Detroit Lions fans are likely clamoring for April 23 to finally arrive.
With so much speculation about what the team plans to do on Day 1, you can't help but wish for this entire slop cycle to be over. There's not a ton of accuracy to be expected from mock drafts at this point, and especially for the Lions, who tend to make some surprising selections.
Looking back on general manager Brad Holmes' picks, specifically along the line, it's hard to gauge what, exactly, he values. In some years, it was clear he went for the best player available at a certain position. In others, it feels like he punted away an opportunity to select someone who could actually make an immediate impact in order to fill a competitive need.
Let's look back on his last five picks for the Lions' offensive line, and give grades to those selections.
Lions' last 5 picks along O-line reveal little about draft strategy
2025 Picks:
G Tate Ratledge (2nd round)
G Miles Frazier (5th round)
Ratledge was an immediate starter for the Lions, and he projects to be their starting right guard for years to come. The rookie came in a bit shaky at the start of 2025, but he ended up being one of the most consistent linemen for Detroit last season. He posted a PFF grade of 70.3 overall, which placed him in the top-25 amongst guards in the NFL last year.
As for Frazier, we've yet to see his impact on the field. The left guard was injured for much of the year, only popping into the lineup when the season was basically lost. He had some promising snaps, but overall, it seems like Christian Mahogany is LG1 until proven otherwise. Still, he could be a solid depth pick for the Lions given Mahogany's injury woes in 2025.
2025 O-line class grade: B
READ MORE: A late-round sleeper pick at EDGE has already met with the Lions multiple times
2024 Picks:
OT Giovanni Manu (4th round)
G Christian Mahogany (6th round)
The Lions clearly like to try and find gems later in the draft to add to their offensive line. That could bode terribly for just about everyone's mock drafts this year, with most projecting the Lions to take a tackle at 17th overall. That's just not their M.O. Manu has been a disappointment so far, with injuries and poor play making him an inconsistent backup tackle.
Mahogany, on the other hand, showed some promise to begin the 2025 season alongside Ratledge. Injuries also cut his season short, but it does seem like Detroit wants to try him again with a better center in place for 2026. He might see some competition added to the room by way of Frazier and possibly a draftee in 2026, but that's a good thing. Iron sharpens iron, etc.
2024 O-line class grade: C+
Other linemen picks worth mentioning during Holmes' tenure: tackle Colby Sordsal, and tackle Penei Sewell. Clearly, Holmes has a pretty...shaky track record when it comes to taking linemen, but he hit the nail on the head with Ratledge and Sewell.
They have a golden opportunity to buck the trend of swinging and missing on linemen picks in this year's draft, with several starting-caliber tackles likely to fall to them at 17th overall. They can't risk overthinking it.