The Detroit Lions are prepping for the upcoming season, and while they did solid in the NFL draft, there are still some holes in their lineup. They’ve gotten mixed reviews on their draft picks, with Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN giving the Detroit Lions a C+ for their draft class, which isn’t so pretty.
Kiper Jr. personally didn’t care for the Lions trading up from No. 102 to No. 70 to take receiver Isaac TeSlaa. “Good player, but he was ranked No. 149 overall on my board. I count 12 receivers ranked above him who were still available — and nine of them still would have been there at the Lions’ original slot,” he stated.
But, now that the draft is behind the Lions, it’s all about filling those remaining holes in their squad. NFL experts and analysts are in agreement on what the team needs to do to get their roster ready for prime time.
Detroit Lions Need Help in 1 Area
In a May 8 feature for PFF, Trevor Sikkema discusses the biggest remaining need for all 32 NFL teams following the draft. Out of all 32 teams, he didn’t find one team that’s really good to go this season without some additions.
“The 2025 NFL Draft represented one of the final opportunities for NFL teams to plug their roster holes before the season begins,” he states in the article. “With that said, we’re taking a look at every team’s biggest remaining roster need as the summer nears.”
For the Lions, it’s so obvious what he thinks the team needs: an edge rusher. Pretty much everyone agrees with this sentiment.
“While rookie Ahmed Hassanein was a good pick-up for the Lions in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, it’s hard to have a lot of faith in the team’s pass rushers beyond (Aidan) Hutchinson,” he stated in the feature. “Josh Paschal earned a 48.0 PFF pass-rush grade in 2024, Marcus Davenport recorded a 64.4 mark and Al-Quadin Muhammad posted just a 61.9 figure.”
Experts Agree on the Detroit Lions’ Biggest Need
Aaron Schatz of ESPN also has a May 8 story out about the biggest post-draft roster holes for all 32 NFL teams. “At this point in the offseason, a roster hole does not necessarily mean the position group has no clear starters,” he noted in the feature. “Most teams have filled the top of their depth charts. But plenty of units have limited depth, even after all the wheeling and dealing.”
For Detroit, again, not a big surprise that he’s pushing for an edge rusher. We can’t lay this all on Hutch, after all.
“After all the injuries they suffered last season, it was a surprise that the Lions didn’t draft an edge rusher until Ahmed Hassanein in the sixth round,” Schatz stated in the piece. “Can the Lions keep an edge rusher rotation healthy behind Aidan Hutchinson — assuming Hutchinson himself can stay healthy?”
He added, “Marcus Davenport has played only six games the past two seasons. Al-Quadin Muhammad is 30 years old, though he had three sacks in nine games in 2024. Josh Paschal has only five sacks in three seasons. The rest of the depth chart is made up of street free agents.”
