The 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit: Just Under 8 Weeks Until Touchdown

For the Detroit Lions, the annual NFL Draft, for the most part over the last 20 years, usually means the team’s first-round picks are anywhere from No. 1 to No. 15 – with a few exceptions – based on the Lions’ low positioning in the final standings season after season. Thanks to the Lions’ miraculous past season, the team has the 29th overall pick in the first round this year; only the Ravens, 49ers, and Chiefs will pick lower in the opening round. When the Lions make their seven overall picks – Rounds 1 through 7, barring any trades – in the upcoming Draft (April 25- 27), the eyes of the world will be fixated on the NFL and its huge landing in Detroit, the host city of the three-day pro football extravaganza. With just under eight weeks until the free mega-event kicks off, city, civic, community, business leaders and volunteers are excitingly preparing for the Draft and festivities expected to draw 470,000-plus people to converge on downtown Detroit’s Campus Martius Park, Hart Plaza, and surrounding streets. NFL Draft executives, led by Commissioner Roger Goodell, estimate that between 60 and 70 million people will watch the Draft on ESPN, ABC,...