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The Detroit Lions had one of their best seasons in franchise history in 2024. Detroit finished the regular season 15-2 and won the NFC North division title for the second time ever. They also earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs, another first in franchise history.
Unfortunately, it did not have the ending they hoped for. Detroit lost in their Divisional Round matchup against Washington in a game where they simply could not stop the Commanders on offense. It certainly didn’t help that the Lions had a mash unit of a defense at that point in the season.
Now the Lions must transition into offseason mode and try to address what went wrong this year. That will probably involve a ton of investment on the defensive side of the ball.
Detroit has plenty of options for addressing their defensive needs. The Lions enter the offseason with $46.5 million in cap space and several draft picks to work with. There are a few young players who are due for contract extensions, but Detroit should be able to extend them while also adding some new players.
Below we will explore who the Lions might select in the 2025 NFL Draft according to the PFF mock draft simulator.
Please note that Detroit will receive a third-round compensatory pick after the hiring of Aaron Glenn in New York. This pick is currently not reflected in the PFF mock draft simulator, so we will focus the discussion on the first two rounds.
The fact that Detroit picks an edge rusher in the first round should not be a surprise to Lions fans.
Detroit’s most obvious need on the entire roster is edge rusher. The Lions addressed that need at the trade deadline by acquiring Za’Darius Smith from the Browns. However, there’s no guarantee he even makes the roster in 2025. That’s where Donovan Ezeiruaku comes in.
Ezeiruaku is a productive pass rusher out of Boston College. He has an interesting build at 6-foot-2 and 247 pounds. This is a little bit short for an edge rusher, but Ezeiruaku makes up for it with 34-and-a-half-inch arms and a full suite of pass-rush moves.
The Lions don’t seem to care too much about prospect measurable during the Brad Holmes era. Instead, Detroit seems to prioritize culture fit and college production when evaluating prospects. At least the ones they have drafted over the past few offseasons.
Ezeiruaku was certainly productive in college. He was one of the best pass rushers in the country in 2024, logging 16.5 sacks. He has already showed off his skills at the Reese’s Senior Bowl and seemed to impressive NFL scouts.
Much like Aidan Hutchinson, Ezeiruaku excels at using his extensive list of pass-rush moves to set up tackles, leaving them vulnerable to his counter moves. This is one reason why the Lions may covet him. Hutchinson is routinely double teamed by opponents, so gaining a player opposite of him...
