Detroit, MI

NFL Draft grades: Lions get clean fit, debatable value in Tyleik Williams

Published

9 months ago

April 25, 2025

NFL Draft grades: Lions get clean fit, debatable value in Tyleik Williams

In years past, Brad Holmes has shown a willingness to move up and down in the first round. Big swings like 32 to 12 for Jameson Williams in 2022, or a willingness to move back and wait for his prospect to fall to him like Jahmyr Gibbs in 2023. But in 2025, Holmes let the board come to him with the Lions’ first-round pick.

The Detroit Lions selected Ohio State defensive tackle Tyleik Williams at pick No. 28, making him the fifth interior defender off the board and the 10th defensive linemen to be drafted in the first round. Earlier this week, ESPN’s Dan Graziano predicted there could be a run on defensive linemen on Thursday night, and while it didn’t happen all that early as Graziano forecasted, it still played out that way before the Lions’ pick.

Still, that didn’t deter Holmes, someone who’s been unafraid of bucking need for value, from taking Williams. Much like a year ago, the Lions were afforded the opportunity to let the draft shake itself out. And much like a year ago, there seemed spots where Detroit could make a move to go up and get a guy with a first-round grade on their board.

In the end, Holmes went with Williams, a massive piece for the middle of the Lions defensive line at 6-foot-3 and 330 pounds. Williams lined up mostly as a three-technique for the Buckeyes defense despite his unusual size for the position. Run defense is at the forefront of his player profile, something Brian Baldinger highlighted shortly after the Lions made him the pick.

It’s easy to see the long-term fit next to Alim McNeill: both capable of moonlighting in the middle of the defense at nose tackle, but also having unusual size plus footwork and agility to make plays in the backfield as a three-tech. In the short term, the Lions have a guy who could very well be ready to step in and be productive immediately while McNeill rehabs from his ACL injury.

Williams recorded an 88.6 run defense grade in 2024 according to Pro Football Focus, the eighth-best mark among 539 qualifying interior defenders in FBS. While he has all the physical tools—athleticism, size, and strength—to play the run as effectively as he does, many analysts (and Holmes) highlight the football intelligence Williams’ possesses. Dane Brugler of The Athletic highlighted that Williams “… has outstanding awareness to identify pre-snap clues and anticipate play design … he is one of the best run-defending linemen in the draft class because of his recognition skills and disciplined execution at deconstructing blocks.” For those reasons, as Holmes remarked on Thursday night to the media, he’s a natural fit for the Detroit Lions.

What’s not as evident in Williams’ game is his pass-rush plan. Despite playing more than 320+ pass-rushing snaps in each of his last two seasons at Ohio State, Williams never registered more than 22 pressures in either season. He tallied just 11.5 sacks in his four-year collegiate career with his freshman season being the most productive (5.0). In spite of fans pining for Detroit to add an edge defender, the Lions opted to go with Williams at pick No. 28. Detroit passed on higher-ranked edge rushers like Jihaad Campbell, who went just three picks later to Philadelphia, and with names like Mike Green and Donovan Ezeiruaku also still available, the Lions clearly prioritized interior disruption over edge help.

Could Holmes have afforded to be more patient with the board and wait on Williams, or a similarly-tiered player? The Los Angeles Rams were able to move back 20 spots and into the second round for a future first-round pick from the Atlanta Falcons. The Houston Texans added a third-round pick this year (99) and next year to move back from 25 to 34. It takes two to make a deal happen, and maybe it just wasn’t there for Detroit in the end.

Detroit upgraded their defensive line in the immediate and created a blueprint for the future of their interior. Williams is exactly the kind of player the Lions covet when it comes to his football smarts and ability to defend the run, and it’s easy to see his path to contributing. He is as much an identity pick as you’ll find in the first round. But it’s also fair to question if Holmes got the most value out of the 28th overall pick by selecting a prospect that checked in at No. 41 among the Top 300 of Arif Hasan’s Consensus Big Board.

Williams is a clear identity and scheme fit, and there’s no doubt he’ll help Detroit’s run defense right away. Questions about his upside as a pass rusher and draft value keep this pick from earning top marks, but the commitment to solidifying the interior of the defensive line make this a pick that’s hard to scrutinize too much.

My grade: B

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Detroit, MI

Vigil, protest held for Renee Nicole Good at Detroit’s Clark park

Published

5 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Vigil, protest held for Renee Nicole Good at Detroit’s Clark park

The name Renee Nicole Good bounced off the buildings of southwest Detroit as hundreds marched on the evening of Friday, Jan. 9, following Good’s fatal shooting by an immigration agent in Minneapolis earlier in the week.

A candlelight vigil was held at 6 p.m. at the city’s Clark Park in memory of Good, before attendees took off marching down Vernor Highway.

As of 7:30 p.m., the mass crowd had reached Cavalry Street, about half a mile away from the park, and turned, yelling “What do we want? Justice ” and calling for ICE’s ousting from communities.

Good, 37, was in her car when she was shot in the head on Wednesday, Jan.7, by a federal immigration officer in south Minneapolis. She leaves behind three children, ages 6, 12 and 15.

The shooting was recorded by witnesses and heightened political and community tensions over federal immigration enforcement as part of President Donald Trump’s nationwide immigration operations. The Trump administration has since said the shooting was done in self-defense, USA TODAY reports.

Protests have occurred in cities across the U.S. since Good’s death, including gatherings in Michigan, and additional demonstrations are scheduled throughout the weekend.

This is a developing story.

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Detroit, MI

Debating Mike McDaniel’s fit for Detroit Lions OC job

Published

17 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Debating Mike McDaniel’s fit for Detroit Lions OC job

But we also can’t ignore the drastic fall-off from the Dolphins’ offense. Partially because of injuries to Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill over the past two seasons, the Dolphins have finished 22nd and 25th in scoring offense in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Injuries can be used as an excuse, but the greatest coordinators find a way through the adversity.

Beyond that, there are questions about his philosophical and schematic fit. While the Lions have built their offenses on grit and physicality, McDaniel seems to favor speed and finesse. But maybe that’s exactly what the Lions need. Detroit has two speedy players in Jameson Williams and Jahmyr Gibbs, who could probably be utilized more creatively, and it’s hard to imagine anyone better than McDaniel to do so.

McDaniel also has a very long coaching history with a lot of different coaching influences and schemes—including his closest coaching guru: Kyle Shanahan. The 49ers head coach has a scheme that is both more congruent with what the Lions do and much more adaptable.

On this EMERGENCY PODCAST, our crew debates the fit of McDaniel in Detroit, along with our thoughts on the Lions’ other known candidate: Commanders quarterbacks coach David Blough.

Before that, Erik Schlitt, Ryan Mathews, and I discuss our biggest takeaways from Lions general manager Brad Holmes’ end-of-season press conference, including the future of David Montgomery, whether Holmes really took accountability for his mistakes, and our confidence in him moving forward.

You can catch our discussion in the embedded podcast below or on any podcasting platform you’d prefer. Just search “Pride of Detroit.”

You can also catch video of the show over on our YouTube pages. Here are the links:

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Detroit, MI

Tarik Skubal, Tigers can’t agree on 2026 salary. Here’s what happens

Published

1 day ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Tarik Skubal, Tigers can’t agree on 2026 salary. Here’s what happens

The Detroit Tigers and left-hander Tarik Skubal did not agree to terms on a one-year contract for the 2026 season before the 8 p.m. deadline Thursday, Jan. 8, to exchange salary figures in the arbitration process.

Skubal filed at $32 million; the Tigers filed at $19 million.

It’s a difference of $13 million.

An arbitration panel will review the case during a hearing scheduled for late January or early to mid-February. The arbitrators must determine whether Skubal is worth more or less than the $25.5 million midpoint. If he’s worth more, they will select his $32 million proposal; if less, they will select the Tigers’ $19 million proposal. The panel isn’t allowed to choose a salary in between $19 million and $32 million.

The Tigers operate as a file-and-trial club in salary arbitration under president of baseball operations Scott Harris, meaning there won’t be further negotiations with Skubal regarding a one-year contract. A multi-year contract could still be negotiated, but it’s highly unlikely.

Skubal – represented by agent Scott Boras – reaches free agency after the 2026 season. The 29-year-old is positioned to become the first pitcher in MLB history to receive a $400 million contract.

If the two sides were to reach an agreement before a hearing, it would likely be a one-year contract with a player option, thus maintaining Skubal’s path to free agency in the 2026-27 offseason.

The reigning back-to-back American League Cy Young winner was projected by MLB Trade Rumors to receive $17.8 million in his third and final year of salary arbitration. He previously earned $2.65 million in 2024, then $10.15 million in 2025.

Why couldn’t the Tigers and Skubal agree on a salary for 2026?

The arbitration case for Skubal is unusually complex, thanks to a rarely used provision highlighted by ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Because Skubal has more than five years of MLB service time, he isn’t limited to comparing himself only to past arbitration-eligible players. Instead, he can compare himself to any player in baseball.

Those unique rights allow Skubal – who has five years, 114 days of service time – to point to MLB’s highest-paid pitchers (such as Max Scherzer’s $43.3 million per year from 2022-24 or Zack Wheeler’s $42 million per year from 2025-27), arguing that his elite performance warrants a salary in that range – not in the $17.8 million range, as projected by MLB Trade Rumors.

That’s what pushed the Tigers and Skubal to an arbitration hearing.

[ MUST LISTEN: Make “Days of Roar” your go-to Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ]

The current record for the largest one-year arbitration contract belongs to outfielder Juan Soto, who agreed to $31 million with the New York Yankees for the 2024 season.

If Skubal wins the arbitration hearing, he will surpass Soto and claim the new record with his proposed $32 million salary. If Skubal loses, then he will earn the $19 million salary proposed by the Tigers.

There are two other arbitration records on the line.

The highest-paid arbitration-eligible pitcher belongs to right-hander David Price, who earned $19.75 million with the Tigers in 2015 – his fourth year in the arbitration process as a Super Two qualifier. The largest raise for an arbitration-eligible pitcher belongs to right-hander Jacob deGrom, who surged from $7.4 million to $17 million – an increase of $9.6 million – with the New York Mets in 2019.

Those records for pitchers will belong to Skubal – but only if his proposed $32 million salary is selected by the arbitration panel. He will fall just short of the records if the panel selects the Tigers’ proposed $19 million.

Skubal is the best pitcher in baseball.

More notably, he is on a Hall of Fame trajectory.

In 2025, Skubal registered a 2.21 ERA with 33 walks (4.4% walk rate) and 241 strikeouts (32.2% strikeout rate) across 195⅓ innings in 31 starts. He made the All-Star Game for the second time in his six-year MLB career.

Skubal became the first back-to-back AL Cy Young winner since right-hander Pedro Martínez in 1999-2000, leading the AL with a 2.39 ERA in 2024 and a 2.21 ERA in 2025.

The Tigers haven’t been to an arbitration hearing since right-hander Michael Fulmer in 2019.

Fulmer lost the case, receiving the Tigers’ proposed $2.8 million salary rather than his requested $3.4 million. Before that hearing, the Tigers hadn’t participated in an arbitration hearing since 2001 – and the Tigers haven’t lost a case since 2000.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

Listen to our weekly Tigers show “Days of Roar” every Monday afternoon during the season and Tuesday afternoon during the offseason on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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