The NFL Draft can often be defined as much by the player you don’t pick as the one you choose to pick. For example, bypassing Aaron Donald and Odell Beckham Jr. will likely haunt Martin Mayhew for the rest of his life, even though during his tenure as GM he drafted the best Lions of the modern era: Matthew Stafford, Ndamukong Suh and Darius Slay.

So we kick off part 2 of our 2022 NFL Draft superlatives for the Detroit Lions by identifying a pick we wish current Lions general manager Brad Holmes had made last weekend.

For Part 1 of our 2022 Detroit Lions Draft Superlatives, click here

Choose what you wish they had done

Alex Reno: Jaquan Brisker at 46

I’m very happy that we ended up with Kerby Joseph, but we didn’t know we would have him at the time, and I still like Brisker better. Although I like Paschal as a player, I think safety was a bigger need and Brisker would have been the best player available at 46. It hurts even more that Brisker ended up going two spots later to a division rival.

Jerry Mallory: Kayvon Thibodeaux at 2 years old

I’m happy with Big Hutch, but I think he’s the second-best DE in this class behind Kayvon who I still think is the best player overall in this draft.

Hamza Baccouche: Kayvon Thibodeaux at 2 years old

Personally, I preferred Kayvon to Hutch, but I’m not going to sit here and complain about taking second place from Heisman. Always an A+ choice.

Ryan Mathews: Malik Willis at 46

It wouldn’t have cost them anything to take their potential franchise quarterback at this point in the draft, and it wouldn’t have left them in such dire straits to add one next offseason.

Morgan Cannon: linebacker earlier

I felt like there was a lot of value on the board in terms of linebackers when the Lions took Paschal at 46 and Joseph at 97, and I wish they had done more to respond to that group. of positions. I hope I’m wrong and the linebacker unit surprises some people.

Jeremy Reisman: Jaquan Brisker at 46

The Lions waited too long at security, and I think they could pay the price. Brisker could have started on Day 1, and instead the Lions will have to wait and see if Joseph develops into a more complete player. That said, the Easter choice grows in me as I dive into his film.

Mike Payton: Probable Isaiah

Again, I’m not unhappy with what the Lions did. Throughout the offseason, I laughed at a Lions close end and it was always Isaiah Likely or James Mitchell. I really like Mitchell’s game, but considered Probably the best option. He was probably like a Kyle Pitts light to me and I feel like he could have done a lot of things that Mitchell can do and maybe better.

Erik Schlitt: trade for Nakobe Dean in the third round

He is currently struggling with shoulder, knee and pectoral injuries, and with teams already worried about his height, his stock has let him down to No.83. Surely the Lions weren’t worried about his size, as they took Malcolm Rodriguez 100+ later picks and they are almost identical in height and weight. So once Dean went down in round three, I wish they had made a move to go get him and improve the weakest unit on the team – the fact that they didn’t fact tells me that there were probably major red flags in his medicals.

UDFA most likely to have impact

Alex Reno: OT Obinna Eze

I tend to follow the money when it comes to UDFA. Eze received the biggest guaranteed money and the Lions could still use some depth on the offensive line. Whether he lands a spot on the roster or makes the practice squad, I think he will remain a Lion in 2022/23.

Jerry Mallory: OT Obinna Eze

Money talks and he got the most out of UDFA. As strong as our offensive line starters are, Eze could compete for a backup role and possibly earn it.

Hamza Baccouche: TE Derrick Deese Jr.

Judging by weekly turnover in the tight ends room at the end of last year, the Lions aren’t sold to anyone on last season’s roster but Hockenson. Even after James Mitchell was selected, the TE3 spot is wide open and something tells me the Lions are going to want to give an outside guy a good chance.

Morgan Cannon: OT Obinna Eze

If he can make an impact early in camp, he has a decent chance of staying as a developing player and depth along the offensive line.

Jeremy Reisman: G Kevin Jarvis

Jarvis has $155,000 guaranteed and he’s in an inside offensive line competition that doesn’t have a ton of depth. Evan Brown likely has a spare spot locked in, but Detroit shouldn’t feel comfortable with Logan Stenberg or Tommy Kraemer on the 53-man roster.

Mike Payton: OT Obinna Eze

I join the rest of the gang on this one. The Lions need depth on the offensive line and Eze has a chance to be part of that depth.

Erik Schlitt: DT Demetris Taylor

If the category was the one most likely to make the list, I would have followed the group and picked Eze, who could very well win an OT4 role. But I’m going to focus on the “impact” part of this category and its first step is lethal. Taylor is an interesting valuation because at 6-foot-0, 289 pounds, he’s a bit of a DL tweener. While he throws a spinning pass rushing to 3 technique, he played technique 5 in App State’s 4-man front, which gives him some positional versatility with the type of defensive line that the Lions create.

The biggest surprise

Alex Reno: Josh Pascal

I didn’t expect the Lions to double up at EDGE so early in the draft. Not surprised the Lions fell in love with a player who wrote “Dan Campbell guy” all over him.

Jerry Mallory: Trade 20 places in the first round

The exchange alone came as a surprise (although Holmes was seen as aggressive). Every time you think you have 20 picks before our next pick and the Lions name pops up as the next pick, it’s a jolt of excitement. Then passing someone like Kyle Hamilton or a QB (which everyone did) was also shocking.

Hamza Baccouche: Writing by Jameson Williams

Is that even a question? It’s Jameson Williams. From a symbolic point of view, Lions have taken addressing the receiver seriously and I like that. You can describe it as setting Jared Goff up for success, but it really puts him in a crunch. If Goff is struggling this year, he has no excuses and you have a clear answer as to whether or not he’s the guy.

Morgan Cannon: Trade 20 places in the first round

Initially I wasn’t thrilled with the trade, but after several days of consideration the value was there and I think we’re going to be very happy to have Williams in Detroit.

Jeremy Reisman: Trade 20 places in the first round

A week before the draft, Brad Holmes told us he wasn’t going to wait for the board to fall on him. The coaching staff said that throughout the offseason they were trying to improve the reception hall. Yet I was still blinded by it.

Mike Payton: The whole draft

I mean everything was crazy. The Lions knocked the widely regarded best player in the draft down to 2, they traded and grabbed a receiver who would have gone to the top 5 if he hadn’t torn his ACL, then they charged the defensive line and caught a tight end flight. We wondered all offseason what this team was going to do in the draft and I don’t think anyone would have been able to call that.

Erik Schlitt: Trade 20 places in the first round

The idea of ​​trading that far for a player they rated highly was something we talked about in our Spotify Live podcasts, but with all the needs on the list, it didn’t seem realistic that they were ready. to pay the price. Getting the deal they got from Minnesota surely made this move a lot more manageable, but it was definitely a surprise move – and I’m here for more Brad Holmes aggression going forward.