Projecting Detroit’s five remaining picks of the 2025 NFL Draft.
The Detroit Lions beefed up their trenches on both sides of the ball with Tyleik Williams and Tate Ratledge while finding a new athletic weapon on offense in Isaac TeSlaa. In true Brad Holmes fashion, several trades were made that shook up Detroit’s draft picks for the third and final day of the 2025 NFL Draft .
The Lions now sit with two picks in the sixth round and three more in the seventh. While there’s a non-zero chance that those picks will be packaged to trade up to an earlier round, here’s how things could play out if the Lions stick with the draft picks that they currently have:
Round 6, Pick 182: LB Jack Kiser, Notre Dame
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Jack Kiser is a Dan Campbell type of player through and through. He served as a team captain during Notre Dame ’s Championship run this past season while playing a big share of the team’s defensive and special teams snaps.
The Lions are in need of a special teams linebacker following the release of Jalen Reeves-Maybin, and Kiser could be that guy. He’s a solid coverage inside linebacker who does better in open space than he does at the line of scrimmage—an opposite issue from most of Detroit’s linebackers.
He lacks some physicality in the run game, but he has a high football IQ and would be a valuable asset to have in this team’s linebacker room.
Round 6, Pick 196: S Kitan Crawford, Nevada
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Crawford is a stalwart special teamer more than anything else, which is exactly what a team will ask of a sixth-round rookie defensive back. He was All-Big 12 for his work on special teams during his stint at Texas and has made some big plays in that phase including a blocked kick.
He’s a former track star who put up a 4.41 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine and earned himself a 9.72 RAS. He’s not strong against the run, but he more than makes up for that by being a playmaker in the passing game. He plays physical against receivers and while he doesn’t have the interception totals that one would look for in a safety prospect, he has a knack for batting passes away or punching the ball out of the receivers hands to force incompletions.
Round 7, Pick 228: EDGE Tyler Batty, BYU
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An athletic 6-foot-6, 271 pound edge defender is a luxury in the NFL, regardless of what round they’re drafted in. The Lions’ first three draft picks this year point toward their confidence in their starting defensive ends, so it makes sense they’d go for a developmental player later on in the draft.
Batty played five seasons for BYU and totaled 16.5 sacks and 34 TFL. He also was able to create some turnovers, forcing three fumbles and coming away with two interceptions. He was a team captain for the Cougars and was named first-team All-Big 12. He’s versatile on the defensive line and could play as a true end or shift inside to the 3T role if needed. The downside here is that he will be 25 years old when the season starts.
Round 7, Pick 230: C Drew Kendall, Boston College
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The Lions will need a center to develop behind Frank Ragnow, and Boston College’s Drew Kendall is the perfect candidate for that job.
Kendall, a team captain and All-ACC player for Boston College in 2024, is an elite athlete who can play center or guard if needed. His college offense was a run-heavy zone scheme, so his skillset will translate nicely to what Detroit does with Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.
An added benefit is that he is a former teammate of Christian Mahogany, and he plays with very similar aggression and intensity. Seventh-rounders are not expected to be starters any time soon, so it makes sense that the Lions find a depth piece to help out their elite offensive line.
Round 7, Pick 244: CB Alijah Huzzie, North Carolina
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While Detroit’s starting cornerback group is set in stone, they still need to shore up the back end of their depth chart.
Huzzie is a versatile corner who can play both the outside and in the slot, making him an ideal backup candidate in case any of Detroit’s starters go down. Huzzie has taken over 3,600 defensive snaps while at East Tennessee State and North Carolina with 187 tackles, two sacks, 16 interceptions, and 44 pass breakups to his name.
He is also a proficient special teamer who excels specifically as a punt returner. He fielded 19 punts over two seasons for the Tar Heels and scored on two of those returns.