Mel Kiper Jr. has lukewarm reaction to Lions drafting Tyleik Williams

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Following their 15-2 regular season and first-round exit at the hands of the Washington Commanders, the Detroit Lions received the 28th pick in the 2025 NFL draft, and on Thursday, they used that selection on defensive tackle Tyleik Williams.

Williams, 22, played high school football at Unity Reed High School in Bull Run, Virginia, before committing to Ohio State for the 2021 season.

In four seasons with the Buckeyes, Williams appeared in 51 games and recorded 136 tackles (28 for a loss), 11.5 sacks, 10 passes defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble (which was returned for a touchdown).

Williams earned All-Big Ten honors twice, All-American honors once and won a national championship in 2024. Pro Football Focus gave him a 79.2 overall grade for his performance in over 586 defensive snaps last season.

After the pick, ESPN's Mel Kiper, one of the top NFL draft experts, shared his thoughts on the selection.

"I have mixed feelings on the Lions' pick," Kiper wrote Thursday night. "Tyleik Williams was the lowest-ranked first-round pick on my board at No. 44. But defensive tackles went fast Thursday, with my top four off the board by No. 21. When Detroit was on the clock at No. 28, Darius Alexander was the best remaining player at the position, but he was only a few spots higher than Williams on the Big Board at No. 39. So it's a slight reach, but there weren't many options if Detroit was set on adding to its interior. Williams is sudden and stuffs the run, but he isn't a dominant pass rusher, and I would have liked to see Detroit get an edge rusher here to take the load off Aidan Hutchinson."

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The Lions lost Jonah Williams, who played 8.9% of their defensive snaps in 2024, to the New Orleans Saints, while Kyle Peko and John Cominsky have hit the market and have yet to sign back with Detroit or elsewhere.

They clearly needed help in the front seven, but as Kiper said, the bigger need was probably edge rusher.