Lions May Have Tried a Sneaky Move in the Draft That Didn’t Work

The 2025 NFL draft has come and gone, and the Detroit Lions‘ choices are getting mixed grades from NFL analysts and experts. While the team’s choice to draft defensive tackle Tyleik Williams as the No. 28 overall pick in the first round has gotten plenty of praise, as it should, there are some concerns about the team’s edge rusher situation.

It’s possible the Lions wanted to draft a certain edge rusher, but things didn’t go as planned.

An Interesting Detroit Lions Scenario

In an April 28 feature for A to Z Sports, Mike Payton says that he has a “hunch” the Lions tried to trade up for a particular edge rusher. In the article, Payton says that he believes “the Lions tried to trade up for Texas A&M edge rusher Shemar Stewart on Thursday night.”

Why does he think that? Payton explains that one reason is because on day two, Lions general manager Brad Holmes talked about trading up when questioned about edge rushers.

Holmes comments were, “I don’t need to get into specifics, but there were times we made attempts to get one, and you just – they got picked before, you couldn’t get up. It takes two to trade.”

So, it sounds like the Lions tried to trade up, but it didn’t shake out as planned. Why does Payton think it was for Stewart?

“It’s all based on the top-30 visits,” Payton stated. “The Lions really seem to love picking the guys they have in for those visits. Isaac TeSlaa and Tyleik Williams are more proof of that. We’ll probably find Tate Ratledge and Miles Frazier came in too at some point.”

He added, “The Lions had just three edge rushers in for 30 visits, and only one of them was a first-round guy. That was Stewart. He wound up going 17th to the Bengals.”

Again, Payton stresses that this is just a “hunch,” but it does make sense. What could have been.

Detroit Lions’ Tyleik Williams Has ‘Size, Strength and Athleticism’

There’s no use crying over what could have transpired to get a solid edge rusher, and the Lions should be happy with their solid pick of Williams. In general, that choice is getting positive feedback from draft experts.

“While Tyleik Williams doesn’t win as a pass rusher consistently, he fits the Lions’ need for pocket pushers from the interior to let Aidan Hutchinson clean up on the edge,” Mason Cameron of PFF states in a May 2 piece. “Despite being a bit of a raw talent, Ahmed Hassanein brings effort and physicality at the point of attack, which will lead to him being a favorite of Lions coaches, even though he lacks elite athletic traits.”

Williams has the stats, too. During the Ohio State Buckeyes’ national championship 2024 season, Williams clocked 46 tackles, eight tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. He also had an 88.6 run grade from Pro Football Focus, ranking No. 4 among all FBS interior defensive linemen.

“His combination of size, strength and athleticism gives him a high ceiling, but inconsistency is his biggest issue,” Bleacher Report’s NFL Draft Scouting Department stated. “He’ll have eye-popping reps on film and then get beat on similar reps later in the same game. With that being said, his traits are pretty impressive.”