Our staff makes their pick for the most valuable selection made in the Detroit Lions’ 2025 NFL Draft.
The Detroit Lions ’ 2025 draft wasn’t really about value. Detroit was aggressive in grabbing three top-70 players, trading up twice with negative trade value. No one will care if the players they grabbed hit, but by some metrics Detroit’s picks quite literally had the lowest value in the league .
Regardless, that wasn’t necessarily true for all of the Lions’ seven picks in the 2025 NFL Draft . So in the latest edition of our draft recap roundtable, our staff made their picks for the most valuable selection made over the weekend.
Previous roundtables:
- What was the biggest surprise from the Lions draft?
- Which Lions UDFA has the best chance to make an impact?
- What is a pick the Lions should have made?
What was the Lions’ best value pick of the 2025 class?
Erik Schlitt: Miles Frazier
Most draft analysts viewed Frazier as having third-round value—Daniel Jeremiah even ranked him No. 61 on his final draft board —so for the Lions to land him with pick No. 171 looks like massive value. Frazier may end up being OG4 on this roster, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he starts a game or two when injuries occur.
Al Karsten: Miles Frazier
Frazier already brings the size, demeanor, and punch that offensive line coach Hank Fraley covets, and his pass protection chops should let him hit the ground running. Fraley can clean up the technical stuff—but Frazier had no business falling this far. Picks like this are a reminder that Brad Holmes might be an evil genius operating at the expense of the rest of the league.
Brandon Knapp: Miles Frazier
While I wasn’t initially excited about the pick, due to the team already taking Tate Rutledge, the fact that they got a top-100 player in Frazier in the fifth round (and for a very fair trade up) is amazing. Frazier can be a future starter, too.
Max Gerber: Miles Frazier
Miles Frazier was one of my favorite guards in this draft class, and I was shocked to see him fall to the end of the fifth round when many analysts had him going in the third or fourth. Detroit landed a starting-caliber player with NFL-ready size and intangibles in a spot where most teams wouldn’t. They obviously knew he was a great value pick as well, since they traded a sixth and seventh-round pick to move up and take him.
John Whiticar: Miles Frazier
Had the Lions not selected Tate Ratledge, I would have viewed this pick as the Lions getting a starting guard in the fifth round—an absolute steal. With Ratledge competing with Christian Mahogany and Graham Glasgow, I think Frazier has a difficult (but not impossible) path to the starting lineup, but even if he is a mere backup, he projects as an elite one. I would have been fine with Frazier in the third round, so securing additional offensive line insurance later in the draft is fantastic. If he can become comfortable at center and tackle during training camp, even better—he would be a depth piece at every position.
Hamza Baccouche: Miles Frazier
Miles Frazier by a wide margin. He has a ton of potential and getting him in the fifth round felt like a steal. He has a very similar resume to Ratledge as a three-year starter in the SEC, and Frazier has shown positional versatility with the ability to play any position that’s not center.
Ryan Mathews: Miles Frazier
Detroit was able to get quite the value when they selected Frazier, the sixth-best guard in the class according to the consensus draft board , with pick No. 171. Even though the Lions had already drafted guard Tate Ratledge earlier with pick No. 57, some great value in and of itself, that didn’t stop Holmes from trading up again for Frazier, a guard who checks all the boxes for Detroit: athleticism (9.30 RAS), dependability (played in every game over his last four seasons), and a mean streak.
Morgan Cannon: Miles Frazier
To draft a player like Miles Frazier at pick 171 is incredible value, and is hopefully yet another late-round steal for Lions’ general manager Brad Holmes. Frazier has three productive years under his belt at LSU , and should offer some positional versatility for offensive line coach Hank Fraley.
Jeremy Reisman: Ahmed Hassanein
Frazier is the lay-up answer based on media notions before the draft, but if we’re going to dismiss the “reaches” made by Holmes, then “steals” hold the same insignificant value. I like Frazier, but he has a tough route for any meaningful snaps early in his career. Hassanein, picked a round later, could be part of the defensive line rotation on Day 1, and with his passion, energy, and growing knowledge of the game, he has a ton of untapped potential. That’s everything you want in a sixth-round pick.