2025 NFL Draft

[RedRamage]

1 hour ago, Jimbo said:

How many years have the Lions won draft day according to these same guys. 

I eluded to that earlier as well. I'm perfectly fine with getting Cs, Ds, and Fs in draft grades if the Lions are still perennial SB contenders. But better than getting As and Bs and getting bumped out of the playoffs in the first round (if we made the playoffs).

Quote

The only thing I worry about this regime is they don't get overconfident with their draft success.  I don't feel like that will be the case with Holmes although we have been burned before.

I almost wonder if we need to worry about the reverse. This is JUST speculation here so take it for what it's worth. But in the early years of the Holmes tenure the Lions were a joke. If you take a swing at a long shot and don't get a touchdown (how's that for mixing metaphors!) no big deal... it's the Lions. No one expects greatness.

Now the Lions are legitimate. Does that make the front office more cautious? Do they take safer picks because missing a draft pick will be directly linked (fairly or unfairly) with lack of SB appearances/wins?

I mean there is a VERY REAL probability that the Lions regress somewhat this year. We lost both our coordinators after all! If that happens you KNOW that there will be people who point to the "F" grade and say: "See! Bad draft makes the Lions a lessor team."

[RedRamage]

51 minutes ago, Hongbit said:

Don’t forget the purpose of this article isn’t to show how knowledgeable they are about the draft.  

For what it's worth (I haven't read the article, just the summary of it) I appreciate the the author here is trying to find an objective method of grading the draft. And apparently the author even calls out himself saying it's risky to call out the Lions drafts given their past success.

That said, I think the methodology needs some tweaking. I think there are too many subjective aspects built into the formula before the objective grades are determined. Supposedly they're looking at positional value for example. Well, sure you assign value and then objectively grade the positional value of the pick based on that value. But the assigning of value is subjective. How do you determine that a TE might be less valuable than a DE for example? Because most teams say that? What if this team uses TEs much more? What if this team has a full DE room but only one decent TE? How do you know how the coaching staff values their players?

Honestly there just may be no way to objectively grade a draft except looking back after 3-5 years. (And even then there are variables that effect grading. You think Caleb Williams would have had as poor a rookie season if he was behind the Lions OL with our RBs to support him?) This attempt by the Athletic might very well be the best method out there to try and determine an objective grade, but that doesn't mean it's a good method. Time will tell.

[Hongbit]

Here is the start of his critique on the Lions:

Detroit Lions

“It’s fair to question whether I should doubt the Lions’ draft strategy after the run they’ve been on the past few years, but out of their seven picks, four were considered reaches by our consensus board, including all three in the top 70.”

He fails to mention that his system said the same thing about Gibbs.  It said the same about Jamo and Jack Campbell.   The authors stupid system is weighted on positional value.  Brad’s system completely ignores it and takes the best player for his team at that moment.   

The results are overwhelmingly on Brad’s side.  His picks dominate Austin Mock’s nearly worthless clickbait model.  He just came up with it to try and be different from the now 100 other draft experts that have conned us into believing they are smarter than everyone else. 

[buddha]

cowboys trade a 3rd for george pickens.

lions trade 3 3rds for teslaa.

hope were right.

[4hzglory]

53 minutes ago, buddha said:

cowboys trade a 3rd for george pickens.

lions trade 3 3rds for teslaa.

hope were right.

I definitely wouldn’t want Pickens attitude on the Lions.  He doesn’t block at all either so isn’t a fit.

[buddha]

1 hour ago, 4hzglory said:

I definitely wouldn’t want Pickens attitude on the Lions.  He doesn’t block at all either so isn’t a fit.

i dont want pickens either.  my question is about value.

[Hongbit]

2 hours ago, buddha said:

cowboys trade a 3rd for george pickens.

lions trade 3 3rds for teslaa.

hope were right.

The Cowboys need 3rd round picks much more than the Lions.  Brad can and should value keeping these less.  

I don’t know the Cowboys roster exactly but I’d guess they have 10 or 15, and maybe as many as 20, roster spots that will be batted over to either make the 53 or get playing time.    The Lions have about 5.  

 

[Motown Bombers]

There's a reason why Pickens is only worth a third round pick. If Tomlin has had enough with him, he's going to eat that rookie Cowboys coach alive. He's also due for an extension. This reminds me when the Steelers traded Claypool to the Bears. The Steelers know when to get rid of their malcontents. All hell broke loose with Antonio Brown when he left the Steelers. Also, the Steelers have to make room for Randall Cobb and Alan Lazard. 

[Jimbo]

3 hours ago, buddha said:

cowboys trade a 3rd for george pickens.

lions trade 3 3rds for teslaa.

hope were right.

The main reason why the Lions didn't trade for Pickens or MetCalf, or sign Adams.....etc is because of salary.  Pickens is going to want a big contract.  Teslaa will be on a rookie contract for a while.  Why waste a 3rd round pick, you would just sign Jamo (and they still might).  There might be some attitude by I think its more about the contract he is going to want than attitude. 

[Motown Bombers]

 

[sagnam]

The cost of a good attitude is an additional 3rd. That checks out. (Bet the Steelers would have given up a 3rd for Pickens to be a good teammate)

[Jason_R]

This article has a good run-down of the value of the Teslaa trade based on multiple different value charts: https://www.prideofdetroit.com/2025/4/25/24417284/detroit-lions-massive-trade-isaac-teslaa-near-even-value-nfl-draft

According to the Jimmy Johnson chart, the Lions came out ahead. The consensus of five other value charts used was that the Lions came out behind by the equivalent of a late sixth or early seventh round pick. 

Maybe Holmes got out in front of his skis, but the article MB posted shows how and why Teslaa was a late riser. It seems likely that at least one and maybe multiple teams had designs on him in the 70-90 range, well before Detroit's pick 102. I don't remember hearing stories about anyone planning to take Brodric Martin. 

[Shinzaki]

Has anyone discussed Teslaa's potential to be electric?

[buddha]

i hope teslaa makes us all look stupid.

[holygoat]

On 5/9/2025 at 3:52 PM, Shinzaki said:

Has anyone discussed Teslaa's potential to be electric?

He just might be the spark this team needs.

[MichiganCardinal]

1 hour ago, buddha said:

i hope teslaa makes us all look stupid.

Just to put it on record, I'm a fan of the pick. Might even pick me up a TeSlaa jersey.

[Motown Bombers]

I'm a fan of the pick as well. The trade for the pick is questionable. 

[Cruzer1]

On 5/7/2025 at 9:12 AM, buddha said:

cowboys trade a 3rd for george pickens.

lions trade 3 3rds for teslaa.

hope were right.

They get one year of Pickens.

[TP_Fan]

I honestly don’t care about trading draft picks if the player you traded them for hits.  Pickens went for a 3rd, yes, but the cowboys only get him for a year and he is diva, like every wide receiver not named st brown. No thanks on him. If Teslaa hits, then it’s worth the trade. 

[MichiganCardinal]

1 hour ago, TP_Fan said:

I honestly don’t care about trading draft picks if the player you traded them for hits.  Pickens went for a 3rd, yes, but the cowboys only get him for a year and he is diva, like every wide receiver not named st brown. No thanks on him. If Teslaa hits, then it’s worth the trade. 

The Cowboys trading for Pickens feels like the Bears trading for Claypool.

[RandyMarsh]

Also not all 3rd round picks are created equal, the Lions 3rd they gave up this year was pick 102 and the 2 next year will be a comp pick which will surely end up 100+ and likely a late "real" 3rd rounder in the 90s. OTOH the Dallas 3rd rounder will likely being in the mid 70s at worst. 

 

[RandyMarsh]

 

[Mr.TaterSalad]

I don't buy that we were going to trade up for James Pearce Jr. The guy allegedly has major effort and character concerns, which is something this organization, under this regime, has always stayed away from. I'd venture to guess that neither Pearce nor Mike Green were on their draft board. 

[1984Echoes]

I thought the rumor was that we were trying to trade up for Shemar Stewart...