Countering the biggest overreaction about the Detroit Lions 2024 NFL Draft moves

The Detroit Lions had a great showing at the the 2024 NFL Draft. They picked some great players, got some steals, made some shocking moves and, best of all, they got better. Don't just take it from me. It's been pretty much the consensus thought from draft experts. 

But there has been a complaint, and it's one that I've seen quite a bit and it's one that I feel is an overreaction. That's the complaint that the Lions gave up too much in their trades. Ok, let's break it all down. Here's each trade that the Lions made during the draft:

• Lions get: 24th pick and a 2025 seventh-round pick
  Cowboys get: 29th and 73rd picks
• Lions get: 126th pick
  Jets get: 2025 third-round pick
• Lions get: 132nd pick and 210th picks
  Eagles get: 164th pick, 201st pick and a 2025 fourth-round pick
• Lions get: 189th pick
  Texans get: 205th and 249th picks

Ok, let's talk about it. Did the Lions give away too many future assets? A third-round pick might have been a little rich, but in the grand scheme of things, the Lions are in a position next year where they don't have a pick in just one round of the draft. It's not like they gave up a first or a second and jammed themselves out of high round picks. 

The other thing is does it really matter at the end of the day when we know that the Lions are more than likely not going to stay at the picks they would have had anyways? Brad Holmes and the Lions have made 12 draft day trades since 2021. Six of them were in 2023 and four of them were in this years draft. That's enough moves to suggest that there's a large pattern there. 

So while the Lions don't have a third round pick at this exact moment, that doesn't mean they won't have one when the draft happens. It feels like an overreaction based off everything we know. If the Lions were routinely picking at their exact spots and rarely traded, then I could see how this would feel more like a problem.

The other thing is that this should really come as no shock. The Lions have clear past of going to get their man. They will do what they have to do to get the players on their board and they just don't care what anyone has to say about it. 

Last year it seemed crazy for them to make some of the picks they made, but then those guys turned out to have Pro Bowl and All-Pro caliber seasons. I'm not saying that's guaranteed to happen again. I'm simply saying the Lions have demonstrated that simply getting the players you like no matter what has a benefit to it more often than not. So yeah, I don't think they gave up too much or missed out on anything on the future side. 

On the current sides, the Lions gave up a 2024 third-round pick along with the 29th pick to move up to the 24th pick so they could select Terrion Arnold. It's hard to hate that based of the fact that he was clearly their number one guy on their board throughout the draft process. 

Arnold was the one player that the Lions had multiple pre-draft meetings with that was expected to be out of their range. When the first 14 picks were offensive players and it pushed Arnold down to their range, they made a move to get their top guy. It's hard to hate that. 

When you look at what they possibly missed in the third-round, the Lions really didn't miss out on much. From pick 73 to to pick 126, only three players the Lions had pre-draft meetings with got drafted. Bralen Trice, Roman Wilson and Malik Mustapha. Trice would have been nice, but having Terrion Arnold is much nicer. Roman Wilson  never made much sense and the Lions got a safety with more upside in Sione Vaki. Again, I don't think the Lions gave up too much.