It's safe to say Brad Holmes has nailed all three of his drafts thus far as Detroit Lions' general manager. Immediate contributors and foundational pieces have been added in all three, and with four top-100 picks this year Holmes is in line for another good run in late-April.
But no general manager is infallible in the draft.
Injuries impact or flat-out derail a player's development sometimes, never to recover. At times, someone just proves unworthy of holding a significant role and goes down as a miss. But Holmes' priority to build through the draft yielded an NFC Championship Game berth in Year 3, so it's impossible to argue with that being an appropriate plan.
As contract extensions loom for some players in those recent draft classes, keeping the pipeline of young and cheap talent full will take on more and more importance.
A list of Lions' busts would be easier to make if it were being done at least 4-5 years ago reviewing the prior season. The pickings are slim right now looking back to the just-completed season, which is a sign of the work Holmes has done.
Still, these three Lions' players can safely be declared as busts after the 2023 season.
3 Detroit Lions players who can be called busts after the 2023 season
3. TE James Mitchell
Mitchell, come off a torn ACL early in his final college season at Virginia Tech, was an interesting fifth-round flier for the Lions in the 2022 draft. As T.J. Hockenson moved toward getting a big contract, it was ok to not rush him into action as a rookie with a possibility he could become a future starter.
Before last April's draft, then-new Lions' tight ends coach Steve Heiden had high hopes for Mitchell moving toward his second season.
"Here’s a kid that was coming off an ACL last year and that’s hard to do,” Heiden said. “I had to do that myself as a player, and you’re really not yourself that whole next year, so it was a lot of credit to him just being out there playing.The things you see on tape, you see the athletic tools and some of the things he can do movement wise, and we’re going to grow and build off of that as we go this year. So I’m excited to get him his second year off the ACL. I think that’s an important year to grow and develop. I think there’s a lot of room to grow there for him.”
Of course the Lions drafted Sam LaPorta a couple weeks later, re-setting expectations and the level of opportunity for Mitchell. He played in 15 games last season, starting one and catching both of his targets for 28 yards. He could not usurp the highly mediocre Brock Wright as the No. 2 tight end.
Wright is a restricted free agent and he seems to be well-liked by the coaching staff, thus he's pretty likely to be back in 2024. It's a stretch to call a fifth-round pick a bust. But Mitchell has not come anywhere close to reaching his perceived potential through two seasons, and there's not a lot of hope he will.
2. DE Josh Paschal
The Lions took Paschal in the second round of the 2022 draft (No. 46 overall). The start of his rookie season was delayed by surgery to repair a sports hernia he suffered late in his final college season. Then a knee issue cost him two games a little later in the season, and his playing time never recovered to a notable level after that.
A knee injury cost Paschal five games early in the 2023 season. He played well against the run upon returning to action, and eventually played quite a bit (60 percent-plus snap shares in five of seven games from Week 13 to the Wild Card Round). But he did not put up much in the way of numbers, including just one sack over 15 total games for the season (including the playoffs).
Paschal is versatile, able to play inside or out on the edge, and he has flashed athleticism at times. He could be headed for a breakthrough/breakout in his third season, ala Alim McNeill this past season, and it's worth noting he has played 22 games and 693 defensive snaps over two seasons.
But the idea of Paschal having that third year breakthrough next season is rooted in his being able to be, or stay on, the field early in a season. It's hard to bank on that at all at this point. So it's possible to just declare him a bust and a top-50 pick that didn't work out right now, without the threat of regret.
1. DT Levi Onwuzurike
Despite sitting out his final season at Washington due to COVID-19, Onwuzurike snuck into the late first round of some 2021 mock drafts (for whatever it was worth). The Lions getting him in the second round, at pick No. 41, felt like a potential steal.
Onwuzurike then battled a back injury that dated back to his college career as a rookie, albeit while playing 16 games. Then he went down with a back injury early in the first practice of 2022 training camp, and missed the entire season after having surgery.
Just before this past season started, he revealed the significance of that surgery and the realization his football career could have been over.
Onwuzurike came into training camp last summer fully healthy for the first time in three tries though, and by all accounts he had no health issues all season. It's hard to remember him ever being on a daily practice report, let alone a final Friday injury report in any week. If it happened, it was rare.
But Onwuzurike played in just 10 regular season games (132 defensive snaps), as he was a healthy scratch in the other seven. He played in all three playoff games, for a total of 32 defensive snaps. His only sack all season, and arguably his only noticeable play all season, came in Week 18.
Back issues are no joke, and they often never completely go away. Onwuzurike having to have a spinal fusion surgery is definitely unique and noteworthy when thinking about his future as a football player.
In any case, Onwuzurike's career as a Detroit Lion might just be over after three seasons. He stands on a short list of potential offseason cut candidates.
Through no fault of his own, Onwuzurike is easily the top Lions' bust coming out of the 2023 season.