2 weeks Ago
The Detroit Lions bolstered their defensive front by selecting Ohio State defensive lineman Tyleik Williams with their first-round pick, No. 28 overall, of the 2025 NFL Draft . Williams, a key cog for the Buckeyes’ national championship-winning defense in 2024, was a two-year starter at Ohio State while earning All-Big Ten Conference recognition for all four years.
He started 25 of 51 games and racked up 136 combined tackles, 28 tackles for loss, 10 pass deflections and 11 1/2 sacks, five of which came as a true freshman in 2021. Advertisement The 6-foot-3, 329-pounder was The Athletic ’s No. 5 defensive tackle prospect this year.
He was part of an elite pass rush unit in his final year at Oho State. The national champions posted 53.0 sacks over their 16 games, second-most among all FBS schools.
Williams finished his senior year with 2 1/2 sacks, 8 tackles for loss and a pass defended. ‘The Beast’ breakdown Williams ranked No. 40 in Brugler’s top 300 big board .
Here’s what Brugler had to say about him in his annual NFL Draft guide : “With his initial quickness, Williams can cross the face of blockers or create knockback with his ability to stack, find the football and detach. Aside from his physical capabilities, he has outstanding awareness to identify pre-snap clues and anticipate play design. Overall, Williams needs further development as a pass rusher, but he is one of the best run-defending linemen in the draft class because of his recognition skills and disciplined execution at deconstructing blocks.
He has the type of skill set that will be appreciated by NFL coaches.” Nick Baumgardner grades the pick One of the most underrated defensive linemen in the draft, Williams was an absolute rock inside for Ohio State the last two years. He’s a massive nose tackle who also can slide over and play as a three-technique.
Many experts had pegged an edge rusher opposite Aidan Hutchinson as Detroit’s biggest need, but defensive tackle (especially with Alim McNeill still rehabbing a knee injury) was another pretty sizable one. Williams should be a great fit in the NFC North, a division which loves to hammer the football. The Lions did leave some edge talent on the board here, and Williams is a bit limited in terms of his versatility, but he should be an impact run defender quickly.
Grade: B How he fits The Lions have a lot of depth at defensive tackle for 2025, but this is a move for the long term – and a good one at that. Williams is arguably the best run-defending defensive tackle in this class, and has untapped potential as an interior rusher. He was a big part of Ohio State’s national championship run.
He’s a high-IQ tackle with a strong feel for how offenses look to attack him. The idea of him and Alim McNeill as Detroit’s defensive interior of the future is a scary one. Advertisement Depth-chart impact The Lions can afford to ease Williams in slowly as a rookie, but he feels like a player who’ll be ready to contribute to the rotation from Day 1.
McNeill is coming off a torn ACL and might not be ready when the season starts. I’d expect him to be part of the rotation with DJ Reader, Levi Onwuzurike and Roy Lopez to begin the year, and take over as a full-time starter in 2026 – when Onwuzurike and Reader are free agents. They also could have picked .
.. Williams isn’t the edge rusher Lions fans wanted.
Boston College’s Donovan Ezeiruaku and Marshall’s Mike Green would’ve fit that description, but if the Lions liked either player enough, they would’ve taken them. Alabama LB Jihaad Campbell and Michigan CB Will Johnson could’ve also been had, but medical concerns were in play and the Lions have depth at those positions. Fast evaluation Williams isn’t a sexy pick, but he plays with effort, defends the run at a high level, has great instincts and knows how to beat blocks.
This is a pick you might come to like more in the future than the present, but Williams has a bright future ahead of him. He very much feels like a Lions kind of guy. (Photo: Sean M.
Haffey / Getty Images).
