CBS Sports: In the 2025 mock draft, the Lions maintain their top strength.
The challenge for the Detroit Lions will be maintaining their position as the NFL’s top offensive line.
Although they don’t care or believe it matters at the moment, the Detroit Lions are the favorites to win the Super Bowl for the first time ever. In any event, they will have a late first-round pick in the 2025 draft if everything goes according to plan, even if they don’t win the Super Bowl.
When late April arrives, the Lions should have no trouble selecting their first-round pick. However, general manager Brad Holmes never focuses only on the draft’s needs, and the results show how effective it is. This is not to imply that Holmes is unaware of needs or fails to meet them. This season, cornerback was a major need, and the Lions selected cornerbacks with their first two draft selections.
The offensive line would be the Lions’ greatest strength, if we had to rank them. Given its high ranking and reputation as the league’s finest team, maintaining it as a strength in the future is undoubtedly something to consider. Three of the current starters are at least thirty years old, while another has a lengthy history of ailments that could cause him to miss a few years of his career.
The Lions are keeping a close eye on their offensive line’s future, but it might not be too soon to spend a high draft pick on someone.
In the 2025 mock draft, the Lions aim to maintain their strongest position.
Matt Miller of ESPN has released a new 2025 mock draft in which he projects the first round based on the current standings. Miller has the Lions selecting Arizona guard Jonah Savaiinaea with the 31st overall pick.
“Despite their dominating play this season, the Lions have obvious summer needs. Given that Detroit lost Jonah Jackson to free agency and that it’s uncertain how long center Frank Ragnow will play after this season, the interior offensive line is one. Despite playing both tackle positions this season, scouts have Savaiinaea projected as an NFL guard. This season, he has not given up a sack and has only committed two penalties. He is a mauler in the run game and has demonstrated better footwork and finesse in pass blocking. Savaiinaea’s 336 pounds give him the strength and quick reflexes to move defensive linemen around.
Miller either forgot or didn’t have time to note how good Kevin Zeitler’s season is going as the Lions’ interior line’s key Jackson replacement. However, Zeitler has a one-year contract and will turn 35 in March, so the general notion that the Lions would need a guard in the draft is still valid.
Savaiinaea has played both tackle positions for Arizona this season, as Miller pointed out. According to Pro Football Focus, he spent the most of the previous season playing right tackle (one start and 138 total snaps at right guard). He played a full snap at right guard in 2022, and Miller stated that it is assumed that NFL scouts view him as a guard.
The prospect of Savaiinaea and Penei Sewell tearing up defenders on the right side of the Lions offensive line in the future is intriguing, especially if he declares for the 2025 draft (he is a junior).
