Dane Brugler’s 2025 NFL mock draft gives the Detroit Lions a first-round pick that we haven’t seen suggested very often.

Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes has said time and time again that they don’t truly approach the draft with immediate needs in mind. He said as much recently during the owners meetings two weeks ago.

“We’re not a needs-based drafting team,” Holme said. “We just get the best football player for us so we don’t really get too fixated on positions.”

Despite that, most of the conversation with the Lions’ first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft has been...

Film observations for LSU DE Sai’vion Jones — a potential Detroit Lions target in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Sai’vion (say-vee-ahn) Jones is a long-levered, heavy-handed defensive end prospect who consistently opens up a can of whoop-ass. His play is the exact style that could appeal to Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes as a fit for Kelvin Sheppard’s defense in the late Day 2 or early Day 3 range. Below are my observations of Jones’ game, broken down into positive traits, areas for development, and additional context from his tape.

LSU DE Sai’vion Jones

Measurables:

• Height: 6-foot-5 -...

With the 31st pick in the Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs select...

Our Pride of Detroit 2025 Community Mock Draft is nearing the end of the first round (we’re doing two full rounds), and as is typically the case, the Kansas City Chiefs are one of the final teams to pick.

Their three-peat was thwarted by the Philadelphia Eagles in embarrassing fashion, leaving the Chiefs with a pretty big chip on their shoulder heading into 2025 season. You know they’re going to use that, saying they’re being disrespected or whatever nonsense Patrick Mahomes and company...

The Lions head coach’s speeches include several elements professors are teaching their students to include in their own assignments.

It’s likely even the most casual football fan has had a fiery Dan Campbell locker room speech come across their social media feed.

The impassioned speeches, going viral week after week as watchers are moved by his powerful, heartfelt words. As part of a new initiative “Peak” that covers leadership and personal development through sports, The Athletic’s Rustin Dodd analyzed some of these clips with the help of speech experts and other members of academia.

“Campbell’s speeches have all the hallmarks...

Checking in with Detroit Lions fans for our latest SB Nation Reacts survey.

We’re back with another edition of our SB Nation Reacts Survey. This week, we’re looking forward to the NFL Draft, and turning to the good folks over at FanDuel Sportsbook to help formulate our question:

What position will the Detroit Lions draft first?

For this question, we are looking for fans to predict the position of the first player the Lions select in the 2025 NFL Draft. To be clear, first player, not the first round. FanDuel Sportsbook has provided Lions fans with six options to choose...

Sorting through the grittiest offensive linemen in the 2025 NFL Draft and looking for Detroit Lions-type guys.

The Grit Index has returned and we’re unveiling the results in a new series of articles. We have already examined the grittiest offensive skill players in the 2025 NFL Draft class, and next up, we take a look at which offensive linemen should be on the Detroit Lions radar.

In a recent article, we detailed how our process of developing the Grit Index has evolved over the past three offseasons, but the CliffsNotes version is that we’ve expanded our tiers from three to...

Guard is one of the Detroit Lions’ biggest needs in the 2025 NFL Draft. Here are some players that may interest them.

Way back during his end-of-season press conference in January, Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes said he would not ignore the team’s offensive line this offseason.

“That’s the engine for us,” Holmes said. “And so, I don’t care how good we ever get on the offensive line, that one right there is too important for not only our team, our quarterback, everything, it’s our identity, man. So, I think just that alone is just – it’s always going...

The Lions are returning several familiar faces at EDGE. Who will improve the most in 2025?

The Detroit Lions are returning several familiar faces at EDGE in 2025. Some of them were battered by injuries, some were late additions, and some just need more time to blossom. Regardless, the Lions have an assortment of players whose production in 2025 will be somewhat of a wild card.

Question of the day: Which Lions pass rusher will make the biggest jump in 2025?

For starters, let’s rule out Aidan Hutchinson—he suffered a broken leg while playing as the best EDGE in...

With the 30th pick in the POD Community Mock Draft, the Buffalo Bills select...

The Buffalo Bills are up next in our 2025 Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft. This year, the Bills are represented by POD commenter BigJShaky.

It’ll be on him to help Buffalo get over the hump. While Detroit Lions fans may be frustrated with how close the Lions have gotten to the Super Bowl over the past two years, consider the Bills’ strife. They’ve had 10+ wins for six straight seasons, won their division five straight times, and have yet to make it to the big...

Meko and Morgan are back on the Pride of Detroit YouTube channel discussing the comments from Lions’ defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, and several other topics as we approach the 2025 NFL Draft.

Meko Scott and I (Morgan Cannon) are back on the Pride of Detroit YouTube channel discussing comments from Detroit Lions’ star edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson on where he is with his injury rehab, along with a few more relevant draft topics as we get closer to the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

After a promising season was cut short in 2024 due to a broken leg...

Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson is in the very last stages of rehab, and explained a new perspective he’s gained from the entire experience.

A couple weeks back, Detroit Lions star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson shared a video of him running at the team facility, indicating he was near the end of the rehab from his broken leg. This past weekend, Hutchinson was at The Masters golf tournament and sat down with reporter Marty Smith, and provided a full update on where he’s at with his injury.

“I’m there. I’d say I’m good,” Hutchinson said. “I’ve got my last...

With the 29th pick in the Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft, the Washington Commanders select...

Now that the Detroit Lions domino has fallen, with Erik Schlitt selecting Boston College edge defender Donovan Ezeiruaku at 28 overall, it’s time to finish out the first round in our 2025 Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft. If you haven’t been following along, this is our site-wide mock draft where commenters from Pride of Detroit act as general managers for several teams. You can catch up on all 28 picks so far here.

We’ve come to the Washington Commanders’ pick. I have...