The Lions had a long-term plan to net Tyleik Williams in the draft, and it's a good thing they did, because he wouldn't have lasted much longer
There were a lot of instant reactions on Thursday night when the Detroit Lions drafted Ohio State defensive tackle Tyleik Williams with the 28th pick. Some were elated and other were upset he wasn't an edge rusher. I found myself somewhere in the middle, wondering if the Lions had drafted Williams as a reaction to […]
There were a lot of instant reactions on Thursday night when the Detroit Lions drafted Ohio State defensive tackle Tyleik Williams with the 28th pick. Some were elated and other were upset he wasn't an edge rusher.
I found myself somewhere in the middle, wondering if the Lions had drafted Williams as a reaction to the top four interior defensive linemen going off the board and finding themselves in a spot where they might not be in love with any of the edge rushers.
That was not the case. The Lions have been in on Williams for some time now. They had a formal at the combine with him and also had him in for a top-30 visit. They also maintained contact with him along the way and told him that if he was there when they picked up, there was a good possibility they were taking him.
Learning all that personally changed my thoughts on the selection. I still think there was a change at a great player with Jihaad Campbell, but they may have netted a great player in Williams anyway.
I've also been a fan of the team going to get their guy if they really liked him, and it's a good thing they didn't listen to the draft experts and try to grab him in the second round, because the likelihood of him being there was going to be very low.
While Williams was doing all these things with the Lions and hearing about how they would probably take him if he were there, he was also hearing that same thing from the Bills, who picked just a couple of picks later at 30.
That pretty shows that while he was in the 40's on most experts and writers boards, he was high on the Lions board the whole time. Maybe even at the top.
6-round Detroit Lions mock draft, The Lions have been basically telling us who they like the whole time
The first round of the 2025 NFL Draft is in the books, and the Detroit Lions walked out with defensive tackle Tyleik Williams from Ohio State. The Lions had a formal meeting with Williams at the NFL Combine and then had him out for a Top-30 visit. In the past few years, the Lions have […]
