The Detroit Lions have a stacked roster right now. Can every 2025 NFL Draft pick make the final 53-man roster?
The Detroit Lions are entering rare territory for the Brad Holmes regime: not every draft pick is safe.
From Holmes’ debut 2021 draft class all the way up to 2024, only one Lions draft pick (James Houston) failed to make the initial 53-man roster in their rookie season—barring injured players like Hendon Hooker. Jermar Jefferson in 2021 made the team as a depth running back. Even though he missed the initial roster, Houston and fellow sixth-round pick Malcolm Rodriguez had extremely promising rookie seasons in 2022. Antoine Green, although he was cut just last week, nonetheless made the team as a rookie in 2023—albeit to the tune of a single catch. Even with the roster getting stacked in 2024, the final pick of the Lions’ draft class proved to be one of their best: Christian Mahogany.
The Lions have had contributors up and down their draft classes, and though not every pick panned out immediately, they have at least made the 53-man roster at one point in their rookie season. That might not be the case in 2025.
The roster crunch could significantly hit the Lions’ 2025 draft class. Though the coaching staff undoubtedly wants each and every draft pick to be a contributor, the number of roster spaces available between them and veterans might yield some difficult cuts.
The expectation is that their top five draft picks—Tyleik Williams, Tate Ratledge, Isaac TeSla, Miles Frazier, and Ahmed Hassanein—are safe, but crazier things have happened. In 2019, the New York Jets spent the 68th overall selection on Jachai Polite, but waived him before the regular season. In 2013, the Oakland Raiders waived rookie fourth-round quarterback Tyler Wilson despite the depth chart consisting of Terrelle Pryor, Matt McGloin, and Matt Flynn. In 2020, the Lions waived running back Jason Huntley despite his fifth-round status.
In terms of likelier draft cuts, the two names on the block are safety Dan Jackson and receiver Dominic Lovett. For one, being drafted in the seventh round means a roster spot needs to be earned, not given. Though they each have opportunities ahead of them on the depth chart, the coin could just as easily go against them. At safety, Jackson is competing with Loren Strickland and Morice Norris. It is not a crowded room, but that also paints a clear picture: the Lions need someone to step up. At receiver, Lovett faces a number of roster threats, and that does not even include the choice to keep a sixth receiver or not.
Today’s Question of the Day is:
Will every 2025 Detroit Lions draft pick make the final roster?
My answer: Yes.
In my initial 53-man roster prediction , I had Lovett as the lone draft pick to miss the roster, but it is worth noting that this did not include potential injured players. A player like Alim McNeill starting on the Physically Unable to Perform list would open up a roster spot, and I think that could be favorable towards Lovett. Special teams will be the key for both Lovett and Jackson, and I like their odds.
The Lions have nobody behind Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch, and though Jackson would not be a plug-and-play safety, he at least gets the benefit of draft status. The team liked him enough as a prospect, and there is likely a blueprint to get him into the lineup in some capacity. As for Lovett, being depth at slot receiver is nice, but if he can clinch a spot as a gunner on special teams, that is his true ticket to the roster. Looking at the depth chart, the Lions have a lot of good special teamers, but not many of their players have gunner experience. If Lovett makes the roster, he could even be active on game day over a player like TeSlaa due to his special teams contributions.
Do you think every draft pick will make the initial 53-man roster? Let us know in the comments below.