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The Detroit Lions had one of the most polarizing hauls from the 2025 NFL Draft. Detroit has always done things a little differently under GM Brad Holmes. The Lions have benefited greatly by trusting Holmes’ judgment over the national media and consensus mock drafts.
There is no better evidence for this than the 2023 NFL Draft. The Lions were flamed for bungling that draft, particularly the first-round picks of Jahmyr Gibbs and Jack Campbell.
It did not take long before everyone around the NFL saw the error their ways and praised Holmes for another incredible draft class.
I do not bring that up to suggest that Holmes completely nailed the 2025 draft class. But I do want to underscore that Holmes has more than earned the benefit of the doubt. His track record speaks for itself, as he and Dan Campbell have turned the Lions around in a hurry. Detroit even had arguably their best season in franchise history in 2024.
All of that said, the Lions did make some crucial mistakes during the draft. But will they end up costing them during the regular season?
Below we will discuss the three biggest mistakes that the Lions made during the 2025 NFL Draft.
The Lions started the draft by taking defensive tackle Tyleik Williams from Ohio State in the first round.
Williams was the fifth offensive lineman to be selected in the first round. The pick was surprising for a number of reasons.
First, many NFL fans and analysts spent so much time hyping up an edge rusher in the first round. Ultimately, this pick was bound to be criticized if it was not an edge rusher.
Second, Williams was a slight reach at the bottom of the first round.
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein gave Williams a second-round grade and compared him to Lions tackle Alim McNeill.
Williams will be an immediate plus in run defense, something Detroit places a lot of value on. However, he is a projection as a pass rusher. In this respect, he is similar to McNeill when coming out of college.
In fairness to the Lions, they were able to coach up McNeill and get much more out of him.
Does Williams have to reach that ceiling for this pick to pan out?
Detroit’s third-round pick was almost universally bashed for a couple reasons.
First, almost nobody was familiar with TeSlaa until the Lions selected him. He did not come out of nowhere, but he was not highly regarded during the pre-draft process. That is always a recipe to get fans upset.
Second, the Lions spent a lot to go and get him.
As Mel Kiper explained when giving out his draft grades, the Lions simply spent too much to get a player they liked.
“Detroit’s most questionable move, though, was trading up from No. 102 to No. 70 to take receiver Isaac TeSlaa,” Kiper said. “Good player, but...
