The Lions are jumping up six spots in the second round, sending the 50th and 128th overall picks to the Jets, for the right to draft Michigan defensive end Derrick Moore at No. 44 overall. Detroit takes a chance here on the in-state edge rusher who hit double-digit sacks for the Wolverines last year, pairing him with their other Michigan-made star in the pass rush.
A year after Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo wrapped up their careers at Michigan, Moore arrived on campus, working in as a rotational pass rusher off the bench as a true freshman. In Years 2 & 3, though he wasn’t named a starter, Moore found himself on the field just as much as the edge rushers on the first-team defense and produced at a similar rate. Finally named a full-time starter this past season, Moore made the most of his opportunity, posting career highs in sacks (10.0) and tackles for loss (10.5).
Detroit found a clear star edge rusher in 2022 when Hutchinson came on board and rattled off 21.0 sacks in his first two seasons, almost singlehandedly elevating the Lions’ pass rush. He looked to be on track for a career-best year in 2024 when a season-ending injury limited him to only 7.5 sacks in five games. Emphasizing how much he meant to the team’s defense, over the 12 remaining games of the season, no defender unseated him for the team lead in sacks. The team enjoyed Hutchinson’s return last year and even got a surprise contribution from veteran rotational edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad as the pair tallied 14.5 and 11.0 sacks, respectively.
Having tasted the joys of a defense with two double-digit sack getters, losing Muhammad to free agency made edge rusher a priority in the offseason. Detroit signed former Panthers starter D.J. Wonnum as a free agent replacement, but with a career-high sack total of eight, which he’s now two years removed from, the Lions may not have considered the room complete. Moore will come in to supplement the group, but his path to a starting role may be much the same as it was in Ann Arbor. Unless his 10.0-sack performance last year unlocked something in the 23-year-old’s game, some development may be needed to raise the ceiling on this Day 2 draft pick.
That recoups the pick they gave up to move up to get Cooper.
And get Ponds!
Horrible pick and waste of draft capital to move up when they easily could have had him at #50. Just when I thought Holmes was going to have a good productive draft he does this crap again by being the smartest guy in the room. So much better talent was available that could have helped the Lions. Terrible!
Shut up.
If you’re going to claim there is better talent you need to name names. Otherwise it’s just noise. Moore has the discipline and effort the Lions want and he will walk off his side of the line. That opens up sac opportunities for Hutch and Alim. Lastly the guy that recruited him to Michigan was picking next so he wasn’t going to be there at 50.
McNeil-Warren or Jacas would have been better picks. Jacas like Moore is non-stop effort which is good and both were productive in college. However, Jacas is much more athletic thus a higher ceiling. McNeil-Warren was a borderline 1st rounder that would have solved the pending problem at safety the Lions are going to have with Branch and Joseph injuries. I get that Holmes was under heavy pressure to get a DE but Cam Jordan or Chase Young are still available for a year to fill the DE opening. Hope Moore works out but a DE that relies on a bull rush that worked in college is going to have problems going against pro tackles. Just my take on it but appreciate your response.
*Jadeveon Clowney not Chase Young
Holmes is not a good draft day trader.
Pick 50 – 1018 points
Pick 128 – 541 points
Total Sent to Jets by Detroit – 1559 points
Pick 44 – 1082 points
Net extra draft points to Jets – 477 points
Points Differential between Pick 44 and Pick 50 – 64 points
Allow 4x to Jets for moving up = 4×64= 256 points equivalent of 6th round pick, not 4th round.