Detroit Lions' Jared Goff, Brock Wright share NFL draft memories, tips for 2024 prospects

Brock Wright was lounging around The Henry hotel in Dearborn two years ago watching the NFL draft with some of his Detroit Lions teammates.

Quarterbacks Tim Boyle and David Blough were in the room. Tight end Shane Zylstra was there, too. So was wide receiver Tom Kennedy.

“There was six of us in there and all of us were undrafted,” Wright recalled last week. “I said why are we even watching this thing?”

Wright, an undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame in 2021, just finished his third season as the Lions’ No. 2 tight end and signed a three-year, $12 million deal to stay with the team as a restricted free agent this offseason.

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Boyle and Blough, who went undrafted in 2018 and 2019, respectively, spent parts of two seasons battling to be Jared Goff’s backup. Blough retired to start his coaching career this offseason, while Boyle is currently with the Houston Texans. Kennedy played pro lacrosse before joining the Lions as a priority free agent in 2019. And Zylstra originally signed with the Minnesota Vikings as a UDFA the same year Wright came to Detroit in 2021.

Wright, Kennedy and Zylstra are three of 22 undrafted free agents on the Lions’ current 65-man roster, proving Wright’s point that the draft is just the beginning of a player’s NFL journey and not the only entry into the league.

“I didn’t really have the highest expectations (in the 2021 draft),” Wright said. “I knew that with my college stats and career that it probably would be tough to get drafted. I did perform fairly well at pro day, which helped me get some eyes on me. But really my whole goal was just to be able to show up to an OTAs, show people what I could do and then just take it day by day. That’s what ended up happening and fortunately it worked out.”

Goff was at the other end of the spectrum when he entered the NFL as the No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft, similar to where USC quarterback Caleb Williams is this week.

The Los Angeles Rams traded six draft picks, including future first- and third-rounders, for the choice they used on Goff, and tipped Goff off to their plans long before they made his selection official.

Williams is widely expected to be the No. 1 pick Thursday, after the Chicago Bears traded Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason.

“It still is one of my favorite nights to like think about and talk about,” Goff said of draft night. “I knew maybe like a week in advance that it was likely going to happen. Now, you never know until the pick happens, but that day, the head coach at the time, Coach (Jeff) Fisher, kind of sent me a text that sent me in the direction of knowing that it was going to happen, which was nice of him.

“But yeah, it was cool. It was really fun. All my friends and family there. It was something I’ll never forget. It was in Chicago, and yeah, really enjoyed walking across (the stage) and whoever it ends up being this year, I think we all kind of know who it will be, but it’ll be fun to see.”

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Though they came into the NFL through different doors — Wright got a $10,000 signing bonus as an undrafted free agent, while Goff’s fully guaranteed rookie contract of $27.9 million included an $18.5 million signing bonus — Goff and Wright are both key players now on one of the NFL’s best teams, and both offered similar advice to rookies in this year’s draft:

“Obviously, do your best and have fun and all that,” Goff said. “But try to find people you can rely on and people that are on your team and on your side and don’t have anything to gain. Whether it’s your family or your friends, or different people that are around you, just create a certain bubble of security that allows you to be yourself and also allows you not to be taken advantage of.”

“Just be a sponge and absorb all the knowledge you can, just try and improve every day,” Wright said. “You just focus on yourself, do the best you can do, things will play out how they should.”

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NFL draft preview: Linebacker

LBs on the roster: Alex Anzalone, Derrick Barnes, Jack Campbell, Malcolm Rodriguez, Jalen Reeves-Maybin.

Dave Birkett’s top 3 LB prospects: 1. Edgerrin Cooper, Texas A&M; 2. Junior Colson, Michigan; 3. Payton Wilson, North Carolina State.

Other players with Michigan ties: Michael Barrett, Michigan; Chase Kline, Eastern Michigan; Aaron Brule, Michigan State; Abe Swanson, Grand Valley State; Devin Nicholson, Kent State (Detroit Cass Tech); Julius Wilkerson, Davenport.

Day 3 sleeper: Sam Mathews, Texas A&M.

Recent Lions draft picks at LB: 2023 — Jack Campbell (first round). 2022 — Malcolm Rodriguez (sixth round). 2021 — Derrick Barnes (fourth round). 2020 — none. 2019 — Jahlani Tavai (second round).

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions share NFL draft memories, tips for 2024 prospects