Draft preview: The Lions enter the draft with picks 28, 60, 102, 130, 196, 228, and 244. Brad Holmes continued to show last year that he is more than willing to move around the board and make trades during the draft. They don’t really have the extra capital to help them move up, but they won’t be afraid to dip into their 2026 picks if needed. This is a solid roster on paper, so there aren’t many obvious holes, and it might be tough for rookies to make an immediate impact. There probably won’t be much from this draft class that would shake up the Lions fantasy projections for 2025 either. As for positions of need, I think you would be looking at edge, guard, defensive tackle, receiver, and safety. But you could make a case for other positions as well if you want to truly stick to the board and go best available. Picking this late in round 1 makes it hard to nail down who will still be available. Here is a look by position at what we could expect.

QB: It’s unlikely the Lions draft a quarterback even with a late round pick. QB Jared Goff is signed long term. It seems like they are going to let QB Hendon Hooker and free agent addition QB Kyle Allen complete for the backup job behind Goff. It doesn’t look like there is room for a rookie at this time.

RB: With the Gibbs/Montgomery combo returning intact there is little need to draft a running back. They took RB Sione Vaki in round 4 last year. He turned into a nice special teams player. Maybe this year he could carve out a small role on offense. The Lions hosted Lan Larison of UC Davis on a pre draft visit. He projects as a UDFA, which makes sense as I just don’t see them using a pick on a running back.

WR/TE: Wide receiver is a sneaky position of need for Detroit. WR Tim Patrick is back as the third receiver but only on a one year deal. WR Kalif Raymond is a nice role player. Then there isn’t much on the depth chart after that. WR Amon-Ra St. Brown is signed long term. It sounds like they will pick up the 5th year option on WR Jameson Williams, but with St. Brown already making big bucks, can they afford to extend Williams? Do they want to? A mid round pick on a receiver would make sense. They hosted Isaac TeSlaa, a big receiver from Arkansas, on a pre draft visit. But there was some late buzz as they also hosted Matthew Golden, a speedy receiver from Texas who is projected as a first rounder. That would certainly be interesting, and it would make the future of Williams in Detroit cloudy. It would be a surprise if they used a pick on a tight end. If they do, it might be an indication that they want to use more two tight end formations, or that they aren’t sure about eventually signing TE Sam LaPorta to an extension. I think it’s too early to worry about that.

OL: Guard is maybe the one position where someone they pick at 28 would be expected to start right away. They lost Kevin Zeitler in free agency and haven’t added any linemen this offseason. They have some young but unproven players that could battle it out for that guard spot if they don’t address it in the draft. They hosted Grey Zabel of North Dakota State on a predraft visit. He might be available at 28. A guard who could eventually slide to center would be a bonus. Another option could be to draft a tackle who could begin his career as a guard and eventually replace Taylor Decker at tackle.

DL: You probably know the story here. The Lions seem to always be looking for another edge rusher to pair up with Aidan Hutchinson. Hopefully Hutchinson will be back at 100% this fall. Shemar Stewart of Texas A&M is a popular prospect that the Lions have hosted on a pre draft visit. They would probably need to trade up to get him. James Pearce of Tennessee is a more realistic option among the edge rushers but he might not make it to 28 either. I have seen some mock drafts that have the Lions going with a defensive tackle at 28. That unit was decimated by injuries last year, which means reinforcements would be a good thing.

LB: The Lions seem pretty set with their off ball linebackers. You wouldn’t want to rule out a mid to late round pick to compete for a backup spot and special teams role, but it doesn’t seem like a need.

DB: The Lions need a third safety to replace the departed Ifeatu Melifonwu who left as a free agent. In round 1, probably not, but I would consider it in any round after that. Corner isn’t as much of a need this year after they doubled up on it in last year’s draft, plus they added DJ Reed as a free agent. But there is always attrition at corner which the Lions know as well as anyone, so I wouldn’t be stunned if they took one in the middle rounds.

PK: I would assume they will bring a kicker in as a UDFA to keep through training camp, but PK Jake Bates has this job locked down after a stellar 2024 season.

That’s it for now. Next month we will review the draft.

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