Lions grab rising hybrid linebacker prospect in Mel Kiper's second mock draft

USA Today

25-02-2025

The Scouting Combine is underway in Indianapolis, which means plenty of mock drafts have started making the rounds as teams prepare to watch over 300 prospects take part in drills at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Among those mock drafts is one from the original draft master, Mel Kiper of ESPN. Kiper dropped his second mock draft of the season ahead of the Combine. In this instance, Kiper has the Lions taking a linebacker prospect that has risen since the Senior Bowl after a strong week.
With the 28th pick in Mel Kiper's mock draft, the Detroit Lions select Oluwafemi Oladejo, outside linebacker, UCLA.
Kiper wrote: 'On one hand, Detroit ran into bad luck in 2024 with an inconceivable number of injuries to its defense, seemingly dooming the otherwise dominant team. On the other, the Lions never really had a clear No. 2 pass rusher opposite Aidan Hutchinson (who missed some time himself with a leg injury). Za'Darius Smith had four sacks over eight games after a midseason trade to Detroit, but no other edge rusher had more than three sacks. The rest of this roster is too good to ignore this, and GM Brad Holmes should be looking for answers in both free agency and the draft.
'Oladejo has steadily risen in this class, moving from Round 3 to the Round 2 conversation with a good Senior Bowl week. The jump to Round 1 is a bit of a projection, but Oladejo is getting buzz right now — I think he could be in this range after the combine. He should test well considering his burst and intensity. And while he had just 4.5 sacks in 2024, his tape is really good.'
Oladejo won the Kenny Clark Award last season as the top defensive lineman for the Bruins after recording 4.5 sacks and 13.5 tackles for a loss. Oledejo switched to defensive end after transferring to UCLA. He also played linebacker for California.
As Kiper notes, Oladejo has been rising since the Senior Bowl when he recorded a pair of sacks. He would add much-needed depth and a potential instant impact player for the Lions after Detroit was near the bottom of the league in sacks, particuarly after losing Aidan Hutchinson (7.5 sacks) in Week 6.