The Detroit Lions are doing everything they can to improve their roster during the 2025 NFL offseason. Detroit has enjoyed unprecedented levels of success over the past few seasons under head coach Dan Campbell and GM Brad Holmes. In fact, the Lions had their best season in franchise history in 2024. They won 15 games, earned the NFC North division title for the second straight season, and earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. None of these feats had ever been accomplished before in Detroit.
Unfortunately, defensive injuries got the best of Detroit in the playoffs. The Lions got blasted by the Commanders in the divisional round and had to watch the rest of the playoffs from home.
Now the Lions are hard at work upgrading the roster, particularly on defense, in the hopes of making another deep playoff run in 2025.
Detroit has already made some nice moves. They brought in DJ Reed to replace Carlton Davis III, and signed him to a contract that is $12 million cheaper than what Davis III landed in New England.
The Lions also extended several players to maintain their existing defensive depth. Most notably the Lions extended linebacker Derrick Barnes on a three-year contract.
Now their eyes are turned towards the 2025 NFL Draft. Detroit has six selections in the draft, including the 28th overall pick.
The Lions never seem to have the same draft board as the media during the Brad Holmes era. Therefore, it may be more productive to determine which players Detroit will not draft instead of players they are interested in.
Below we will explore three players who the Lions should avoid during the 2025 NFL Draft.
James Pearce Jr. – EDGE – Tennessee
James Pearce Jr. would not be a fit in Detroit.
Pearce Jr. played in the LEO position in Tennessee’s defense, where he got lots of work as a pass rusher from both two- and three-point stances. As a result, he is an ideal fit in aggressive 3-4 defensive schemes that can allow Pearce Jr. to stand up and move around before the snap.
This is very different from what the Lions need from an edge rusher.
The Lions run a 4-3 defense and look for prototypical defensive ends who can do it all. Detroit places a large emphasis on defending the run, so containment and run defense are very important. As you might expect, this is where Pearce Jr. struggles as a prospect.
We should also mention that Pearce Jr. does have some character concerns on his scouting report. The Lions brass have noted before that they’re willing to take a chance on players with off-field questions as long as they are locked in on the football side of things.
That said, the Lions have passed over players with character questions and who fit a huge position of need. Jalen Carter is the obvious name that comes to mind.
Ultimately, there is an outside chance that Pearce Jr. could still be available when the Lions pick at 28th overall. But it would be a mistake for the Lions to take a chance on a questionable prospect who is not even a scheme fit.
Thankfully the 2025 draft class is deep at edge rusher, so the Lions should have their choice of several talented players at the end of the first round.
Ollie Gordon II – RB – Oklahoma State
This one is the easiest pick on this list.
Just to start things off, the Lions do not have any needs at the running back position. Detroit is set for the future with Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery as their lead duo of running backs. Sonic and Knuckles are one of the NFL’s best tandems of running backs and should only get better with more time together.
Gibbs is still on his rookie contract and Montgomery signed a two-year extension during the 2024 season. It will keep him in Detroit through the 2027 season.
Detroit also has veteran Craig Reynolds and 2024 fourth-rounder Sione Vaki as depth behind Sonic and Knuckles.
This alone should take the running back position almost out of consideration for the Lions. However, if Detroit does consider drafting a running back in the later rounds, they should stay away from Ollie Gordon II.
Gordon looked primed to become a top running back in the NFL after the 2023 season. He had an impressive season, with 285 carries for 1,732 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns.
However, Gordon took significant steps back during the 2024 season. His production dropped to 190 carries for 880 yards and 13 touchdowns. This large drop in production understandably has some NFL scouts nervous about Gordon’s consistency.
There are also some character question marks on Gordon’s scouting report. Gordon was arrested for DUI during the summer of 2024, immediately before his less impressive 2024 campaign.
Those two datapoints paired together make Gordon a questionable prospect at best.
It would not surprise me if many teams take him off their draft boards entirely. The 2025 class is incredibly deep at the running back position, so there is less incentive to take a chance on someone like Gordon.
Walter Nolen – DT – Ole Miss
The Lions don’t have a great need at defensive tackle, but they could add to the position.
Alim McNeill tore his ACL during the 2024 season and is expected to miss some time in 2025. However, the Lions have plenty of reinforcements with Brodric Martin, Roy Lopez, Mekhi Wingo, and Levi Onwuzurike as depth behind DJ Reader.
Just the position alone could take Nolen off Detroit’s board. Nolen is also talented enough that the Lions would most likely have to use their first-round pick on him. This makes it unlikely that he’ll end up in Detroit.
Nolen also comes with some character concerns according to Ryan Roberts at MSN.com. That is a theme for all three of these prospects.
If the Lions did spent a first-round pick on a defensive tackle, I would expect it to be Derrick Harmon.
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