The one Lions 2025 draft pick that we just don't get
The Detroit Lions had a solid 2025 NFL Draft. I know not everyone is going to agree with that because some are still mad Brad Holmes didn't go get that edge rusher in the first round. What he did get was their starting nose tackle of the future and a guy who can fill in […]
The Detroit Lions had a solid 2025 NFL Draft. I know not everyone is going to agree with that because some are still mad Brad Holmes didn't go get that edge rusher in the first round.
What he did get was their starting nose tackle of the future and a guy who can fill in for Alim McNeill for now, an immediate starter at right guard, their new starting X-Receiver, and an offensive lineman who can do everything, an edge rusher who could turn into one of the biggest steals of the draft and a safety who's under the radar, but could be solid on special teams and when they need him to for three safety looks.
All of that makes a lot of sense. The one guy we can't figure out is their last pick of the draft, wide receiver Dominic Lovett.
On paper, you can kind of see what the Lions might be looking at here. He ran a 4.40 40-yard dash, and he's super athletic outside of that. Maybe he's your Kalif Raymond replacement. A punt returner you can throw on the field for some gadget plays.
The theory of it all is easy to figure out. Where it gets confusing is when you turn on the tape. He's really fast, but you don't really see that when you watch him. He can get open, and he makes some catches, but if you're expecting him to do much with it afterwards, he didn't really display that at Georgia.
If you're thinking, maybe that he can stretch the field and take the top off, he only had five catches for 20 yards or more. The film doesn't show him doing that. He also has a bit of a drop problem. Nothing outrageous, but five drops in 2024.
He doesn't block very well. That was the biggest one that came to mind. This team loves a receiver who can block. You see that with Isaac TeSlaa, and you see that with UDFA Jackson Meeks, too. Lovett just struggled with it.
Ok, so then you think that maybe he's a special-teams guy. Maybe like a gunner. He was that in both years at Georgia. The Lions do have a pretty good gunner in Khalil Dorsey, but maybe Lovett is the future there.
I get it, he's a seventh-round pick and one of the last players selected in this draft. This isn't really coming from a place of negativity. I'm not even denigrating the pick. I'm just saying I don't get it because on paper and on film, Lovett seems to go against the things that we know the Lions look for.
Maybe this is another one of those picks that Brad Holmes makes and you don't get it at the time, and then a couple of years later you go "ohhhh I see." We do know that Holmes is a fan of his.
"He’s another one that’s kind of been a fan – I’ve been a fan of his for a long time, we all have, and 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."
Maybe that's it right there. Maybe he's a special-teams ace and that's the plan. We'll see pretty soon.
