Detroit Lions Mailbag: Why does Brad Holmes keep ignoring pass rushers, and what's the plan at backup safety?
NFL Free Agency is pretty much over at this point for the Detroit Lions and everyone else in the league. Now we're moving full speed into the 2025 NFL Draft. Still, Lions fans have some free agency questions. Let's answer those and some draft stuff too. I think they may have already made their move […]
NFL Free Agency is pretty much over at this point for the Detroit Lions and everyone else in the league. Now we're moving full speed into the 2025 NFL Draft. Still, Lions fans have some free agency questions. Let's answer those and some draft stuff too.
I think they may have already made their move there. Last week, the Lions signed Avonte Maddox, and while it says "CB" next to his name, the Eagles used him as a safety a lot over the last few years. Half the games he played last year were as a safety. I think that's what the Lions see him as.
After him, there are a couple of guys in Loren Strickland and Morice Norris that the Lions feel good about and want to see where they go developmentally. They seem pretty set at the moment.
He talks about it all the time. This is one of the most expensive positions in football, and it's also one of those positions where teams are going to keep their guys way more often than not. It's just not easy to find a premier pass rusher just sitting there in free agency, and teams don't want to trade them.
On top of that, the Lions want to retain the very good players that they already have. That's Aidan Hutchinson, Brian Branch, Jahmyr Gibbs, Kerby Joseph, Jameson Williams, Sam LaPorta, Jack Campbell, and then Terrion Arnold is going to need to get paid at some point. This is going to take priority over the addition of anyone else in free agency.
The Lions' best bet is to hope they score that really good player or players in the draft, and it's probably the way they're going to go next month. At the end of the day, it's not Madden. Even if we all wished it were.
BH doesn’t sit around if he likes a player, how likely do you think he trades up in 1st round this year?
— Jack Nap (@jacknappers.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 8:58 AM
With each passing day I think it's more possible that this is the way the Lions are going in the draft. It just makes a lot of sense that with the roster the way it is right now that the Lions would decide to go all in and move up to get whichever guy they really want.
Now, do I expect the Lions to move up to the top five? No, I can't say I see that happening. But a move up into the teens or upper 20s is one that you can see happening.
What round do the Lions take a WR in the upcoming draft?
— allgrit.bsky.social (@allgrit.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 8:23 AM
It's really going to depend on how the board falls. If the Lions had a chance at Tettairroa McMillan, then I think they would pick him in the first round. That's a pipe dream by the way.
But most likely if I'm looking at day two. There, they can get Illinois' Pat Bryant, Iowa State's Jayden Higgins, or Stanford's Elic Ayomanor. The third round with a guy like Bryant makes the most sense.
I don't. There's not really much left on the market at this point, and any of the guys who are are probably looking for more than they should get at this juncture in their careers. Which is why they still remain unsigned. The draft in April is where I see the Lions adding more edge rusher talent.
This was the Lions not wanting to pick up his void year in 2026. It made him go from a little over $5 million to keep to $11 million to keep, and that might have meant that they'd have to pay him while he's possibly not even on the team in 2026. There's always a possibility he comes back, but right now it makes more sense for him to move on to a spot where he can get more playing time.
The hidden positionless weapon the Lions have had in for a visit ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft has us a little excited
If there's one thing that we love here at A to Z Detroit, it's versatility. Our favorite position in football might be Super Back because the guy who plays that can play basically anything on the field. That's why we were so excited when the Lions were showing a ton of interest in Sione Vaki […]
