Recap: Lions trade up to take cornerback; Detroit sets a record
Recap: Lions trade up to take cornerback; Detroit sets a record
It was an exciting first round of the 2024 NFL Draft as the Detroit Lions moved up from No. 29 to No. 24 to take Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold, who has already endeared himself to Lions fans.
When Detroit made its bid for the draft, they told the NFL that people would show up for a big event and they proved that tonight.
At the end of the night, commissioner Roger Goodell said Detroit could take aim at the overall record this weekend.
Round 1, Pick 32: Panthers trade up to take WR Xavier Legette, South Carolina
The Buffalo Bills had already traded down with the Chiefs and have now done so again, so the Carolina Panthers are taking South Carolina WR Xavier Legette.
The Bills get the 33rd pick.
Round 1, Pick 31: 49ers select WR Ricky Pearsall, Florida
The San Francisco 49ers selected Florida WR Ricky Pearsall, who also played at Arizona State.
Round 1, Pick 30: Ravens take CB Nate Wiggins, Clemson
Like the Lions, the Baltimore Ravens were in the market for a defensive back and they took Clemson CB Nate Wiggins.
Round 1, Pick 29: Cowboys choose OT Tyler Guyton, Oklahoma
This was supposed to be the Lions' pick but they traded this pick and No. 73 to the Cowboys.
The Cowboys chose Oklahoma OT Tyler Guyton.
Round 1, Pick 28: Chiefs trade up, pick WR Xavier Worthy, Texas
The Kansas City Chiefs traded with the Buffalo Bills to move up to take Texas WR Xavier Worthy.
Worthy ran a 4.21 40 at the Combine, the fastest in two decades, according to ESPN.
Round 1, Pick 27: Cardinals take Michigan native, DE Darius Robinson, Missouri
The Cardinals have taken a local kid, Canton High School DE Darius Robinson, who played for Missouri.
With the draft in his hometown, of course Robinson was in Detroit. He told ESPN. "This is an amazing opportunity. I want to thank the Arizona Cardinals for believing in me. It's time to go to work."
Round 1, Pick 26: Buccaneers select OL Graham Barton, Duke
The Buccaneers have opted to select Duke OL Graham Barton.
If you think that's a lot of offensive players taken in this round, you'd be right.
Round 1, Pick 25: Packers pick OT Jordan Morgan, Arizona
The Packers pick Arizona OT Jordan Morgan.
Round 1, Pick 24: LIONS TRADE UP, take CB Terrion Arnold, Alabama
While they were in a commercial break, the Lions traded with the Cowboys to move up to take Alabama CB Terrion Arnold.
Arnold is in Detroit and told ESPN, "I'm right where I need to be, I'm home. Detroit, man, you're getting a talented football player who's an even better person off the field."
What, you thought all that talk about them trading out of the first round when the draft was in Detroit was real?
Round 1, Pick 23: Jaguars pick WR Brian Thomas Jr., LSU
The Jaguars finally get to pick and they take LSU WR Brian Thomas Jr.
Thomas is in Detroit and told ESPN, "Just being able to be from Baton Rouge and come do this with my brothers, Malik and Jayden, it's a blessing to have this opportunity."
Round 1, Pick 22: Eagles select CB Quinyon Mitchell, Toledo
The first defensive back off the board goes to the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 22 and it's Toledo's Quinyon Mitchell.
ESPN said Mitchell is the most decorated player in Toledo history.
"It's a big moment for me," Mitchell told ESPN.
Round 1, Pick 21: Dolphins take DE Chop Robinson, Penn State
The Miami Dolphins have gone back to defense but not a defensive back, picking Penn State DE Chop Robinson.
On ESPN, they said that Robinson was originally called Pork Chop because he was 14(!) pounds when he was born.
Round 1, Pick 20: Steelers select OL Troy Fautanu, Washington
The Pittsburgh Steelers head back to the offensive side of the ball, selecting Washington OL Troy Fautanu.
Round 1, Pick 19: Rams pick EDGE Jared Verse, Florida State
Back to defense we go as the Rams, making a first-round pick for the first time since 2016 when they selected quarterback Jared Goff, take Florida State EDGE Jared Verse.
Round 1, Pick 18: Bengals pick OT Amarius Mims, Georgia
The Bengals end the defensive player streak at three players, going with Georgia OT Amarius Mims.
Round 1, Pick 17: Vikings trade up again, take OLB Dallas Turner, Alabama
It's a busy night for the Vikings, who made a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars to move up to take Alabama OLB Dallas Turner.
Turner is in Detroit and told ESPN, "I wasn't expecting it, to be honest. I'm ready to be a Viking!"
Round 1, Pick 16: Seahawks select DT Byron Murphy, Texas
The Seattle Seahawks have now made it a streak of two defensive players taken, choosing Texas DT Byron Murphy.
And look at Detroit, setting a new record!
Round 1, Pick 15: Colts take first defensive player, DE/OLB Laiatu Latu, UCLA at No. 15
The Colts have broken the streak, taking the first defensive player, UCLA DE/OLB Laiatu Latu, with the 15th pick.
Had Latu not had a neck injury, he would likely have been a top-10 pick.
"It's an out-of-body experience," Latu told ESPN. "I can't understand how I'm feeling, my knees are weak, I'm shaking."
Round 1, Pick 14: Saints select OT Taliese Fuaga, Oregon State
The run on players on offense continues as the New Orleans Saints select offensive lineman Taliese Fuaga from Oregon State.
Mel Kiper Jr. said Fuaga only allowed one sack in his career.
Round 1, Pick 13: Raiders take TE Brock Bowers, Georgia
The Raiders were probably disappointed that so many quarterbacks were taken before they picked but they got a pretty nice consolation prize in Georgia tight end Brock Bowers.
Round 1, Pick 12: Broncos pick QB Bo Nix, Oregon
The Broncos were considered to be in the mix for a quarterback and confirmed that by picking Oregon's Bo Nix.
That makes six quarterbacks taken in the first round, the first time that has happened since 1983.
It is also the first time in history that five quarterbacks have gone in the first 10 picks.
Round 1, Pick 11: Jets select OT Olu Fashanu, Penn State
The Jets, who traded down one pick, selected OT Olu Fashanu from Penn State.
Round 1, Pick 10: Vikings trade up to get QB J.J. McCarthy, Michigan
The Vikings made a deal with the New York Jets so they could move up and take Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
ESPN says it is the first time the Vikings have taken a quarterback in the top 10.
Round 1, Pick 9: Chicago Bears select WR Rome Odunze, Washington
It's back-to-back picks from the Washington Huskies.
The Bears took quarterback Caleb Williams first overall and have now gotten him a weapon, wide receiver Rome Odunze.
Odunze told ESPN about playing with Williams, "I'm thrilled, I got to watch him play from across the sidelines and I know how special he is. I'm so excited to get to work from day one and go do something special."
Round 1, Pick 8: Atlanta Falcons choose QB Michael Penix, Washington
Atlanta has quarterback Kirk Cousins but decided not to pass on another quarterback, picking Michael Penix out of Washington.
Michigan fans are quite familiar with Penix, having seen him at Indiana and Washington.
Round 1, Pick 7: Tennessee Titans take OT JC Latham, Alabama
Alabama OT JC Latham becomes the second offensive lineman taken in the draft, heading to the Tennessee Titans at No. 7.
Round 1, Pick 6: New York Giants take WR Malik Nabers, LSU
It's been a good draft already for LSU as they had their second player taken, wide receiver Malik Nabers, who goes to the New York Giants.
Some pundits consider Nabers to be the best receiver in the draft.
On the inside of his suit jacket, Nabers had photos of everyone in his life who has impacted him.
Nabers told ESPN, "Being a receiver at LSU, you gotta come in and be a dog, so I gotta come in and be that."
Round 1, Pick 5: Los Angeles Chargers pick OT Joe Alt, Notre Dame
The Chargers did not trade out of their pick either and new coach Jim Harbaugh will have a big offensive lineman, Joe Alt from Notre Dame, on his side.
Round 1, Pick 4: Arizona Cardinals pick WR Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State
The Cardinals kept their pick and took the first non-quarterback of the night, receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. out of Ohio State.
Harrison acknowledged that there are a lot of highly rated receivers in this year's draft, telling ESPN, "It's an honor to be first. I'm just trying to be the best player I can be."
Obviously Harrison's dad was an incredible player in his own right but Marvin Jr. is set to make a lot more money in this era.
Round 1, Pick 3: New England Patriots select QB Drake Maye, North Carolina
Right now it's 3-for-3 in quarterbacks as the New England Patriots continue their search to find the next Tom Brady, selecting North Carolina's Drake Maye.
"Anything keeping score, I play to win," Maye told ESPN. "Let's go, Boston!"
Round 1, Pick 2: Washington Commanders take QB Jayden Daniels, LSU
Jayden Daniels becomes the second quarterback off the board, going to the Washington Commanders.
Daniels' future is so bright, he had to wear shades.
"I'm a hard worker, I can't wait," Daniels told ESPN.
Round 1, Pick 1: Chicago Bears take QB Caleb Williams, USC
Surprising absolutely no one, the Chicago Bears got their new quarterback, USC's Caleb Williams.
The only surprise was they took so much time to make their pick.
Also no surprise, the fans booed commissioner Roger Goodell again.
Dayna Williams, Caleb's mom, told ABC, "I'm really speechless but it's like a move I wanted to watch and I finally got to watch. It's a dream come true."
Detroit shows up and Eminem hangs with the commissioner
If you're not already downtown and inside the NFL Draft footprint, you had better make plans to go somewhere else to check out the draft as they are at capacity.
That was a cute little opening bit with Detroit's own Eminem and commissioner Roger Goodell.
Kind of glad that Goodell is not going to do a rap battle with Eminem.
It is fun to see current Lions Aidan Hutchinson, Amon-Ra St. Brown and JA-RED GOFF, plus Lions legends Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson.
It's finally here: The 2024 Draft in the Motor City!
The Lions already have been busy this week, signing wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and offensive lineman Penei Sewell to long-term contract extensions.
But Lions fans will likely have to wait a while before their team makes its first-round pick -- unless general manager Brad Holmes decides to move up from the 29th pick.
Before then, you can check out what the Lions have going on at the NFL Draft Experience.
Even if you're not that into football, you might want to head downtown for all the draft parties.
Follow along here for live updates from Detroit News contributor Dana Wakiji.
NFL Draft
▶ When: Thursday-Saturday
▶ Where: Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza, Detroit
▶ Schedule: Round 1 — Thursday, 8 p.m. Rounds 2-3 — Friday, 7 p.m. Rounds 4-7 — Saturday, noon
▶ TV: ESPN, ABC, NFL Network, ESPN Deportes
▶ Lions picks: 29, 61, 73, 164, 201, 205, 249
