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Lions GM Brad Holmes finally drafts DE: 'I guess I followed your mock'
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- Lions GM Brad Holmes finally drafts DE: 'I guess I followed your mock'
The smile was unmistakable. And the friendly side-eye glance he flashed at reporters spoke volumes, too.
"I’m not going to say anything," Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes said. "I guess I followed your mock drafts, I guess. It’s all good."
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Indeed, Holmes hit the perfecta of what most fans and media thought the Lions should do in this year's NFL draft, taking a starting-caliber offensive tackle in Round 1 – Clemson's Blake Miller at Pick No. 17 overall – and a pass-rushing defensive end in Round 2.
Michigan defensive end Derrick Moore (8) forces Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne (15) to fumble during the first half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, November 1, 2025.
ROUND 1: Dabo Swinney says 'God was in a good mood' when he made Blake Miller
The Lions traded up six spots in a deal with the New York Jets on Friday, April 24, to take Michigan football edge rusher Derrick Moore with the 12th pick of the second round, at No. 44 overall.
The Lions gave up their original second-round pick (No. 50) and their second fourth-round choice (No. 128) in the deal.
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Moore, who had a career-high 10 sacks last season and followed that up with a strong performance at the Senior Bowl, is the first defensive end the Lions have taken in the first 195 picks since they drafted Aidan Hutchinson and Josh Paschal in the first and second rounds in 2022.
Holmes had come under scrutiny for neglecting a pass rush that has leaned heavily on Hutchinson in recent years while relying on aging, injury-prone or cast-off compliments such as Paschal, Marcus Davenport and Al-Quadin Muhammad at the second defensive end spot.
The No. 2 pick of the 2022 draft, Hutchinson has 43 sacks in 56 games since entering the league. Every other Lions defensive lineman has a combined 74 sacks in the same span.
"You going to get off my ass now?" Holmes joked. "Probably not."
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell, first-round pick receiver Jameson Williams and first-round pick defensive end Aidan Hutchinson pose for a picture with GM Brad Holmes during the press conference Friday, April 29, 2022 at the practice facility in Allen Park.
Moore was a two-year starter for the Wolverines and a key backup on Michigan 's College Football Playoff championship team in 2023 whose profile seemed to fit what the Lions were looking for in a No. 2 defensive end.
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Holmes insisted that's why the Lions targeted Moore in the draft, not because of the position he plays.
"We’ve been pretty clear about what the requirements are at that position for us," Holmes said. "And he fits us."
Holmes said Moore was the team's top remaining edge rusher after Round 1, and when four consecutive defensive players came off the board in Picks 40-43 – edge rushers R Mason Thomas and Cashius Howell , defensive tackle Christen Miller and linebacker Jacob Rodriguez – he decided to trade up and get the last remaining player in his top bucket of available talent.
The Baltimore Ravens , who hired former Moore's former position coach, Lou Esposito, as their defensive line coach this offseason, took Missouri (and former Michigan State) defensive end Zion Young at No. 45.
Michigan defensive end Derrick Moore speaks to the media during the Big Ten NCAA college football media days at Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas on Thursday, July 24, 2025.
Moore, who made a local visit to the Lions earlier this month, said he's excited to join forces with Hutchinson, who he missed playing with by one season at Michigan, and to stay in the state where he moved his mom after signing with the Wolverines out of high school.
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"I feel like Detroit is my second home, really the whole entire Michigan is really my second home," Moore said.
Holmes said Moore could play this fall as part of a pass rush rotation that also includes Hutchinson, free agent addition DJ Wonnum and big end Levi Onwuzurike .
And when he left the Lions draft room to head downstairs and meet with reporters after making the pick, Holmes acknowledged it dawned on him that he was finally going to the podium to talk about a drafting a defensive end.
"I probably sound like a broken record," he said. "It’s not something that we have been ignoring; it just has to line up. Like I’ve said in years past here before, the easiest thing is to draft a defensive end every single round, every single year. That’s very easy to do. But you want them to be a good player and produce, and now you’re dealing with something else. So that’s what the hope is for Derrick and we feel good about it."
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Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him on Bluesky , X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions GM Brad Holmes drafts DE: 'I guess I followed your mock'
