ALLEN PARK, Mich. — As Thursday evening entered its final hours, and the Detroit Lions were almost on the clock, Brad Holmes’ phone began to ring. And ring. And ring.
Holmes — a GM who built his reputation for his remarkable hit rate on this very weekend — told local reporters he pondered a few requests from other teams trying to come up in the NFL Draft. Some were non-starters. There was one he entertained, but ultimately passed on. He had his reasons.
The thought of trading back from No. 28 and losing one of his guys was too much to risk. The Lions weren’t going to overthink this one. Ohio State defensive tackle Tyleik Williams was their guy.
“Obviously, super excited (with) how everything went tonight, to be able to acquire Tyleik,” Holmes said at the end of the evening. “I’ve obviously been watching him for a really long time. He’s played a lot of football there at a very consistent level and he just has a lot of traits and qualities that we’re looking for and he’s going to fit right in here like a glove.”
This pick, a surprise to some, is one Holmes felt was the right one. All offseason, the Lions had been linked to an edge rusher in the first round. It’s not hard to see why. Aidan Hutchinson needs a new friend in the edge room. Projected starter Marcus Davenport has managed to play only six of a possible 34 regular-season games over the last two seasons. The Lions have said publicly they’d like to add more. A match made in heaven in a year with so many pass rushers available, right?
Not exactly. At least not on night one.
As we’ve learned during the draft, time and time again, the Lions march to the beat of their own drum. They don’t draft positions, they draft players. They structure their board in a way that reflects that. And on this evening, the board set up for them to add an instinctive defensive tackle who could be the next piece of their impressive young core.
Williams, a Manassas, Va., native, is a high-level run defender, quietly starring on one of the best defensive lines in college football. Teammates Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau received more attention for the Buckeyes, but Williams did damage from the interior, creating opportunities for those around him and helping Ohio State get off the field time and time again en route to a national championship.
Many of the guys he came in with could’ve entered the draft a year ago, but chose to stay for one final run at a ring. In his final year, Williams was a major contributor for a championship-winning program. He now finds himself part of what those in Allen Park believe can be a championship-winning organization.
“For me, it kind of was just a warming moment,” Williams said of winning it all with the Buckeyes. “I’ve been through a lot of stuff with those guys at Ohio State. The guys that came back last year who could’ve went to the NFL and did whatever — we all decided to come back. We wanted to cement ourselves in Ohio State legacy, so getting that done, it meant everything. It was a great time with great people and we made a lot of memories, and those memories will live on forever. So, it was a great moment for sure.”
One of Williams’ best attributes — confirmed by Holmes — is his instincts. He comes equipped with a high football IQ, which is a direct result of the time he puts into his craft. A lot of times, defensive tackles win with sheer size, length or a quick first step, overly relying on their athletic tools to win. That’s easier to do in college than in the NFL. Tools only get you so far if you don’t know what’s happening around you.
But what makes Williams such an intriguing prospect is that he pairs what he’s been given athletically with a knowledge of what opposing offenses are doing on a given snap. It’s an incredibly valuable tool, and Williams uses it often. He’ll snuff out a screen before it develops. He’ll identify a run concept pre-snap and beat his man to make the play. He’s remarkably consistent, and it shows up all over his tape.
“He has the physical skill set, he’s got the power, he’s got the bend and the agility. He’s a very nimble athlete, but the thing about it is that he’s incredibly instinctive, too,” Holmes said. “I think his versatility is really going to help. He has a lot of similar traits to Alim McNeill.”
You heard it right there. The comp Holmes kept making when discussing Williams just so happens to be his new teammate, McNeill. McNeill, a third-round pick out of NC State in 2021, was an athletic defensive tackle, viewed as more of a run-stuffing nose when he came out. However, the Lions saw untapped potential in him as an interior pass rusher and gave him the opportunity to prove it.
McNeill took full advantage — slimming down ahead of the 2023 season, hoping to turn those flashes into the norm. Since then, McNeill is among the league leaders in pressures at his position with 79. He added those pass-rush skills while continuing to be a high-level run defender. The Lions are better for it, which is why they made him one of the highest-paid defensive tackles in the league.
Now, they’re adding a player who could be the second coming of McNeill. That’s worth noting. McNeill could miss the start of the 2025 season as he recovers from a torn ACL. The Lions have three defensive tackles — DJ Reader, Levi Onwuzurike and Roy Lopez — entering the final year of their contracts. Adding a player of Williams’ caliber helps them in the present and future, and the idea of what he can become was too enticing to pass up.
“It gives us versatility,” Holmes said of the addition of Williams. “I think someone said, ‘Well, he looks like a nose tackle, but he can play three-technique.’ I think I might have said that when we drafted Alim, where he looks like your traditional nose tackle, but he’s not one of those one-dimensional nose tackles. He has stuff inside of his body that’s very nimble and agile, and he’s able to do a lot of different things. I think Tyleik is the same way.”
The idea of two high-IQ, versatile defensive tackles who can defend the run and get after the quarterback is one that Holmes wanted to make a reality when it came time to make this selection. Williams has the tools to develop into much more than a run-stuffing nose and he’s eager to prove as much, just like McNeill has been able to.
“The scheme we played at Ohio State was kind of a bull-rush, kind of cage scheme, so on film you didn’t really see a lot of the pass rush,” Williams said, “But I think I’m a great pass rusher. I’ve definitely got to show it and build on it, of course, but I’m not too worried about what people have got to say right now. I know I’m going to go in and work and get better, so it’s not really a problem right now.”
That mindset is why the Lions ultimately gravitated toward Williams during the pre-draft process. It started at the combine, where his knowledge of his craft stood out to Detroit’s decision-makers. It continued later on, when Williams arrived in Allen Park for his top-30 visit and, again, impressed. This is a prerequisite to play in Detroit. He passed every test with flying colors.
“I remember his interview at the combine — he really knocked it out of the park with his intelligence and how much he knew about the game,” Holmes said. “It’s kind of like building a house with the character portion of it, and then we were able to bring him in on a top-30 (visit) and he knocked it out again. He just kept checking those boxes. … He doesn’t say a lot, he’s more about his business, but he fits right in not only from the physical qualities, but he’s going to fit in with the other standards that we have around here.”
The standards are high here in Detroit these days. Holmes’ track record in the first round is proof of that. However, that same track record is why there’s reason to be confident in a player like Williams.
In order to play for the Lions, you have to be wired a certain way. You need to know your responsibilities and what’s asked of you. You have to love football and do everything you can to maximize what you have. And most importantly, you have to play for the guy next to you.
Williams fits that description and then some. He’ll have a chance to prove the Lions right in the near future.
(Photo: Joseph Maiorana / Imagn Images)
