Opening Statement: “I know there’s still work to do, picks still going on, but I wanted to make sure I got you guys out of here and you didn’t have to wait long. I stepped out and made sure convenience. First of all, I wanted to start off by – man, I know it wasn’t just Lions fans, but to set the NFL record for attendance for the Draft site, that’s – I mean, I’ve said all along that we have the best fans in the world. The anticipation of having the Draft here just meant so much. We talked about it just being able to let the world and the NFL world get a taste of what Detroit’s about and what this culture’s about. Great for our city, great for our franchise, but that’s something to be said. You get 700,000 fans at one Draft host city, that’s about as impressive as it gets. Just want to really thank the fans. Just want to really thank the League and the (Detroit) Sports Commission and everybody, just everybody that played a part in this. Just really, really excited about this.”
On the uniqueness of scouting Lions fourth-round draft selection OL Giovanni Manu out of Canada: “Yeah, it was a cool story because (Lions Senior Personnel Executive) John Dorsey, he kind of got wind of – he had a really good workout and he kind of got on the workout circuit, and really starting back with (Lions Scout, Auxiliary) Ademi Smith who scouted him and then Dorsey finds out about the workout, and Dorsey and (Lions Assistant General Manager) Ray (Agnew) talk and Ray comes to me and he’s telling me like, ‘Man, I think you’ve probably got to take a look at Giovanni here.’ Then, I watched the tape, and you know it’s what it is. It’s a low-level competition, but when I watched the tape, the upside of the actual player – it’s not about who he was going against and all that stuff, I just – we just kind of got enamored with the upside and then when we reached out to his agent and tried to get him in for a visit because he wasn’t at the Combine, we could hardly get on the dance car. The whole dance car was filled up. So, he came in on a Sunday, like a Sunday afternoon and that was like visit number nine. He came in and he did a great job and sat with the coaches, and we felt really good about him. We felt really good about his makeup. He’s wired the right way. He’s got a really cool story and he’s been through some things. But we were so blown away just (by) his makeup, his character, the way he’s wired and he’s got a lot of upside. It’s not a whole lot about right now with him, a lot like – you know we talked about (Lions DL) Brodric Martin last year. This is more of a down-the-road future deal, but the upside is enormous. Just really, really excited to work with him. Him and (Lions RB Sione) Vaki, those are the guys that going to bed last night, going to bed I was like, ‘We’re not trading into – we’re not trading into the fourth. We’re just going to sit back and wait.’ But when I woke up, that’s when I was like, ‘Man, it’s those two guys that if they don’t make it, those are going to be some gut punches.’ So, when I finally got to the facility and I went to (Lions Head Coach) Dan (Campbell) and I said, ‘Dan, dude, these two guys.’ And I told him the two guys and he was like, ‘Those are the same two guys that I was thinking about this morning.’ And I was like, ‘Let’s go get them. Let’s not mess around.’ And again, you always get the answers to the test after you pick them, and if we would’ve waited around, they weren’t going to make it.”
On what they liked about the versatility of Lions fourth-round draft selection RB Sione Vaki and his ability to be a three-phase player: “Yeah, well that’s what first stood out is we thought he was one of the better special teams players in this entire Draft, all four phases of special teams. Especially with some of the changes that are coming about, he’s really – he’s starting to come to life even more. And then really later on in the process, just sticking to the special teams component, it kind of came to life even more with some possible return value. You’re looking at him at four corps in the return units as more of a blocker, but he can actually – the stuff that he can do with the ball in his hands. I first saw him when he had first made the switch when they got kind of short at running back there at Utah. They just had him fill in. But we were more so looking at him as a safety, but he looks so natural as a runner. I was like, ‘Wait, where did these backyard instincts of his come from of just him running the ball and making these plays?’ Not only does he have these instincts that are (more) natural (than) we thought, he’s not even majoring in it. He just did that because they just got kind of shorthanded and he was like, ‘Oh, you need a running back? I’ll help out.’ And he started making these plays running the ball and in the passing game. When I saw that, I was like, ‘He’s not even majoring in this and he’s looking like that?’ And then you get more into his background, and he was more of an offensive player in high school. He did a lot of things on offense. But it was very impressive what he did with the ball in his hands, and not just making (people) miss and things like that, but he runs hard. Again, he’s a football player who plays football how we like it, and there’s nothing about him that he doesn’t have the ability to play safety because he can do that too. He was one of the guys that had one of the more impressive pro days I thought because he worked out as a DB. Very long DB workout and the DB workout was really good, and then he worked out as a running back. And then, good running back, and then after the running back workout he worked out as a wide receiver. And then he does a wide receiver workout, and then he works out at special teams. You see all that and the guy’s like – I mean the fact to even go through all those different phases of that workout was impressive in itself. Just the love for him just kept growing. But he’s a very unique player. Again, it’s nothing saying that he cannot play safety, but our vision of what he could become as a runner, really it starts with those special teams.”
On how much Lions RB Sione Vaki will be working with the running backs versus defensive backs to start: “We have some options there, but we know he can play safety. We know he can do that, but the vision is we’re so intrigued by the running back stuff, especially because he hadn’t been majoring in it, so it’s like how far can this thing go if he’s actually majoring in this thing in one room? So that’s going to be the vision.”
On giving up 2025 NFL Draft assets for players that have upside down the road and what they have to do to make it worthwhile: “Well, I wouldn’t say shorthanded. I think the only pick we don’t have is a third-round pick. Is that right? Would that be shorthanded if you’re missing one third-round pick? So, I feel really good about it. And we looked at that because I would not have thought that we would’ve been able to trade twice into the fourth round. When I looked at the – again, when you look at those things it’s like, ‘OK, well what are the future assets?’ Well, we did all the calculations and I was like, ‘Wait, well you can do it because you have the extra four.’ I was like, ‘Man, if you can do all of this and the only thing you feel like you’re losing is a future third, just go ahead and do it.’ And so, we felt really good about that and that’s why we went ahead and did it. You always get a better feeling that you can go and get your guys and that’s what we did. We couldn’t be more thrilled about it and even with what we still have left from a capital standpoint for the future.”
On if he feels he has enough to help get the team to the next level: “Yeah. Look, I was thinking about that this morning. A lot of these guys – where we’re at as a roster – man, if they win a spot and they play, then they play. If they don’t, they don’t. You look at the corners – yeah, we really like these corners. They’re rookies. They’ve got to win a spot, you know, because (Lions CB) Carlton Davis III has been a proven starter. A healthy (Lions CB) Emmanuel Moseley is a proven starter. (Lions CB) Amik Robertson is a proven – like these are good players that have been proven starters that’ve made plays. It’s not just a given, you know? They all want to play, they’re all wired right, but man look, it’s good to be there from a roster standpoint. If these corners play, they play. They’ve got to win a spot, and that’s for everybody. It’s a good feeling to be in a spot where we feel good about the depth we have, we feel good about the future we have, but man, those guys have got to compete and win spots. I know that we’re a better football team, now, to take that step, like you were talking about. It’s going to be really up to them. Now, we’re going to do our part and make sure that they’re surrounded with the resources to be set up for success with their development, but those guys got to compete.”
On if he has any insights into why Lions OL Christian Mahogany fell in the Draft: “I was shocked. I didn’t think he would still be there at that point. I can’t really go into details. I can probably point out a thing here or there that may have been a reason that we’ll keep internally, but there’s other players that I probably would have had a lot more questions on that went. I don’t know. I just know that he fits how we want to play, and he’s a tough, physical – he’s got some dirtbag in him and he’s just one of those tough, Jersey kids that doesn’t take a lot of crap. He’s got some fun tape to watch and he’s gone against some good defensive linemen and he’s done well versus them. So, we were excited to get him.”
On if his willingness to trade up is because he has a very specific idea about the type of players he wants: “Yeah, it’s a little mixture of both. Me and (Lions Head Coach) Dan (Campbell), we’ll have the same vision of what we see with that player, whether it’s with their development, which stage that they might be able to contribute, what the usage will be, what the role will be, but once we’re aligned there, it’s just, man, let’s just go get the guys that we want. That’s really what it comes down to, but it also comes down to, I mean, how many late-round picks can you have from where we are as a roster? You start looking around and you start looking at the board as well, it’s like, ‘Man, these guys are just sticking out a little bit more than some other guys.’ They’re on the board for a reason because you’re comfortable with drafting those players, that’s why they’re up there, but some kind of stick out a little bit more than others. So, then you start looking back, and you’re like, ‘Well, you’ve got two sixes, you’ve got a seven.’ You start looking, you’re like, ‘It’s going to be hard. You could get this wide receiver, but he doesn’t play special teams, so I really don’t know how this is going to work because now you have to really want a spot but he’s probably not,’ and some guys, it doesn’t add up or make a lot of sense. We couldn’t be more thrilled with the guys that we got.”
On Lions DL Mekhi Wingo having a good football character and if he has the experience to help project where he might contribute in the NFL: “I would say that you’re right on the football character aspect. I mean this guy fits our culture like a glove. Great kid. Look, it’s hard to lock down that No. 18 at LSU – that just means something. I think his character speaks for itself. His football character shows on film too, the way that he plays. But the role – and that’s a good question – because that’s kind of what I had to get to. I originally was just looking at him as purely just a defensive tackle that was just going to be playing inside. I was like, ‘Man, I’m not sure.’ But when I kept watching him, his rush ability really started to come to light. I kind of put him in a different box – a little bit like when we talked about (Lions DL Josh) Paschal when Paschal came out. It’s like, ‘OK, can he play on the edge on first and second down, and can he do some inside rush?’ Wingo, he’s got a lot of good stuff on tape as an edge rusher actually, surprisingly. His sub-rush is pretty impressive. Not saying that he can’t play base downs inside because he can do that as well, but when you put him in that specialized category, or that position – whether it’s more of a big end or more of an elephant that can do some interchangeable things, that’s kind of where he’s standing. When we saw him in that light, that’s kind of when he became more attractive to us.”
On the origin of the Draft room wearing the black, Dan Campbell No. 89 jerseys: “Look, I’m not taking any credit for this one, but I’m glad that the idea was brought up. But this is (Lions President and CEO) Rod Wood’s idea for us to wear these jerseys. I thought it looked awesome on television. I mean just the texts that I was getting and just me seeing it, I was like, ‘Wow, that was even cooler than I thought it was going to be.’ But yeah, it was Rod’s idea, obviously with the new blacks and just the whole story. I’m sure you guys heard about Dan when he wanted the black jerseys back, so it all kind of came full circle. But I thought it was a good look.”
On if envisions the NFC North being one of the best divisions in the NFL in the near future: “I could see it heading that way for sure. It’s hard to make an argument for it now in terms of – those guys got some good players. We’ve got some good players too. It’s going to be a good division. Obviously, you kind of saw it last year of some of the guys in the division making some surges. So, yeah, we’re going to expect everybody’s best, whether it’s in the division or outside. But yeah, we’ll be ready.”
On how he sets up the Draft board: “I’ll try to be as generalized as I can. It is vertically by positions. We’re not big rounds – we have it set up in a way where it equates to a round, we just don’t use the word ‘round.’ It’s the same thing with our grading scales – we don’t use ‘rounds’ on our grading scale. Sometimes I might say, ‘We’ve got a second-round grade,’ because that’s kind of what makes sense, but the reason we kind of stay away from the whole ‘rounds’ thing is that when they come on your roster, they’re either a starter, they’re either a backup. They’re not a ‘round’ anymore. It’s not a fourth-round receiver, it’s not a sixth-round safety. He’s either a backup or he’s a high-end backup – that’s what it is. It’s vertically by position from the top to the bottom.”
On how big the drop is in tiers of prospects: “It’s really more so – the grade will reflect what the upside and the role is, and then that’s where you kind of get the separation and gaps. Really, it’s actually cooler to look at it horizontally than it is to look at it vertically. You do so much work over the whole year that by the time you get to around to March, you have a good feel of how it looks vertically. But sometimes you’ve got to look at it horizontally with different positions, and then that’s when you can truly kind of get a sense of, ‘How good is this Draft? How strong is this Draft?’ We’re looking at the whole thing – I believe it was Monday – and you could clearly see – we had it split with offense and defense. You could clearly see we had a whole lot more names on the offensive side of the ball than we had on the defensive side of the ball. That’s when you kind of got clarity that this is an offensively strong Draft.”
On how it looks to compare the Draft board horizontally: “If you have everything stacked vertically by position – you have your running backs, your quarterbacks and wide receivers, well, you’ve got them vertically stacked. But also, when you look at it next to other positions, it’s like, ‘What’s this wide receiver that we’ve got in the same bucket as this guard? What’s this D-tackle?’ That’s kind of when you get a feel.”
On what it meant to the organization to extend Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown and Lions T Penei Sewell: “It meant everything. First of all, I’m so happy for them. Those guys are truly our core. Those guys truly are our foundation. They were our first Draft. But the main thing that I’ve been saying to everybody is it represents not only a testament to all the hard work that they’ve done, but it’s such a representation of who we are as an organization in terms of man they earned that. They earned that. We’re all about earning it. We’re not expecting a shortcut here or there, and man all the credit to them. Extremely happy, but it is cool that both of those guys – look, it says a lot to be extended. It speaks not only to a lot of different areas, but it speaks to the locker room and who you pay, who you draft, who you extend. And so, I do think I was – I kind of saw the clip of our other wide receivers celebrating St. Brown outside in front of the facility, and I just think that’s really cool because I just think he’s highly respected and I think no one would argue that he’s truly earned that, and the same thing with Penei. I was talking with Penei after he got done signing his contract and I was like, ‘Man, it was like three years ago you were here with your parents.’ We had just drafted him and he was here with his parents, and now he’s got two kids running around and he just signed and he’s the highest-paid tackle. But no, those guys represent everything that we’re about. They embody everything that we’re about. It was a no-brainer in terms of making the decision to do those extensions. Obviously there’s business that gets involved, we actually thought we were going to get it done a lot earlier but the business is kind of – takes a little bit longer, but those are easy decisions. Happy for those guys.”
On if it was purposeful to extend Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown and Lions T Penei Sewell on the first day of the NFL Draft: “No, it really wasn’t. We kind of got wind that it was getting close, either Tuesday or Wednesday, that we were like, ‘OK, I think we’re getting close. I think it’s a possibility that it could be Wednesday.’ And so that’s just kind of how it happened, but it wasn’t intentional.”
LIONS FOURTH-ROUND DRAFT SELECTION (NO. 126 OVERALL) OL GIOVANNI MANU DRAFT DAY 3 QUOTE SHEET
On what his experience was like during his Top 30 visit and how much he could gauge the interest the Lions had in him through this process: “Yeah, one thing that made me really appreciative and knew that the Lions were all in was that they decided to do the visit on a Sunday. And I remember my agent called me, he told me, ‘That’s something rarely any teams want to do for prospects.’ So, he told me, ‘Them willing to do this on a Sunday, coming in on a day off to host me says a lot.’ And I was truly appreciative of it. And just walking down the hallway, seeing all the historical figures on the wall and seeing the amazing facility, but most importantly, to me, was meeting (Lions) Head Coach Dan Campbell and the (Lions Executive Vice President and General Manager Brad Holmes) GM. Both of them are really good guys. I relate to their work ethic and all that. And I loved my visit overall and I remember leaving, I told myself, ‘I felt at home here. And I would not mind at all if these guys took a chance on me.’ And I so happen to be here now. So, yeah, it was great.”
On what it means to him to be the first NFL Draft pick out of the University of British Columbia: “Yeah, it’s great. It’s been a long journey. My family’s had to sacrifice a lot for me to be at this stage and I’m just truly thankful for it. I’m not here on my own. I’m here because of my family and all the mentors I’ve met on the way through this amazing sport of football I discovered here, in Canada. My aunt raised me out here in Vancouver, Canada. Yeah, truly thankful to them. And yeah, the journey’s only starting. It’s going to get a whole lot better. But, yeah, it’s been a long process, a lot of sacrifice, a lot of blood, sweat and tears, but I’m happy to be here.”
On if he projects himself to play more left tackle or right tackle and which position he played more in college: “In college, I predominantly played left tackle. I only played one season of left guard. But when I took my visit to Detroit, they asked me where I prefer to play. I just told them, ‘I’ll play anywhere. I’ll play at a position that puts me on the field the quickest. I’ll play a position that contributes to the team winning.’ So, either that’s right side, which is a side that will be, obviously, awkward at first, but something I believe that I can accomplish with repetition. I’m willing to do those small things to do whatever it is to bring Detroit more wins and, hopefully, a Super Bowl championship, so yeah.”
On why he decided to come to North America and pursue football instead of basketball: “Yeah, so I’m in Vancouver, Canada. That’s where I did college. I did it – I wasn’t in America, but – so, my journey was basically, I was born and raised in Tonga, in the South Pacific. It’s really close to Samoa. I’m pretty sure you guys know where Samoa is with (Lions T) Penei (Sewell). Our islands are really close to each other. It’s about a 45-minute flight from each other. But – so, I was born and raised in Tonga until about the age of 11 and then migrated over to up here to Vancouver, Canada. And the reason for the migration was just for better life opportunities and better education because as nice as it is growing up in the South Pacific by the sun and having this constant sunshine on the beach, it is extremely hard to make a living out there. It’s considered a third-world country. So, I moved up here to Vancouver, Canada, where my mom’s oldest sister has been living out here since the 90s. And, basically, she told my mom before my mom had myself and my siblings, she told her, ‘If you ever have kids and you want to send them somewhere for better living opportunities and education, you can always send them up here to me and I’ll make sure they’ll have all those.’ So, my mom basically raised myself and my two siblings on the island until we reached a reasonable age for high school. And then she moved us up here and then we went to a small school, small town called Pitt Meadows, about an hour outside of Vancouver. And then that’s where I discovered American football, as well as basketball, and just kind of ran with the two until I graduated and then got recruited and it was a – I think discovering American football has been the greatest blessing in my life. And yeah, I love this sport, so yeah.”
On if Lions T Penei Sewell is someone he has studied throughout his career: “Yeah, I look up to Penei a lot. I do study a lot of his film. I think he’s the best tackle in the League right now. He moves so fluid for how big he is and not just that, but he’s an inspiration to the Polynesian community. I remember when I was in college, I watched his Draft Day process, and it was just basically a vlog of his whole day of being drafted. I remember he ended the vlog by saying, ‘Any Polynesian kids out there,’ and he named all the islands and I remember he said Tonga. He said, ‘If you kids out there want to make it to the NFL, you can truly make it if you put your mind to it.’ And I remember I was in my second year of college when he said that, and I remember him saying that. It really motivated me, and I told myself, ‘If one of my fellow Polynesian brothers can make it, which is him – and he’s giving me words of motivation, there’s no reason why I can’t do it either.’ So, he’s a true inspiration, not only to Samoa, but to the whole Polynesian community. And it’s great that I’ll be playing with a guy like that, and I just hope to soak up as much information and technique from him.”
On what his Draft Day experience has been like: “Yeah, my whole family is here. My mom, dad, sister. Just my brother, he stayed back on the island back in Tonga because he has to look over the – someone’s got to look over the family business while everyone’s here. So, he decided to sacrifice and do that, which I’m truly thankful for. He’s not here to share this moment, but right after this, I’m probably going to phone him up. But, yeah, he’s back there. My niece came too, my brother’s daughter. And my girlfriend’s here and just my – some of my teammates from my college and my high school friends. I didn’t want to do it too big. I just wanted those who I consider in my small circle here and just share that moment. And it was amazing when I got that phone call and I saw the Detroit (city) on it. And it was just – it was just a blessing. It was something out of a dream and I’m truly thankful for it, so yeah.”
On what the family business in Tonga is and how difficult the transition between rugby and football was for him: “Yeah, so the family business back home, my dad runs a workshop. So, it’s like anything to do with vehicles, whether it’s painting, maintenance, engine repair, my dad deals with that. So, that’s what he’s been doing since he was a youngin’ and that’s what’s helping feed the family right now. And I’m truly thankful for my dad’s hard work and my brother. And the transition from rugby to football was pretty – I feel like the stuff I took from rugby was the physicality. I love physicality. I love hitting people. I love creating big hits and just hitting people in general. And that’s why I played rugby. And transitioning from that to football, sometimes it’s hard to motivate someone to hit someone, or something like that in football, but that just flowed naturally to me. But the only thing that I remember that I had trouble with, with football were things like getting in a stance, learning the rules, such as you can’t hold, or you can’t move until the ball’s snapped, those little things. But in terms of physicality, someone having to motivate me to hit someone, that was never an issue. One thing my coach always preached he – my coaches who actually told me in high school that I’m hitting people too hard, so yeah.”
LIONS FOURTH-ROUND DRAFT SELECTION (NO. 132 OVERALL) RB SIONE VAKI DRAFT DAY 3 QUOTE SHEET
On what his conversations were like with the Lions and what position they envision him playing: “When I visited with the Lions, I was just – my initial thought was to just come in and, I don’t know, just be wherever the coaches – wherever the organization needed me to be. It was for the offensive side of the ball. So, wherever they need me, I’m ready to go.”
On if he was told he would play running back for the Lions during his pre-Draft process: “Yes, when I came in, I met with the (Lions) Offensive Coordinator (Ben Johnson) as well as with the (Lions Assistant Head Coach/) Running Backs Coach (Scottie Montgomery), so I assumed that it was for the offensive side of the ball.”
On his history as a running back and what he likes about the offensive side of the ball: “Yeah, it was a – it was a crazy story. I had just walked into the facility and one of the GAs, Coach (Chase) Murdock, had a – he remembered to remind me as soon as I got there that I was going to have an offensive period with the offense. So, my experience hasn’t been a lot, but my willingness to be able to learn, to put my head down and learn from the vets in the room is what I’m going to be coming in, whether that’s – whether I’m starting on defense, I’m going to try to – I’m going to try to lift where I stand, or if I start on special teams.”
On how unique his pre-Draft process was with him being able to play multiple positions and teams choosing how they wanted to use him in their schemes: “I was, I don’t know, it was nerve-wracking for me, just not understanding – not knowing which teams or which side I was going to be picked on. But I’m just grateful to come to the Motor City and just ready to get started whenever.”
On how having experience on both offense and defense gives him an advantage as a football player: “I think, just my understanding of both sides of the ball, being able to play in both positions and understanding where – what to attack, where the offense wants to attack and things like that. So, in that sense, I feel like it helps me a lot coming into this Draft.”
On the special teams roles he has had in his career and his passion for this element of the game: “Yeah, I was an R3 on kickoff. I was an edge on punt return. I also have some experience with returning kickoffs, as well as being in-depth for punt returns. So, I mean, I’m all about special teams. So, when it comes to that, that’s where I earned my stripes and that’s where I’ll kind of earn my stripes as well there, in Detroit.”
On how his time at Utah has helped him prepare to play in the NFL and grow his game: “Yes sir, Coach (Kyle) Whittingham runs a tight ship. I think he goes perfectly with the standard that (Lions Head) Coach (Dan) Campbell brings, as far as just putting our head down and working. He’s – it helped me to just be able to be mentally tough, to understand that everything’s important, that we should worry about all the details, all small details in our craft and so that’s what I plan on coming here and doing. It’s just perfecting my craft.”
On if there was different feedback from each team based on the position they envisioned for him and which position he focused on the most during the Draft process: “Yeah, there was definitely a lot of chatter on both sides of the ball. I honestly didn’t know. But now, there’s only one team that matters right now and it’s Detroit and I’m going to play wherever they need me to play.”
On what it was like growing up the youngest of 11 children and how his childhood influenced his football career: “Yeah, it was definitely tough. Being the youngest, you definitely have your own chores as well as everyone else’s. So, you can say I always learned to fight my way through life. And I love my family so much, as well as my siblings, and I wouldn’t be here without them.”
On if he took his mission to Tonga: “Yes, sir.”
On if he knows Lions OL Giovanni Manu who is from Tonga: “No, sir, but I can’t wait to get to know him.”
On how unique it is to have a connection to Tonga with Lions OL Giovanni Manu as well as them both being fourth-round picks: “Yeah, I mean, it’s a blessing. I’m known as a ‘plastic,’ someone who doesn’t know the language, so I’m definitely going have to be coached up by Manu on the language, as well as possibly football tips, so I’m excited to meet him.”
On if he is interested in being a three-phase player without a defined position: “Yes, sir, I’m here to be a resource. I feel like my biggest thing is being available. So, yeah, wherever the organization needs me is where I’m going to be. If they need me passing out waters to the vets, that’s what I’m going to do.”
On how much upside he thinks he has with being older and not having much experience at running back: “I feel like it gives me a lot of upside, just – the coaches are able to mold me into whatever they want me to be. And I’m a kid who comes from hard work and putting my head down and giving 110 percent effort in wherever I stand. So, when it comes to the organization, they’re getting everything that I got, so I feel like it brings a lot of upside to not only myself, but the organization itself.”
