With the Detroit Lions' 2024 season ending earlier than anyone would have liked, it's on to the offseason. And with that, it's fully into mock draft season earlier than expected going into the playoffs.
Aidan Hutchinson was on track for a season like few others in league history when he suffered a broken fibula and tibia in his left leg in Week 6. Still, he led the Lions in sacks with 7.5 and the second-place finisher (Za'Darius Smith, four sacks) played essentially half a season for the team (eight games) after being acquired at the trade deadline.
Among the early tentpoles of mock draft season each year is the first from former NFL scout and NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah. On Saturday morning, Jeremiah's first mock for 2025 was released.
Lions get 'perfect compliment' to Aidan Hutchinson in Daniel Jeremiah's first 2025 mock
With pick No. 28, Jeremiah had the Lions taking Marshall edge rusher Mike Green.
"It will be huge for the Lions to get Aidan Hutchinson back next season. Green would be a perfect complement with his speed and quickness off the edge. This team values production off the edge and Green had a ton of it during his college career."
Jeremiah mentioned Green's production off the edge as something the Lions value (as if no other team similarly does?). As a redshirt sophomore this past season, he led the FBS in sacks (17.0), sack yardage (144) and tackles by a defensive lineman (84). Those 17 sacks were a Sun Belt single-season record, and he also finished second in the FBS in tackles for loss (23).
In 2023, his first year at Marshall after transferring from Virginia Tech, Green had 4.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss with Pro Football Focus grading him as a top-12 edge defender in the country.
Green is undersized (248 pounds), so in general he needs to add weight as he moves to the NFL. Seemingly within that vein, Al Karsten of Pride of Detroit very lightly questioned his fit with the Lions.
Any concerns about Green being simply a small school stud who padded his stats against Sun Belt competition can pretty much be assuaged by his games this past season against Virginia Tech (two sacks, two tackles for loss, eight pressures) and Ohio State (one sack, one tackle for loss, 83.9 Pro Football Focus pass rushing grade).
Green is among the edge rushers being tied to the Lions at pick 28 in mock drafts beyond Jeremiah's. But Jeremiah thinks his playing style would be perfect opposite Hutchinson.
It's a highlight reel, but here's a look at some of what Green did last season.
