Lions Offer Encouraging Assessment of Rookie Defensive End

The Detroit Lions defensive line has been quite the topic of conversation the last several months.

With Aidan Hutchinson returning from a severe leg injury, supporters and pundits have focused intently on defensive ends who could play opposite of him in 2025.

General manager Brad Holmes recently appeared on the Green Light Podcast and was again asked about the state of the team's defensive line and how the fomer No. 2 pick has looked in his return.

“So Aidan looks great, man. He’s been out there in OTAs, really didn’t expect anything else. You never truly, truly know because you don’t have a crystal ball, but just knowing how that guy’s wired and how he attacks things and how in tune he is with his body. It did not surprise me," Holmes said. "He’s out there, he looks explosive, he’s changing direction. He looks really good, man. And then we brought back Marcus Davenport on a one-year deal. He was playing really good football for us before he got hurt. Hopefully he gets better luck on his side. He’s been out there, and I would say he looks just as good. He has been — his body is feeling great, he looks great, man. And he had a good summer as well in terms of the OTAs."

In addition to bringing back Davenport, the Lions also re-signed Al-Quadin Muhammad. A mid-season pickup last year, Muhammad provided some much-needed contributions in the pass-rush.

"We brought Al-Quadin Muhammad back, who we signed last year," said Holmes. "He logged some good snaps for us, he’s physical, he’ll set edges, he plays with a lot of effort."

Detroit addressed the defensive end position in the sixth-round with the addition of Boise State's Ahmed Hassanein. Though he's still relatively new to football having just started playing in 2019, Hassanein plays with a relentless effort that should fit Detroit's style seamlessly.

Hassanein dominated at the Group of Five level and fueled the Broncos to a College Football Playoff appearance.

"And then we were able to draft Ahmed Hassanein in the sixth round. He’s got some work to do from a developmental standpoint just like they all do, but he’s not just some fish out of water who doesn’t know what he’s doing," said Holmes. "When you look at his production, he had the most, in terms of sacks and pressures combined, he had the most production out of all the EDGE rushers in that class. Just so happens that he plays with his hair on fire as well. So we feel good about where we’re at, at that position as well."