BRUTALLY : Five things that Lions should do before qualifying for 2024 combine season.
Lions have five objectives to meet at the 2024 Combine.
The 2024 NFL scouting combine will begin on Monday, February 26 at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts. The annual pre-draft event will run until March 4, and up to 321 prospects (the total number of players invited by the NFL) may participate. Having said that, the following are five things that the Detroit Lions need to do during the week-long combine: closely examine the cornerbacks. The Lions have a serious need at cornerback going into the 2024 NFL Draft. Cam Sutton, Kindle Vildor, Will Harris, Jerry Jacobs, and the rest of the Detroit cornerback group were selected.
thrashed by opposing receivers throughout the season; therefore, Holmes should make addressing the position a top priority, if not priority No. 1, heading into this April’s draft. Fortunately for Holmes & Co., it looks like this year’s draft class features a deep crop of corners; Detroit, picking with the 29th overall pick, will likely have access to players like Ennis Rakestraw Jr., Kamari Lassiter, and Kool-Aid McKinstry, all of whom are predicted to participate in the combine. Holmes should be closely monitoring those three cornerbacks, as well as the rest of the position group, in Indianapolis.
Compared to the attacking side of the ball, Detroit’s defensive needs are far greater. However, with the uncertainty surrounding Josh Reynolds’ future in the Motor City, it might still use another receiver.
That’s the reason I would want to select a wideout in the latter rounds of the April draft. The Lions now have two third-round picks (at Nos. 73 and No. 92), and it is at this point that I believe the team will address the need for an additional pass-catcher. With one of those two picks, I believe USC’s Brenden Rice, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, would be an ideal target.
Rice and every wideout from the combine who might be selected in the third or fifth round of the April draft are players I would be keeping a careful eye on, if I were Holmes.
Detroit might benefit from more depth at the interior of the offensive line in addition to receiver assistance.
Jonah Jackson and Graham Glasgow, the starting right and left guards for the Lions last season, are both unrestricted free agents this offseason, and there’s no assurance that one of them will return. Holmes has to strengthen the offensive line of the team in the April draft even more because of this.
The Lions could target a number of strong mid-to late-round picks, including Dylan McMahon of N.C. State and Cooper Beebe of Kansas State.
During the combine, my scouts would be closely monitoring the aforementioned position group if I were Holmes.
