- Lions general manager Brad Holmes considered trading down from the 28th pick in the 2025 NFL draft but ultimately stayed put.
- Holmes cited the thinning draft board as his reason for not trading, despite receiving enticing offers.
- The Lions selected Ohio State defensive tackle Tyleik Williams with the 28th pick.
- Holmes acknowledged feeling anxious as other teams made trades before the Lions’ pick.
Right before the Detroit Lions grabbed Ohio State defensive tackle Tyleik Williams with the No. 28 overall pick of the 2025 NFL draft, Brad Holmes’ phone started to ring.
A few teams were looking to trade into their slot. Holmes listened to their proposals and was even intrigued by one of them, which would have required them to move down in Round 1. Holmes even described that particular offer as “enticing.” But in the end, he rebuffed it and all others while standing pat.
“It just didn’t feel great,” he said.
The board, as he saw it, was “thinning out for us.”
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“You just gotta try to make the most responsible decision as you can,” he said. “And so we thought about it.”
In the past, Holmes has not been afraid to pull the trigger on deals in the top region of the draft. In 2022, he moved up to snatch receiver Jameson Williams with the 12th overall selection. A year later, he traded back to that very same slot before taking running back Jahmyr Gibbs. Then, last April, he struck a deal with the Dallas Cowboys that allowed the Lions to jump five spots and grab cornerback Terrion Arnold with the 24th overall choice.
The fluid environment Thursday seemed ripe for Holmes to swap picks again. Four trades were consummated after the draft started. Two of them went down right before the Lions were set to be on the clock, as the Atlanta Falcons and the New York Giants each maneuvered their way back into the first round after making an earlier pick.
The sudden burst of activity made Holmes nervous because the Falcons had a need at defensive tackle.
“There was a little anxiety there,” Holmes said. “The breathing got a little irregular there.”
But the Falcons took Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce Jr. with the No. 26 overall pick, right after the New York Giants selected Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart at No. 25.
Not long thereafter, Holmes got his guy.
“We’re thrilled with how it panned out,” Holmes said.
So is Williams.
“I’m just happy,” he said.
Contact Rainer Sabin at [email protected]. Follow him @RainerSabin on X
