Inside The Den confirms that the Lions never wanted to draft popular edge rusher in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft

Going into the 2025 NFL Draft, just about every Detroit Lions fan out there wanted the Lions to draft an edge rusher in the first round. As we know, the Lions went with Ohio State defensive tackle Tyleik Williams. But a lot of Lions fans wanted Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce.

That move never made sense for the Lions because there were some concerns about his coachability and his desire to play his position. A Power-4 offensive line coach had this to say about Pearce: 

“He wants no part of setting the edge and stopping the run. He reminds me a lot of (former Falcons first-rounder) Vic Beasley.”

If you don't remember Beasley, he went eighth in the 2015 NFL Draft and last played for the Arlington Renegades in the UFL. It didn't work out for him. The last thing it felt like the Lions would be interested in is a player who is hard to coach and maybe doesn't want to play at their position.

Up until Thursday night, that was just a hunch. Now we know for sure that the Lions were never interested. The team put out its much-anticipated Inside The Den episode on the draft, and when the Atlanta Falcons took James Pearce at 16, the Lions war room erupted in cheer.