In the wake of the team did in the 2023 NFL Draft, these five Detroit Lions players are the biggest losers.
Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes said he doesn’t have a depth chart in the draft room. In the first round of the 2023 draft, that became clear when he went 2-for-2 against the positional value grain by taking running back Jahmyr Gibbs and linebacker Jack Campbell.
At a glance, neither of those spots would have necessarily been seen as an immediate need based on who was added or brought back in free agency. Looking to the future, sure, but not necessarily urgent for 2023. But in terms of simply adding good players in the draft, the Lions accomplished that pretty well with Gibbs and Campbell, followed by Day 2 picks Sam LaPorta, Brian Branch and Hendon Hooker.
But with additions in the draft, particularly six top-100 picks like the Lions had when you count defensive tackle Brodric Martin, there are players who are hurt by those additions. Maybe they’re in line to lose a starting job, or purely and simply their roster spot lands in peril as the pecking order changes.
Before the draft, there were definitely some Lions players in danger of being cut afterward if things broke a certain way. There might be some overlap here and now, with things breaking in some of those ways, as we hone in on post-draft losers.
With that, here are five Detroit Lions players who are the biggest losers after the 2023 NFL Draft.