Detroit Free Press

When Brad Holmes traded up to draft Jameson Williams last spring, he did so knowing Williams was unlikely to play a key role on the Detroit Lions offense as a rookie because of the knee injury he suffered in college. The pick was, essentially, a future’s bet — one whose odds became a little longer

Free Press sports reporter Dave Birkett takes a position-by-position look at the top prospects and biggest Detroit Lions needs in the 2023 NFL draft. This is the sixth in an eight-part series: The Lions had a long-term need at both the wide receiver and tight end positions before Jameson Williams and two other receivers were suspended

This has been a spring of dreams for Detroit Lions fans, as the team’s late surge last season — 8-2 in their final 10 games following a 1-6 start — and canny free-agent pickups have made the franchise the preseason front-runner in the NFC North. Lions fans are hoping that as the NFL draft gets

Dre Bly measured 5 feet 9½ coming out of college, but the Detroit Lions’ new cornerbacks coach jokes that he’s grown since then. “I think I’m right at 5-10,” Bly said earlier this month. “But most little guys, we say we’re bigger than we actually are.” What Bly lacked in size and speed — he

By this time last year, the Detroit Lions had a pretty good handle on who they would take with the No. 2 pick in the draft. If Aidan Hutchinson went first overall, the Lions were eyeballing Travon Walker. If Walker was gone, the Lions would run to the podium with a card bearing Hutchinson’s name.

Free Press sports reporter Dave Birkett takes a position-by-position look at the top prospects and biggest Detroit Lions needs in the 2023 NFL draft. This is the fifth in an eight-part series. The Detroit Lions spent most of their resources in free agency upgrading a defensive backfield that underwhelmed last season. They signed two new starting cornerbacks in Cam Sutton and Emmanuel

The Carolina Panthers appear to have zeroed in on their choice with the No. 1 pick in this week’s NFL draft, but the rest of the first round remains murky I gave Texas Tech pass rusher Tyree Wilson to the Detroit Lions in two of my previous three mocks (while the fourth explored trade-down scenarios),

Projecting what the Detroit Lions do in the 2023 NFL draft is always a crapshoot. But this is one of my favorite exercises of the year — playing out different scenarios for the Lions, and making educated guess on how their decision on their first pick of the draft might impact their other selections. Lions

Free Press sports reporter Dave Birkett takes a position-by-position look at the top prospects and biggest Detroit Lions needs in the 2023 NFL draft. This is the fourth in an eight-part series. The Lions took fliers on two linebackers in the sixth round of last year’s draft, and both ended up being key contributors on defense:

The way Daniel Jeremiah sees it, the best-case scenario for the Detroit Lions in next week’s NFL draft is one that seems increasingly unlikely to happen. Jeremiah said in a conference call Thursday the Lions should be rooting for four quarterbacks to go in the first five picks. “If that happens, you’re going to get

The NFL suspended Jameson Williams on Friday for something legal in 26 states and Canada. Williams, the Lions’ precocious second-year receiver, was banned six games for placing online bets on non-NFL games from an NFL facility in a probe that also snared three of his Detroit Lions teammates. Stanley Berryhill was suspended six games for

The NFL specializes in hypocrisy. Two years ago, the league partnered with DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars Entertainment to promote … gambling. Yet the league forbids its players to open their FanDuel or DraftKings apps while they’re on franchise property and place bets. Not just bets on NFL teams — that’s understandable, obviously — but on

Somewhere in the sweet hereafter, probably on the 50-yard line at Tiger Stadium against the Packers, Alex Karras is laughing right now. Because of course it would be his team, the Detroit Lions, who got pinched the hardest by the NFL’s hypocritical hand Friday, when the league announced it suspended star receiver Jameson Williams, three

Free Press sports reporter Dave Birkett takes a position-by-position look at the top prospects and biggest Detroit Lions needs in the 2023 NFL draft. This is the third in an eight-part series: Jared Goff changed the narrative about the Lions’ quarterback position, and his future as its caretaker, with a strong season in 2022. After struggling

News of four Detroit Lions suspended by the NFL for violating the league’s policy on gambling reminds football fans of a similar circumstance, involving the same team, exactly 60 years ago. While sports gambling is legal in many more states nowadays, including Michigan, and the NFL has not shied away from corporate partnerships with online

The NFL published the finding of its latest gambling probe, and the Detroit Lions are one of two teams affected. Four Lions players have been disciplined after a league investigation that also spread to the Washington Commanders found players violated league policy on wagering. Here’s what we know about the case: What happened? News broke

A look at the Detroit Lions‘ depth chart for 2023, after free agency entering the April 27-29 NFL draft. The Lions added eight new players in free agency and re-signed a host of others. They lost nine players and completed a revamped secondary by trading 2020 No. 3 overall pick Jeff Okudah. But their receiver

The 88th annual National Football League Player Selection Meetings, better known to all of us as the NFL draft, is quickly approaching. This year’s 2023 event, as in years past, is basically the Super Bowl for every team that didn’t win last year’s championship. Here’s the skinny on what you need to know about the

Jalen Hurts signed a five-year, $255 million contract recently, making the Philadelphia Eagles’ star the highest paid quarterback in the league. The Eagles took him with the 53rd overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft’s second round, but almost didn’t. They were coming off an NFC East title the season before and, at that point, Carson Wentz

The NFL was different in 2015 than it is now. Or the value of running backs was, at least. But Brad Holmes still follows the same guiding principles as general manager of the Detroit Lions that he did eight years ago, when he was college scouting director of the St. Louis Rams and they took