Evaluating fits of a dozen different prospects being projected to Lions in recent mock drafts
While NFL free agency is still ongoing, news on that front has slowed to a trickle.
Some bigger fish remain on the market — Amari Cooper, Aaron Rodgers, Von Miller, to name a few — but the Detroit Lions' recent focus has been on depth additions. And while there's always the possibility they could score another impact addition, it's more likely the next notable improvement to the roster will come via the NFL draft.
We've largely stayed away from the mock drafts to this point. Now feels like a reasonable time to check in on where analysts think the talent pool is settling around Detroit's No. 28 pick in the first round.
We scoured the recent batch of projections, and given the significant number of variables that deep into the draft, found a dozen different players slotted to the Lions. Having reviewed the film of most prospects in the consensus top 100 earlier this offseason, plus having testing data for many of them from the combine or their pro days, I've evaluated the fits of those dozen players.
For those who have followed me for a while, you know I've never offered instant grades after the draft. But grading mock drafts? Sure, why not?
The dozen prospects will be listed in alphabetical order by last name.
Tyler Booker, OG, Alabama
Thoughts: The Lions clearly have a long-term need for a guard. Graham Glasgow turns 33 in July, is coming off a down year, and has an $8.4 million cap hit in 2026. That’s an untenable figure if he doesn’t turn things around.
Booker would solve Detroit’s problem. The 6-foot-5, 325-pounder is a plug-and-play option, with the bulk of his playing time as a two-year starter coming at left guard. That would allow the Lions to keep Christian Mahogany on the right side, where he thrived while at Boston College.
Booker’s tape showed a powerful player who was a fundamentally sound brick wall in pass protection (five pressures, zero sacks allowed in 2024), capable of generating movement as a run blocker, but relatively limited athletically, which hinders his effectiveness on pulling blocks and in the screen game.
He has the potential to be dominant at what he does best. Still, he could create some schematic limitations within Detroit’s versatile blocking scheme.
The other component to consider is how likely the Lions are to take a guard with their first pick. For the positional value crowd, pick No. 28 isn’t a bad spot to address the position. That said, in four years, general manager Brad Holmes hasn’t used anything earlier than a Day 3 pick on an interior lineman. Even going back to his seven years as the college scouting director of the Rams, the earliest a team addressed the position was the third round, taking Louisville offensive tackle Jamon Brown in 2015 and shifting him inside.
Maybe that’s simply the way the board has always fallen for Holmes. On the other hand, it could also be a reflection of his perception of being able to find a quality starter in the later rounds, like he seemingly did with Mahogany a year earlier.
Grade: B
Kenneth Grant, DT, Michigan
Thoughts: Detroit is flush with run-stuffing nose tackles, both in the form of proven producers and unproven potential. But the long-term outlook for the position is cloudy, at best.
For 2025, DJ Reader and Roy Lopez figure to be a formidable run-stuffing tandem. Reader has done it at a high level for a long time and should be better than he was last season, another year removed from tearing his quad. And Lopez, the new addition, has shown to be a gap controller on the inside, more than capable of holding his own against double teams. Still, it's critical to note that the contracts of both veterans expire after this season.
The mystery, of course, is Brodric Martin. The Lions gave up a trio of Day 3 picks to snag the behemoth out of Western Kentucky at the tail end of the third round in 2023. Immediately deemed a project, his development through two seasons has still managed to be underwhelming, meriting alternative considerations.
Grant is more of a sure thing. The 6-foot-3, 330-pounder is an impressive athlete, given his size. Like Reader, Grant is at his best against the run but can capably add something as a pocket disruptor because of his first-step explosion.
Even if this path forces the Lions to prematurely pull the plug on Martin, I’d have little trouble contesting the long-term value of the selection.
Grade: B+
Mike Green, EDGE, Marshall
Thoughts: Up until the day of the draft, expect edge rushers to dominate the conversation surrounding Detroit’s first-round plans. The team is running it back with Marcus Davenport, Josh Paschal and Al-Quadin Muhammad as Aidan Hutchinson’s complementary cast. But remember, none of those players are under contract beyond this season. The superstar still needs a long-term running mate.
Strictly based on the film, Green was one of my favorite prospects in this draft class. He has the frame, athleticism, production, and upside to be a top-15 selection. But there are off-field concerns that are going to cause some teams to shy away.
Green has faced two accusations of sexual assault, one in high school and another, filed anonymously, that led to his suspension at the University of Virginia. To his credit, the player didn’t shy away from questions about those issues at the combine, taking them head-on, denying any wrongdoing, and emphasizing he wasn’t interviewed by the police in either instance.
Potential NFL employers will no doubt dig deep into the accusations and likely come away with more information than is publicly available. Ultimately, someone is going to feel good enough to roll the dice on the talent. Given the emphasis on character during the Holmes/Campbell/Hamp era of leadership, it’s difficult to see the Lions being that team.
Grade: D
Derrick Harmon, DL, Oregon
Thoughts: A Detroit native who spent his first three college seasons at Michigan State, Harmon's stock took off during his one year with the Ducks. In 2024, he racked up 55 pressures and 8.5 sacks in 14 games.
In my film review of the defensive tackle prospects, I loosely compared Harmon to a bigger, longer Levi Onwuzurike. That’s far from perfect, but it's intended to help Lions fans understand the skill set. Both have explosive first steps to disrupt the pocket, but are inconsistent finishers. Another similarity is that both can play inside (3-technique) or on the edge.
With his length, Harmon's upside is tremendous. If the Lions were fortunate enough to have a shot, he could help bridge Alim McNeill's ACL recovery, which figures to extend into the regular season, and serve as a long-term replacement for Onwuzurike. He re-upped with the team as a free agent this offseason, but it’s only a one-year deal.
Grade: A
Donovan Jackson, G, Ohio State
Thoughts: Brooks is thinking like Crabbs, conveniently plugging one of Detroit's more obvious long-term concerns in this mock. With Booker off the board in the projection, Brooks shifts to Jackson as the Lions' choice.
Like Booker, Jackson's primary experience has come at left guard. That adds to the convenience and fit of the selection. While he hasn't tested during the pre-draft process, he's a more athletic mover in space than his Alabama counterpart on film. Jackson also has an adequately nasty demeanor that comes with consistently churning legs and a finisher's mentality in the run game.
Playing guard all of 2023 and the first five games of 2024, Jackson was solid in pass protection, surrendering a single sack. He was a little shakier when pressed into moving to left tackle to address an injury situation. Still, the fact that he was even asked to take on that challenge and capably performed for the National Champions says plenty about his ability.
Grade: B+
James Pearce, Edge, Tennessee
Thoughts: Before the season, there were plenty of draft analysts who projected Pearce as a potential top-10 selection. He's still viewed by most as a first-rounder, but one more likely to come off the board somewhere in the 20s.
Pearce is a tall, lean, athletic edge with a double-digit sack season on his resume and back-to-back seasons with 50 or more quarterback pressures. That kind of production is tantalizing to pair with Hutchinson, although I'm not sure Pearce's frame is a great schematic fit.
What works is his ability to convert speed to power. He has excellent first-step quickness and a knack for timing the snap. He also has more pop in his hands than you might expect, given his weight and length (32 3/4-inch arms).
And while he might never be an elite run-stopper, he held his own at Tennessee, effectively keeping blockers off his frame to address the ball carrier on the edge. If the Lions feel he can eventually bulk up to closer than 260 pounds, adding strength without losing his burst, I'm more inclined to buy on the fit.
Grade: C+
Jonah Savaiinaea, OL, Arizona
Thoughts: There’s a fun opportunity for the Lions to create a mauling tandem of American Samoans on the right side of their line by pairing Savaiinaea with Penei Sewell.
Like Sewell, Savaiinaea is an exceptional athlete for his size (6-foot-4, 324 pounds). He has shown well in his athletic testing in recent weeks, posting well-above-average speed, explosion, and agility metrics.
Savaiinaea is also versatile, having started games at left and right tackle, as well as right guard for the Wildcats.
After watching his tape last month, Savaiinaea’s technique felt raw, particularly his footwork playing tackle. Regardless, pass rushers had trouble with the power of his punch and navigating around his massive frame. If there was a weakness in protection, it was sustaining his blocks through counter-rushes. That should be less of an issue playing inside.
Savaiinaea will likely be a mauler in the run game. I did question his ability to operate on the move, based on his film. His athletic testing runs counter to that criticism. It could be a matter of getting more reps to develop those skills.
Savaiinaea is probably best suited for the right side. His selection could require the eventual move of Mahogany to the left. Maybe that works out fine, but there is a level of projection needed that can’t be answered via last year’s one-game sample size.
Grade: B-
Nic Scourton, Edge, Texas A&M
Thoughts: With teammate Shemar Stewart seemingly off the table without trading up after his electric combine performance, Scourton wouldn't be a bad consolation prize.
Following a double-digit sack season at Purdue, Scourton transferred to Texas A&M, looking to play in a more complex defensive scheme and improve his run-stopping abilities.
That attitude, paired with a sharp drop in weight during the pre-draft process, points to grit and work ethic. In terms of Scourton's frame, he has a body type similar to Paschal's.
For the Lions, Scourton would fit the physical style the team likes to play at the defensive end position. He'll set firm edges against the run, crush the pocket rushing as a pass rusher, and give guards problems with his quickness when working from inside alignments on obvious passing downs.
Scourton feels like a prospect with a higher floor but a lower ceiling than some of the other edges being mentioned at 28, particularly in terms of sack production. Regardless, his playing style, effort and attitude feel Lions-like.
Grade: A-
Malaki Starks, S, Georgia
Thoughts: Kudos to Tannenbaum for thinking outside the box and throwing the type of curveball we've come to expect from Holmes in recent years.
Do the Lions need a starting-caliber safety? Well, no. They might have the best tandem in the league with Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch. But there's a pending contract conundrum with both meriting top-of-the-market extensions in the next two years. The Lions will make every effort to keep both, but there's no guarantee they can make the cap math work.
Starks is cut from the Branch mold, moving all over the field and impacting the game in a variety of ways. The Georgia standout is comfortable in man coverage and in deeper zones, plus he's one of the best tackling defensive backs in this class.
How would Starks work into the mix immediately? Great question. We know the Lions find ways to get their best players on the field, so maybe Starks emerges as a second move piece in the defensive backfield with Branch, rotating between box, slot, and deep alignments.
An ideal fit for 2025? Obviously not. But a situation where the talent might be too good to pass up? Sure, that's believable.
Grade: C-
Jihaad Campbell, LB, Alabama
Thoughts: The idea of drafting Campbell is similar to Starks in some ways and not in another key facet. Assuming good health with the projected defensive starters, Campbell would probably struggle to see the field as a rookie. He’s not likely going to step in and take snaps from Alex Anzalone, Jack Campbell or Derrick Barnes.
But what about the bigger picture? Anzalone is on the wrong side of 30 and entering the final year of his current contract. Could the versatile linebacker be a forward-thinking solution for the Lions, whether as a direct replacement for Anzalone or taking over the SAM job to allow Barnes to move off the ball?
You can see the appeal, even if you might not get a lot out of Campbell as a rookie beyond special teams.
Grade: B
Mykel Williams, Edge, Georgia
Thoughts: The first thing that came to mind watching Williams' tape before heading to the combine was the violence of his playing style. It was easy to see how that would fit in Detroit.
It's also easy to imagine Williams coming off the board before Detroit is on the clock. The reason he's even considered in play is because of his relative inexperience and mediocre pro day measurables.
Williams averaged fewer than 400 defensive snaps the past three seasons and won't turn 21 until late June. So you're betting on his upside. There's plenty there, even if he hasn't recorded more than 5.0 sacks or 33 pressures in a season.
There are some similarities to another Georgia edge defender to come out in recent years, Travon Walker, who was the No. 1 overall pick in 2022.
Grade: B+
Grey Zabel, OL, North Dakota State
Thoughts: Hey, another guard. Well, in this case, a smaller-school tackle who is expected to move to guard due to shorter-than-desired length.
Zabel’s tape was fun. He’s nasty in the run game and was a fluid blindside pass protector who had great timing with his hands. He primarily worked at guard at the Senior Bowl and flashed plenty of promise, but also showed the need to get stronger to handle pro-caliber bull rushers on the inside.
With Glasgow in place for another season, it would provide time to add mass/strength and tighten up the techniques required to play a new position. The demeanor is ready to go out of the box.
Grade: B+
Trade up and take the best edge prospect please.
Or just do whatever bc you’re Brad Holmes and I’m a random guy.
No talk of the Boston College Edge?