Despite needing some depth on the edge, the Lions waited until the sixth round to address the position in last month’s draft.
That wasn’t for a lack of trying. Detroit traded up twice on Day 2, but general manager Brad Holmes said that he made several more attempts to move up throughout the draft. One of those potential trades was targeting an edge rusher in the first round, per ESPN’s Dan Graziano, though the deal fell through and the Lions stayed at No. 28 to take Ohio State defensive tackle Tyleik Williams.
It’s unclear who Holmes’ exact target would have been. The draft’s top edge rusher, Abdul Carter, was taken with the third overall pick by the Giants, far out of the Lions’ range. Mykel Williams, Jalon Walker, and Shemar Stewart were all selected between the 11th and 17th picks, and the Falcons leaped the Lions – and a dozen other teams – to snag James Pearce Jr. at No. 26.
More discernible is why Holmes didn’t pull the trigger on a deal. Trading into the teens would’ve likely cost at least a second-rounder; a pick in the early 20s would have a more reasonable price. It’s also possible that Detroit couldn’t outbid Atlanta for the 26th pick. The Falcons have picked in the top 10 in four of the last five drafts and gave up a future first-rounder in their deal with the Rams.
The Lions’ newfound success means they’re unlikely to be drafting so high next year, making it hard to match the Falcons’ offer even if they wanted to. Concerns about Pierce’s drive and attitude also made him a questionable fit under Dan Campbell. Detroit then drafted Boise State’s Ahmed Hassanein in the seventh round (No. 196) and signed undrafted free agent Keith Cooper Jr. out of Houston to bolster their edge room, though they could still use another reliable veteran.
I get that this didn’t work out and it makes sense to me as far as the first round goes. But this class was deep in edge rushers. For instance, most people agree that the aggressive trade up for TeSlaa was a strange move, but if they had made that same trade up and taken Landon Jackson there (the Bills took him three picks later), I personally think it would have made sense and been a very reasonable value, and I think a lot of people would agree. It’s not like the first round was their only shot at a starting caliber edge.
As a Lions fan I would have to agree. TeSlaa could be a great fit, but I think Jackson would’ve more sense
TeSlaa has an opportunity for a great sponsorship campaign…..agent should be on the phone with Elon
You have to be extremely lucky in the draft to be able to address all your positional needs satisfactorily. The Lions have 2 games against the Vikings (ranked 27th in pass protection) and 2 games against the Bears (ranked worst at pass protection last season) so they can probably manage alright despite not getting an elite edge rusher.
At this point, just send a 3rd round pick to the Bungals for Hendrickson. Give him a 2-3 year contract, with some void years on it to reduce the impact. If you’re betting TeSlaa will replace JMO, then you will have the money to pay Hendrickson.
Yet the Eagles took an Off ball line backer that can rush off the edge behind them. Reason why Howie tried to jump det and were surprised. Also knew Atl was taking Pearce when they jumped ahead.