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NFL draft live updates, Day 3: Detroit breaks another NFL draft record
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- NFL draft live updates, Day 3: Detroit breaks another NFL draft record
Today is the third and final day of the 2024 NFL draft in Detroit .
Rounds 4-7 take place starting at noon and, while there may not be many recognizable names getting drafted, there could be hidden gems for Detroit Lions and the other 31 NFL teams to find. Either way, the NFL Draft Experience is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. today for fans who want to come downtown.
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More: NFL draft 2024 live tracker: All picks from Rounds 4-7 in Detroit
Keep up with our live updates on what's happening on Day 3 at the NFL draft.
A new record!
Here's the latest weather for Detroit from the National Weather Service
This Afternoon
Partly sunny, with a high near 78. Breezy, with a southwest wind 18 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph.
Tonight
A chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2am. Increasing clouds, with a low around 64. Southwest wind 14 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
— Matthew Dolan
Michigan football 's Mike Sainristil hoped for 1st round NFL draft pick. Then he waited.
On Friday, for the second night in a row, 23-year-old Mike Sainristil, sat in the middle of a long sofa that faced a pair of giant television screens and waited. Dozens of family members and friends — his parents, his siblings, his girlfriend, cousins, neighbors from back home in Everett, Massachusetts, a guy from his old Pop Warner league ― surrounded him, waiting, too, wanting to be part of his big moment.
Family and friends celebrate as former Michigan defensive back Mike Sainristil announces that he has been drafted by Washington Commanders in the second round at his NFL Draft watch party in Ann Arbor on Friday, April 26, 2024.
The clock ticked, teams chose their players and Sainristil, his face partly shielded by sunglasses, looked straight ahead at the TV.
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That Sainristil, a defensive back for the national championship Michigan football team and two-time team captain would be drafted into the NFL along with more than 200 other hopefuls was a certainty. The question was when he might be selected. Even though most analysts predicted he'd be chosen in the second round of the draft on Friday, he'd thought he could go during Thursday's first round. "As a competitor, it's the mindset, of 'I'm better than everyone that got chosen before me," he said later, though he added, "at the end of the day, those guys earned the right to be where they are just like myself."
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— Georgea Kovanis
Damar Hamlin at bill signing with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
The Rogers family came to the Corner Ballpark on Saturday morning to see Buffalo Bills star Damar Hamlin at an event with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer where she signed legislation requiring schools to develop more comprehensive cardiac emergency response plans.
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Tom, 65, and Carla, 62, wore shirts in support of the athlete who suffered a cardiac arrest on live television back in January of 2023 during a game. Carla's shirt read "Pray3rs for Damar" — the "3" replacing the "e" to represent Hamlin's jersey number. Tom's shirt read "Show love, it costs nothing" with a figure of 3 fingers in behind the font.
"I just told him I love him," Carla said. "He's our walking miracle."
Tom said he's only cried at two games in his life; the game when Hamlin went down and the game when he returned.
— Eric Guzmán
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Saturday brings out families for final day of NFL draft
It is Day 3 of the NFL draft in Detroit, and it's all about the families.
Thousands of parents and children descended on downtown Detroit on Saturday morning to check out the many football-themed activities, games and special displays. They weren't deterred by the early morning rain showers, which ended shortly before the gates opened at 9 a.m.
Hart Plaza near the riverfront was especially busy at midday, with long lines for activities like a football passing contest and a pop-up gallery from the Pro Football Hall of Fame. There also were numerous vendor displays, including for free samples of Gatorade's newish energy drink Fast Twitch.
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Among the visitors were Carl Hall, 36, of Detroit, and his nearly 2-year-old son, Gus.
Carl Hall of Detroit and his nearly 2-year-old son, Gus, navigated the crowd near Hart Plaza in downtown on Day 3 of the NFL Draft Saturday, April 27, 2024.
Because Hall had to work on Thursday and Friday and bedtime in their household starts around 8 p.m., Saturday was the one and only shot at experiencing the draft.
"We tried to see (Lions player) Amon-Ra St. Brown , but the line was full," he said. "Now we're just going to wander around."
Tim Harms, 46, of Grand Haven, was also there with his son and his son's friend, both 11. They visited the draft late Friday afternoon and decided to return Saturday.
"We were hoping for smaller lines, but it's about the same," he said.
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Nearby was Troy Barron, 47, of Canton, along with his wife and teenage son, who were also trying to navigate the big crowd.
"Come in early and get out early, it's probably going to get busy today," Barron said.
— JC Reindl
No draft-related arrests on 2nd day of NFL event downtown
Downtown Detroit enjoyed another day of peaceful NFL draft revelry Friday, Detroit police said as they geared up to monitor large crowds for a third and final day.
There were no draft-related arrests inside or on the periphery of the fan zone spanning from Cadillac Square to Hart Plaza, police Cpl. Dan Donakowski said of the event's second day.
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The draft has drawn so many people downtown that it set an attendance record of 275,000 on the first night and reached capacity on both of its first two days.
Detroit police have significantly increased patrols in the area surrounding the draft with backup from county, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. Metal detectors are stationed at gate entrances as well as sidewalks near the event.
Two people were arrested for minor incidents outside the fan zone during the event's first night, Donakowski said.
He also reported a shooting that wounded two men Saturday afternoon near an ancillary event for youth , but said it was accidental and not draft-related. The men were expected to survive.
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— Violet Ikonomova
Raising the next generation of Lions fans
Traveling down to Detroit from a city near Lansing, Elizabeth and Bill Wilson wanted to make sure their 2-year-old twins, donning blue Lions gear, could share the rare experience of being at the NFL draft in Detroit.
Bill, a longtime Detroit Lions fan, said he hasn't missed a game in 22 years.
"It's probably never going to return to Detroit I don't think and it's something they can talk about when they're older, even though they're not going to remember it, but I mean, I went seeing the Celtics and the Pistons when I was 3 years old at the Silverdome. So I can say I've seen Larry Bird, even though I don't remember it. So it's a memory for us that we got to take on here," Bill Wilson said.
Elizabeth and Bill Wilson with their children William and Charlotte at the third and final day of the NFL draft in Detroit Saturday, April 27, 2024.
Elizabeth added that the family watches games together and wanted the kids to be present for a one-time experience.
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"It's an experience you won't always get to have. They may be little, but it's worth it for them to experience and to experience it with them," Elizabeth Wilson said.
— Dana Afana
Will NFL draft in Detroit set another attendance record?
Day one of the NFL draft brought over 275,000 attendees downtown. The turnout was an NFL record.
Day two saw over 230,000 attendees, according to counts provided by a public relations firm working with the NFL. On the first two nights, the crowd reached maximum capacity , causing staff to pause entry.
With 100,000 more visitors Saturday, Detroit could break another record for the all-time NFL draft attendance. The current record is held by Nashville when during the 2019 draft in the Tennessee city, over 600,000 fans participated in draft events over the course of three days.
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— Clara Hendrickson, Paul Egan and Eric D. Lawrence
Soggy start to final day of NFL draft in Detroit
NFL draft staff on Griswold Street wear ponchos during a wet start to the third and final day of the football event in downtown Detroit on April 27, 2024.
Downtown Detroit saw some rain Saturday morning on the final day of the NFL draft in the city. But the sun is expected to come out this evening as temperatures climb during the day.
At around 9:30 a.m. — 30 minutes after the NFL Draft Experience opened to visitors — a steady stream of mostly Lions fans made their way down Griswold Street. The ran had stopped by then, but the wind blew against their football jerseys.
According to the National Weather Service forecast for downtown Detroit, showers are likely before 11 a.m. and a thunderstorm is possible with a continued chance of showers and thunderstorms until 2 p.m. The day will be mostly cloudy with a high near 77 degrees. Some wind gusts are possible, potentially reaching 29 mph.
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More: Your guide to 2024 NFL draft in Detroit: Registration, map, parking, things to do and more
— Clara Hendrickson
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: NFL draft in Detroit live updates, Day 3
