You can question the picks, but not the results.

Article content

You can question the picks, but not the results.

Article content

Article content

Once again, Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes moved up and down the board during three days of the NFL Draft.

Holmes made three deals to move up in the draft while also getting some late-draft picks for his 2025 class of seven players that may not have hit every need in the eyes of experts, but one he believes will benefit the team going forward.

Article content

“I understand that fans and people on the outside of this building, they naturally have comments, thoughts about the decisions that we make,” Holmes said. “I think the tough part about it is that the people on the outside, they have very limited information about the decisions that we make and we have all the information, which goes into the decision. Also, not just the information that’s available, but also the work that we have to put into it.

“Where right now, if you see something about a player and you have a position, stats PFF (Pro Football Focus), stuff like that, you might even have highlights or you might’ve seen him on television, which is almost a cardinal sin in scouting. You don’t television scout because it’s not the same thing. It’s a lot of people you see on television, you watch the film, it doesn’t look close to it. Those are all the things that I don’t expect anybody else that is not in our shoes to do, but all that stuff that we do, all that information we have, all that work that we do goes into the decision.”

Article content

Following is a look at Detroit’s seven selections in the three-day draft with background on each and comments from Holmes.

Round 1 (28th overall) – Tyleik Williams, defensive tackle, Ohio State University, six-foot-three and 334 pounds.

Skinny – Third-team All-Big Ten player that started 13 games on a team that won the national championship. Missed three games with an injury, but finished with 46 tackles, eight tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks and a pass break up.

Quote – “I don’t want to call him a mirror-image, but I think he’s a lot like the guy that we have now in Alim (McNeil) in terms of being able to catch an edge, rush with power (and) have instincts,” Holmes said. “He has quickness, he can counter. I know his pass-rushing stats aren’t off the chart, but when you watch the tape, you can see that he’s a three-down player.”

Article content

Article content

Round 2 (57th overall) – Tate Ratledge, right guard, University of Georgia, six-foot-seven, 308 pounds

Skinny – Lions move up and three spots and acquired a seventh-round pick (230th overall) while dealing away a second-round pick and a fourth-round picking 2025. Third-team Associated Press All-American and twice named first-team All-SEC that started nine-of-10 games in 2024, but missed four games due to ankle surgery.

Quote – “Obviously, been a starting guard for Georgia for a while,” Holmes said. “Played through some serious toughness, play through some injury stuff, came back, has played at the top level for a long time. I don’t think enough can be said about the level of football that he’s played in. Tough kid, great locker room guy.”

Article content

Round 3 (70th overall) – Isaac TeSlaa, wide receiver, University of Arkansas, six-foot-four, 214- pounds.

Skinny – Lions acquired a 2025 sixth-round pick, later traded away, and 2026 sixth-round pick to move into the third round to make this pick, which cost the team a third-round pick in 2025 and two third-round picks in 2026. After three seasons at Hillsdale College, Michigan native earned Division I deal at Arkansas and played in all 13 games in 2024 with five starts while recording 28 catches for 545 yards and three touchdowns.

Quote – “Saw him at the Senior Bowl when I went down there and hadn’t watched his film yet, but saw how he was a in the run game in the team periods just blocking and his size,” Holmes said. “He’s was just being a pest and he was just (ticking) off the DB’s (defensive backs) and defenders and it just made me want to completely watch the tape and you see a guy that’s just big, long, smooth strider, can accelerate, can run. He’s a hand catcher, can play special teams, can block, so can do a lot of things.”

Article content

Round 5 (171st overall) – Miles Frazier, right guard, Louisiana State University, six-foot-six, 317 pounds.

Skinny – Lions traded picks in the sixth and seven rounds to move into the fifth round to take the three-year starter at LSU. Frazier started all 13 games in 2024, including one a right tackle in the Texas Bowl.

Quote – “There are a lot of kids that come out in the draft that are the same way, but the ones that are smart, and especially that have shown it on film as well, those are the ones that you feel really good about,” Holmes said of Frazier, who he believes could be used a multiple spots across the offensive line.

Round 6 (196th overall) – Ahmed Hassanein, defensive end, Boise State University, six-foot-two, 267 pounds.

Article content

Skinny – Native of Egypt, Hassanein is a two-time All-Mountain West Conference first-team all-star, led the team in 2024 with 9.5 sacks and tied for the team lead with 15.5 tackles for a loss while starting all 14 games and making 48 tackles.

Quote – “He’s got some things to learn, and he’s got a ways to go, but you can make up a lot of things if you’re playing with effort and toughness and physicality and he’s a good athletes, too, so we’re excited about him,” Holmes said.

Round 7 (230th overall) – Dan Jackson, safety, University of Georgia, five-foot-11, 194 pounds.

Skinny – Third-team All-SEC selection in 2024 who appeared in all 14 gams with 13 starts. Jackson posted 64 tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss, two interceptions, three pass breakups, two blocked kicks and a forced fumble.

Article content

Quote – “We’ve always had a like for Dan Jackson just in terms of being a heady safety and who’s gotten his hands on the football and a lot of it is above the neck, but he actually, he’s faster than what a lot of people think,” Holmes said. “He’s been at the senior Bowl, so he put together a nice little year.”

Round 7 (244th overall) – Dominic Lovett, wide receiver, University of Georgia, five-foot-10, 185 pounds.

Skinny – Played in all 14 games with seven starts and led the team with 59 catches for 607 yards and six receiving touchdowns.

Quote – “Dominic Lovett, obviously, he’s another one I’ve been a fan of for a long time,” Holmes said. “One thing about him is that, yes, he has speed, he can do a lot of stuff from the slot, but he’s a really good special teams player, so we’re fired up to get him.”

[email protected]

twitter.com/winstarparker

Article content