With the 2025 NFL Draft in the books, it’s time to break down the Detroit Lions’ class of seven players. Over the next week and beyond, we’ll be crushing tape, looking over stats and data, conferring with college writers and coaches, and looking to any and all resources to get to know the new Lions players better.
But why not take a look at our own first impressions. I’m not saying we have to grade the Lions’ draft class immediately (of course, we will anyways). But there is something to be said about how we feel about picks in the moment. We can look back later and see why we were right wrong to feel that way, and course correct for the future.
So today’s Question of the Day is:
What do you think was the Lions’ best draft pick?
My answer: I am going to answer this question more like “my favorite pick in the draft” rather than which player is going to be best. Because, quite frankly, it’s a lay up answer to say that first-round pick Tyleik Williams is their best pick.
My favorite pick, without a doubt, was selected Boise State edge defender Ahmed Hassanein in the sixth round.
I’m not going to sit here and try to convince you Hassanein is going to be an All-Pro pass rusher. I’m not even sure he’ll make the team. And I’m not even picking this because they finally selected an edge defender. Personally, I wasn’t hell bent on the Lions selecting a defensive end as some fans were, and I’m also not going to pretend like grabbing a sixth-round guy is solving their starter/depth issues there.
I’m also not counting any of that out.
Find me a recent Lions draft pick with a better origin story. Hassanein spent his formative years in Egypt with absolutely no knowledge of the game of football. He made it sound like he didn’t even know it existed. But he was a superb athlete in everything else Egypt had to offer: swimming, CrossFit, boxing, wrestling, jiu-jitsu.
Then after being convinced to live with some of his family in America, he found football and thrived. Without any formal training or a defensive line coach, he started dominating high school football. Then hr started dominating at camps before heading to college.
“I didn’t have a D-line coach. My brother taught me everything in the kitchen, just techniques,” Hassanein told Lions media. “I trained as a wide receiver, couldn’t catch the ball. I trained as a linebacker, there was too much stuff going on. He just threw me at the D-line and just told me to go get the guy that has the ball. I was like, ‘Perfect. See ball, get ball. I can do that.’ I went in and started grabbing facemasks, throwing people, kicking people, jiu-jitsu flipping them. I didn’t know what I was doing.
“[…] by the Lord’s grace I received multiple D-1 offers, he started taking me to some camps, people started to know who I am, I started getting known, people started knowing who I am and people were asking, ‘Who’s this kid? He’s only been playing football for two years.’”
The rest is history. It only took a couple years at Boise State before he became one of the most prolific pass rushers in school history. He posted 22.0 sacks and 32 tackles for loss in his last two years. The man is still learning the game, yet is one of the most productive pass rushers in this class… and he’s also got the size (267 pounds) to set an edge.
And is there a more Dan Campbell guy than someone crying over the phone after he was just drafted, convincing his coach that he’ll DIE on the field for him?
He’s not going to be a fan favorite. He already is.
What is your favorite pick in the draft? Vote in the poll below and share your answer in the comment section.
Poll
Who is your favorite Lions pick in the 2025 draft?
8%
DT Tyleik Williams
(102 votes)
39%
G Tate Ratledge
(464 votes)
17%
WR Isaac TeSlaa
(204 votes)
6%
G Miles Frazier
(73 votes)
27%
EDGE Ahmed Hassanein
(318 votes)
0%
WR Dominic Lovett
(2 votes)
1176 votes total