Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 7
Notable Undrafted Free Agent
- Jerry Jacobs, CB, 13 games/9 starts
- Tommy Kraemer, OG, 9 games/3 starts
- Ryan McCollum, C, 13 games/1 start
- AJ Parker, CB, 13 games/7 starts
- Riley Patterson, K, 7 games/0 starts
- Brock Wright, TE, 10 games/5 starts
Remember how freakin’ AMPED Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell were to select Sewell at No. 7 overall? Boisterous bro hugs, impassioned table slaps, full-throated WOOOOOOs that’d make Ric Flair proud — that draft-night prospect call really had it all. And with Year 1 in the books, Detroit’s new regime deserves a hearty slap on the back for the rookie class as a whole.
Of course, it wasn’t smooth sailing from Day 1, even for the ballyhooed blocker who set off that war room eruption. Much like eventual Offensive Rookie of the Year winner Ja’Marr Chase, Sewell endured some early struggles. While the Bengals receiver had drop issues, the Lions tackle clearly didn’t immediately feel comfortable in his transition to the right side of the line. But like Chase, Sewell eventually settled in to become a dominant force. One thing that appeared to help Sewell get out of his rut: Just before the season kicked off, Taylor Decker suffered a finger injury that landed him on injured reserve, allowing Sewell to return to the blind side for two months. But even after Decker’s activation sent Sewell back to the right side, the rookie thrived. In his final eight games of the season, he allowed just one sack while continually blowing open holes in the ground game. And speaking of second-half surges, St. Brown’s production exploded when the calendar flipped to December. Over the final six weeks of the season, the slot machine racked up the second-most catches in the entire NFL (51), behind only receiver triple-crown winner Cooper Kupp (53). Add in 560 yards (fourth-most) and five touchdowns (tied for second) during this span, and the 17th receiver selected in the 2021 draft suddenly became a fantasy league winner.
While some of the other picks in Rounds 2-4 experienced ups and downs (and injuries), McNeill was a player who offered strong potential on the nose — 330-pounders aren’t supposed to be that athletic. I mean, look at the big man’s bend on this sack! And Holmes really did some fine work in the undrafted free-agent market, with a half dozen players providing Year 1 contributions. The two most notable names: Jacobs, who was the team’s best cornerback before suffering an ACL tear in December, and Patterson, who settled the kicker position by converting 13 of 14 field goal attempts over the final seven weeks of the season.