Grading Lions’ Round 2 pick Derrick Moore

College career

He was a four-year player at Michigan, playing in at least 12 games each season, totaling 53 games with 23 starts. He was voted team captain in 2025, and it was the best year of his career at Michigan. In total, he had 95 tackles, 24.5 tackles for loss, 21 sacks, eight pass deflections with three forced fumbles and recoveries, taking one to the house. Last season, he was ranked 16th according to PFF for EDGE defensive grade (89.9) and a 92.4 pass rush grade, tied for ninth with first-round pick Rueben Bain Jr. During his time at Michigan, he was a three-time All-Big Ten selection, starting as an honorable mention from the media in 2023 and the coaches in 2023 and 2024. He improved and moved up to the first team for the coaches in 2025, with the second team in the media. He was the team’s best pass rusher in 2025 and won the defensive MVP for their postseason team awards.

Strengths and weaknesses

Where Moore shines is rushing the passer, hands down. He excels due to his size at 6-foot-3, weighing 255 pounds, using that size and weight to bull rush the tackle and put pressure on the quarterback. He can read plays well as screens, and trick plays aren’t going to fool him as easily as they would with others. Where he struggles is getting off blocks as he tries to beat the blocker as much as possible instead of quickly trying something else or moving on. Because of his size, he isn’t the fastest guy, so sometimes that hurts him and makes things take longer than they should. He doesn’t have the quickness off the snap like Hutchinson does, which doesn’t give him a quick advantage or play on the tackle.

Overall

When it comes to the pick, it was a good choice by the Lions to give them another pass rusher to pair with Hutchinson. The team doesn’t have another powerful pass rusher who can push the other side of the offensive line. With Hutchinson laying the pressure on one side, Moore can bring it from the other and have offenses start having to respect him more. This also helps the interior defensive line, which has been doing its best to supply pressure and give the defense more of an identity on the line. The only thing I do question is the trade to move up. The trade itself wasn’t bad, but it does feel like a little bit of a reach because Moore was projected to be a late-round two, early-round three pick. Clearly, the team wanted to move ahead of the Ravens to make sure they got their guy, but that’s two picks so far that Detroit made a little bit earlier than expected. Overall, it was a great idea to take an EDGE to pair with Hutchinson, and Moore was the best pass-rushing EDGE left, which the team needed to focus on. Now the fans can calm down, and I’m sure Holmes will have something to say to the media after facing criticism for years. **Grade:** B+