The Detroit Lions made some big investments into their offense at the NFL draft, moving up the board in the third round to grab a highly touted wide receiver and adding another weapon for Jared Goff in the later rounds.
The work continued after the draft ended, with the Lions making a sizable financial commitment to grab a highly regarded undrafted free agent wide receiver. Wide receiver Jackson Meeks is coming off a breakout season at Syracuse, where he topped the 1,000-yard mark and earned some serious NFL buzz.
Jackson Meeks Has Shot at Making Roster
As The Athletic’s Colton Pouncy noted, the Lions have found plenty of talent out of Georgia in the NFL draft before adding a former Bulldogs receiver as an undrafted free agent. Meeks transferred to Syracuse for his final season, where he showed dramatic improvement.
“Oh, you thought the Lions’ Georgia love ended with their draft picks? Meeks, a former Georgia receiver, transferred ahead of the 2024 season in search of more opportunity,” Pouncy wrote. “He found it at Syracuse, reunited with former Georgia assistant Fran Brown. It led to what was by far his most productive season, eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark on 71 receptions with seven touchdowns.”
Pouncy added that Meeks “isn’t the most impressive athlete” with a time of 4.64 seconds in the 40-yard dash, but ranked No. 2 in all of FBS with 21 contested catches. The Lions made a significant investment to land Meeks, Pouncy added.
“The Lions reportedly gave him $200,000 guaranteed, which speaks to how he’s viewed,” Pouncy wrote. “It doesn’t hurt that he’s Za’Darius Smith’s nephew.”
Lions Give More Help to Jared Goff
The Lions added more talent in the draft, moving up in the third round to take Arkansas pass-catcher Isaac TeSlaa before selecting Georgia receiver Dominic Lovett in the seventh. The team also added UMass receiver Jakobie Keeney-James as an undrafted free agent.
Ole Miss tight end Caden Prieskorn, another undrafted free agent, could have a good chance to make the final roster as well. Pouncy wrote that Prieskorn earned a seventh-round draft grade from The Athletic’s Dane Brugler.
“He’s a big-bodied tight end at 6-foot-6, 246 pounds and comes equipped with strong hands and an ability to box out defenders,” Pouncy wrote. “He does lack athleticism, though, and is an older prospect at 25 (will turn 26 in September), which explains why he went undrafted.”
The Lions have added at least one undrafted free agent to their final roster in each of the last 15 years, including some who grew into regular contributors. That includes tight end Brock Wight, who made the final roster in 2021 and went on to appear in 58 games with 27 starts over the last four seasons.
The Lions also made a subtraction to their wide receiver room this week, parting ways with former seventh-round pick Antoine Green. He had missed the 2024 season after suffering a concussion in the preseason, leading to his release with an injury designation.
The Lions re-signed Green to a reserve contract earlier this year, but released him after the NFL draft.
