Small school stud matched with Detroit Lions in new 2025 mock draft

The Detroit Lions are likely to be in the market for an edge rusher in April's draft, and a smaller school stud has been put out there as a fit.

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As well as this season is going, and as well as defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn has navigated a litany of injuries, it's safe to assume the Detroit Lions will be somewhere in the market for an edge rusher in the 2025 draft. Even if Za'Darius Smith is back next season, a younger player stands to be a nice fit and the effort to pair someone with Aidan Hutchinson last offseason fell way short.

Of course the Lions stand to be picking late in the first round come April, perhaps as late as possible (No. 32). That's where all the current mock draft projections are right now, including the latest mock draft from Daniel Harms of The Draft Network.

Harms matched the Lions with an edge rusher, of course, but one that probably lands under the radar right now for a lot of people: Mike Green out of Marshall University.

"Coming off of an injury, Aidan Hutchinson will need a partner in crime to terrorize opposing quarterbacks. Mike Green is an explosive, bendy athlete with a variety of pass-rush tools at his disposal. He'd be fun across from Hutchinson."

Lions 2025 NFL Draft: Who is Mike Green?

Green started his college career at Virginia. Last year, his first suiting up for Marshall, he had 4.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss as Pro Football Focus graded him as a top-12 edge defender in the country.

This year, Green has reached another level. In 13 games this season, before the Thundering Herd takes on Army in the Independence Bowl on Dec. 28, Green leads the FBS with 17 sacks and 23 tackles for loss. He is PFF's second-highest graded edge defender in the country, with the sixth-best run defense grade and the 12th-best pass rush grade at the the position.

Over his two seasons at Marshall, Green has 93 quarterback pressures and 59 hurries (according to PFF). As for concerns about a low level of competition, he totaled three sacks and nine pressures over games against Virginia Tech and Ohio State this season. If he declares for the 2025 draft, he's generally been regarded as a Day 2 pick but he has moved into the first round in some of the most recent mocks.

Written about a month ago, Ryan Fowler of The Draft Network has nice breakdown of Green.

Green (6-foot-4, 248 pounds) is lighter than the Lions generally prefer in a defensive lineman or edge rusher. But he can get after the quarterback and he has been a good, willing run defender. Some Lions fans might see a James Houston replica here, but Green looks like a more complete edge defender and he should not be pigeonholed that way.

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