Open thread: Which 2024 Day 3 draft pick has best chance to succeed?
Open thread: Which 2024 Day 3 draft pick has best chance to succeed?
Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes has been blessed with some high draft capital in his short time with Detroit. And like good general managers do, he’s turned those picks into high-value players like Penei Sewell, Aidan Hutchinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Sam LaPorta.
But what still goes underappreciated about Holmes is his ability to find value in later rounds of the NFL Draft. Day 3, in particular, has been shockingly fruitful for the Lions under Holmes. The obvious example is finding All-Pro receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown in the fourth round, but Holmes’ list of valuable Day 3 contributors is far longer than any Lions general manager I can remember. Consider the following Day 3 picks: Derrick Barnes, Malcolm Rodriguez, James Houston, and Colby Sorsdal.
While that’s only a list of five names, considering most Day 3 picks are either fully special teams or takes considerable time to develop, getting that haul of Round 4-7 picks in three drafts is still pretty impressive, especially when there were only nine total picks. Even Chase Lucas was a strong special teamer before he opted to join the San Francisco 49ers. The only three I haven’t mentioned are seventh-round picks Jermar Jefferson and Antoine Green (the latter of which could have a big role this year), and fifth-round pick James Mitchell.
This year, the Lions made some exciting and unconventional picks on Day 3 of the NFL Draft. Who among them will add to Holmes’ impressive list of late-round successes?
Today’s Question of the Day is:
Which Lions Day 3 pick in 2024 NFL Draft are you most excited about?
My answer: As a quick reminder, here are the the four Day 3 picks:
- Round 4: OL Giovanni Manu
- Round 4: RB Sione Vaki
- Round 6: DT Mekhi Wingo
- Round 6: G Christian Mahogany
Based on what I’ve seen so far from OTAs and the potential of each player’s career, I think I’m most excited about Sione Vaki. Repping with the first and second team in the spring (with Jahmyr Gibbs sidelined), Vaki looked like he belonged with that level of players. He displayed natural hands as a weapon out of the backfield and showed surprising shiftiness for a player of his size.
While I think Vaki’s role will almost certainly be on special teams mainly this year, I do think he has the potential to carve out a modest role on offense and could potentially unseat Craig Reynolds as the team’s RB3.
Of course, we can’t put the cart before the horse with Vaki. He has a ton to learn about a position he barely played at all in college. Learning the nuances of biltz recognition, pass protection, and making his reads is going to take some time. But from everything this coaching staff is currently saying, it sounds like Vaki is well ahead of the typical learning curve.
Which Day 3 pick are you most excited about? Vote in the poll below and explain your choice by scrolling to the comment section at the bottom of this page.