Lions Not 'Kicking Ourselves' For Second-Round Picks Past Two Years

The Detroit Lions have started to develop a track record for not having second-round picks deliver out on the football field.

Unfortunately, two of the team's second rounders are battling injuries ahead of the 2022 NFL season.

Defensive linemen Levi Onwuzurike and Josh Paschal are not that close to being available for a team that is in need of as much assistance on defense as possible.

While these setbacks may cause concerns to rise about the team's pre-draft medical evaluation process, general manager Brad Holmes offered his reaction to both missing action at his annual media session before Week 1 of the regular season.

“I think everything is, especially when it comes to medical, it’s always case-by-case," said Holmes. "And you’re going back with Levi (Onwuzurike), he was dealing with something that we were aware of and that we knew about. And so, he actually was able to do more than what he was going to able last year. Unfortunately, he’s had to still deal with it, but you just don’t have that crystal ball quite yet.

"And then, with Josh (Paschal) it was something that we were aware of, that we knew that he had to deal with while we have a timeline in place, and we don’t have any problem with it. So, it’s not -- we’re not kicking ourselves, we’re not saying, ‘Oh, we overlooked this or that.' It’s just things that we were prepared for.”

Last season, Paschal recorded 15 tackles for loss, one forced fumble, five sacks and one interception for Kentucky.

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