Detroit Lions 2021 draft: Instant reactions and grades

The entire draft was an absolute blast, and the Detroit Lions kicked off their rebuild with a very solid draft class. Brad Holmes didn’t reach for positional need, he just stuck to his draft board and took the best player available at every pick.

The value the Lions got in the trenches could be particularly valuable, as Dan Campbell’s influence can be seen with three big boys that play a very mean brand of football.

My favorite pick was the very first one, Penei Sewell at seventh overall, which will help solidify the Lions offensive line for years down the line. While my least favorite pick was the very last one, Jermar Jefferson, mainly because I just didn’t think running back warranted a pick this year.

I mentioned it before but it is really tough to hand out grades for players that literally were just brought into the organization. Just at first glance, it looks good, but we won’t know until we see these guys strap on the pads.

This class wasn’t as flashy as some fans would have liked it to be, Detroit didn’t jump at a wideout early, they didn’t take their next franchise quarterback. But these types of picks are necessary for a rebuild, even if they aren’t popular. Just look at this past year’s Super Bowl for reference. We saw how important it still is to win the battle in the trenches, and the Lions aren’t oblivious to that fact.

Was this a perfect draft for the Detroit Lions? No, of course as we know, no draft class will be. But the Lions made a bunch of value picks to start the ball rolling in the right direction, and I think Brad Holmes and the scouting staff deserve credit for the work they did.

Final grade: A-