see who the Lions might have available to them and who they might draft in reality. Three years I did three different exercises, three different scenarios, and at various points in those exercises I had Detroit draft Levi Onwuzurike, Alim McNeil, and Amon-Ra St. Brown, all of whom Detroit actually did draft that year. Last year I also had Hendon Hooker and Jahmyr Gibbs to the Lions at various points. So again, that's the kind of thing I'm talking about here. 

Without further ado, the draft results are right below this sentence if you just want to take a glance at the actual picks, and after the jump/below the picks is a full recap and breakdown of the simulation and my thinking behind each pick. Enjoy!

DETROIT LIONS MOCK DRAFT SCENARIO: Pre-Free Agency Edition

Team Needs: Cornerback, Defensive Line, Interior Offensive Line, Wide Receiver, Safety, Offensive Tackle, Place Kicker, Tight End, Linebacker, Quarterback, Running Back

DRAFT RESULTS