Brad Holmes Just Solved the Lions Pass Rush Problem With One Perfect Pick

Another Home Run for Brad Holmes

The Detroit Lions traded up six spots to grab Michigan edge rusher Derrick Moore at pick 44, and if you’re wondering whether Brad Holmes just pulled off another draft masterpiece, the answer is yes. Yes he did.

Moore brings everything you want in a modern pass rusher. He’s 6-foot-4, 260 pounds with 34-inch arms, which means he has the prototype size the league craves. But here’s what matters more than the measurables: this kid can flat-out get after the quarterback.

Over his college career, Moore posted a nearly 20% pass-rush win rate that jumped to 23% in his final two seasons. Those aren’t just good numbers, they’re elite numbers. In 2025, he had a pass-rush win rate of nearly 40% on true-pass sets, which is the kind of production that makes offensive coordinators wake up in cold sweats.

The Perfect Complement to Hutch

Here’s where this pick gets really smart. Moore isn’t just talented, he’s exactly what this defense needed opposite Aidan Hutchinson. While Hutch does his thing on one side, Moore can bring a completely different skill set to the other edge.

His pass-rush plan is already developed, built around heavy hands and legitimate power. He can bull rush you into next week or soften the edge with a cross chop technique that offensive tackles are going to hate. And when those moves stall out, he’s got counters like a euro-step double-swipe that sound fancy but work beautifully.

The analytics back up what you see on tape too. Moore racked up 80 total pressures and 30 combined sacks and hits despite playing in an eight-man rotation at Michigan. Imagine what he can do when he gets starter reps in Allen Park.

Room to Grow, But That’s Fine

Look, Moore isn’t perfect. His run defense needs work, and he can get a little too comfortable stacking and hanging on leverage instead of shedding blocks and making plays in the backfield. He also needs to develop better secondary counters for when his initial rush gets stonewalled.

But those are coaching points, not character flaws. Dan Campbell and this staff have shown they can develop players, and Moore’s football IQ suggests he’ll pick things up quickly. His ability to diagnose run concepts is already impressive, and his understanding of what’s happening around him is way ahead of most edge rushers coming out of college.

Holmes Does It Again

This is why Brad Holmes is the best general manager this franchise has ever had. He identified a need, found the right player to fill it, and made the move to go get him. Trading up six spots cost the Lions pick 128, but when you’re getting a potential starter with this kind of upside, that’s a bargain.

Moore gives this defense something it hasn’t had in years: a legitimate pass-rush threat on both edges. Pair him with Hutchinson, add in the interior pressure from Alim McNeill and the rest of this defensive line, and suddenly opposing quarterbacks are going to have nowhere to hide.

The kid turned down offers from Georgia, Alabama, Oregon, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Notre Dame to stay home and play at Michigan. Now he gets to stay home and play for the Lions. Sometimes the stars just align perfectly.

Is Moore the missing piece that finally gets this pass rush to the next level, or are we setting ourselves up for disappointment again? Let me know what you think in the comments.