Lions Trade Up for Jared Verse in Final Peter Schrager Mock

Peter Schrager has released his final 2024 NFL mock draft.

The Detroit Lions are likely seeking to find another edge rusher in this year's draft to play alongside Aidan Hutchinson.

This offseason, general manager Brad Holmes signed free agent Marcus Davenport, a player that has hgh upside, but has dealt with a myriad of injuries the past couple of seasons.

The team is also counting on third-year outside linebacker James Houston to have a bounce back season, after missing most of 2023 with a fractured ankle.

NFL Network analyst Peter Schrager, who only releases two mock drafts annually, is among the most connected insiders, regularly contacting league excutives, scouts and front office personnel members.

In his final 2024 mock draft, Detroit targets one of the top edge rushers in this year's draft class.

Over the past 24 hours, rumors have started to swirl that Detroit is among several teams that could make the decision to trade up from No. 29.

Schrager explained, "The Detroit crowd goes wild as the Lions get aggressive and give up a third-round pick (No. 73 overall) to move up eight spots for Verse, a physical presence on the edge who fits as a complement to Aidan Hutchinson."

Verse recorded 18 sacks and 30 tackles for loss over two seasons playing collegiately for the Florida State Seminoles.

Lions take into account level of competition draft prospect competed against

Appearing on 97.1 The Ticket, head coach Dan Campbell expressed the level of competition a prospect played against is factored in when making decisions to potentially add the player to teh team.

“Yeah, that’s part of it. That is a significant part of it," said Campbell. "There’s a couple of guys I can think of off the top of my head, I’m not gonna name who they are. They, you know, that’s part of the evaluation process. With that, you have to project. There is a level of projection. ‘I see this, I see the talent, I see the ability, I see the character, but what does that look like when he comes to the NFL?' and how does he handle that? How does he respond to that?

"You do, you have to have a level of projection in what you believe the player really can do. It’s really not so much about, when you see those players’ projection, it’s not about right now. It’s about next year," Campbell continued. "A year from now what does he look like? If we believe that, what is the appetite? Where do we really believe he’s worth getting at. And so that’s kind of where we’ve put those players. It’s our level of conviction, certainly, if it goes up then they get pushed up. If not, then maybe they’re a little lower.”