The start of the career for 2024 fourth-round pick Giovanni Manu could not have gone worse for the Detroit Lions. The Lions placed the third-year offensive lineman on the NFI yesterday per the league’s transaction wire.
Head coach Dan Campbell clarified at Lions training camp that the injury is not going to be short-term. Manu will miss 12-14 weeks with an undisclosed injury. Campbell said that it popped up during the first day of training camp.
That would put his return right around the team’s bye week in Week 6. Considering he was already competing to find a role on the roster, there is a real chance he might not play another snap for the Lions in 2026.
The Detroit Lions Former Fourth Round Pick Giovanni Manu is Injured
GettyLions’ head coach Dan Campbell
Manu was the 127th pick in the 2024 NFL draft. The team saw him as a high-upside player at tackle. He had a lot of the physical traits needed to handle the spot, but needed fine-tuning, as he came from British Columbia.
He took a redshirt season during his rookie year and did not see the field. However, an injury to Taylor Decker had them starting him in Week 5 of his second season. Manu struggled and was not given another chance that season, despite Decker continuing to face injury concerns.
Entering his third year, Campbell discussed moving him inside to guard to give him a new chance to compete to get on the field. The left guard spot is currently wide open. However, now that he is out for the next 12 weeks, the team has so many options at guard that it is hard to see them circling back to him.
Now, Manu will likely enter his fourth NFL season with limited experience and an undefined role. The team will not talk extension with him, and he will likely be spending his last year in Detroit in 2027. This marks another disappointing 2024 draft pick.
Lions 2024 Draft Class Continues to Provide No Value
The Lions 2024 draft class has been a major disappointment, and it is starting to look like there is nothing that can change about it. Terrion Arnold was the first-round pick, and he was released after being charged with robbery and burglary.
Ennis Rakestraw is the second-round pick. He is entering his third year with the team, but is competing with two stopgap veterans for a starting spot. Injuries have held back his career to this point.
Manu was their next pick. To be fair to the Lions, there were very few hits after he was selected, especially on the offensive line. However, Tarheeb Still, Tryone Tracy, and Austin Booker are some notable names taken shortly after Manu.
Sione Vaki, Mekhi Wingo, and Christian Mahogany round out the class. They might be the best three picks of the bunch, and all three of them could be gone after the 2027 season as well.
The Lions had a great run at drafting prior to this, but this is going to go down as one of the worst classes in recent years.
Lions’ Former Draft Pick Faces Long Recovery After Injury