The overall reaction to the Detroit Lions’ 2025 NFL draft class has been pretty polarizing.
Some experts and fans lauded the Lions for taking care of multiple needs, including along the defensive and offensive lines. However, others believe Detroit reached for some picks, and the trade up for Isaac TeSlaa and the lack of an early edge rusher selection also saw heavy criticism.
In a consensus of 24 NFL draft grades done by Rene Bugner, the Lions did not fare well, with the team earning the second-lowest grade point average, which was tied with the Miami Dolphins and just one spot ahead of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Among the grades used to compile that consensus, the Lions received 13 marks of “C+” or worse, with Thor Nystrom of Fantasy Life giving the lone “F” grade.
Well, we now have another “F” grade and it comes from The Athletic’s Austin Mock, who used analytics when determining that mark.
The Lions were one of four teams to get a failing grade from Mock, a list that also includes the Dolphins, New Orleans Saints and Jacksonville Jaguars.
It’s fair to question whether I should doubt the Lions’ draft strategy after the run they’ve been on the past few years, but out of their seven picks, four were considered reaches by our consensus board, including all three in the top 70. They also lost quite a bit of value in the trade market, highlighted by their big move up for board for wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa. They lost the fourth-most value in trades during the draft, and the three teams below them either gained a first-rounder or had the chance to draft Travis Hunter. The players may wind up being good fits, but I still think this was bad process.
These grades are not subjective. They’re based on data and math. Our analyst’s goal today is to put everything together (player value, positional value and trade value) before grading each NFL’s team draft class. How did he do? https://dlvr.it/TKVG3T
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— The Athletic (@theathletic.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 12:01 PM
The biggest issue we had with general manager Brad Holmes’ draft was the lack of an edge rusher pick until the sixth round. The Lions desperately need more help at the position, both for the short and long term, and what the team has done thus far this offseason simply hasn’t been good enough.
Even the biggest doubters of the Lions’ 2025 draft class doubt themselves, as Mock admits here. That’s because Holmes has been so good at drafting that it’s hard to question anything he does over the three-day event.
Since taking over in 2021, a handful of Holmes’ picks have gotten lucrative second contracts, and more are on the way. He’s had to pay so many successful draft picks that it has created financial constraints for Detroit, which isn’t ideal but is most certainly better than never paying homegrown talent, a sign or poor drafting.
Sure, we can all have our doubts about what Holmes does in the draft, but his incredible track record gives him the benefit of the doubt.
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