Tim Twentyman

The Detroit Lions have the 28th pick in the first round of this year's NFL Draft in April.

In four years as the Lions general manager, Brad Holmes has selected six players in the first round tacklePenei Sewell(No. 7, 2021), defensive linemanAidan Hutchinson(No. 2, 2022), wide receiverJameson Williams(No. 12, 2022), runnnig backJahmyr Gibbs(No. 12, 2023), linebacker Jack Campbell (No. 18, 2023) and cornerback Terrion Arnold (No. 24, 2024). All six are starters and key core players.

Holmes has also shown a knack for obtaining talent outside the first round with selections like tight end Sam LaPorta (second round, 2023), safety Brian Branch (second round, 2023), safety Kerby Joseph (third round, 2022), defensive tackle Alim McNeill (third round, 2021) and wide receiverAmon-Ra St. Brown(fourth round, 2021). Also starters and key core players.

The following is a look at the players drafted 28th in the last 10 years and how their draft selection ranks.

There's also a look at the players drafted a few picks after 28 to judge if there were better options.

2024: WR Xavier Worthy, Texas

Drafted by Kansas City

Worthy played in all 17 games in the regular season with 13 starts and caught 59 passes for 638 yards and six touchdowns. In three playoff games, he had 19 receptions for 287 yards and three more touchdowns.

Draft ranking: Kansas City got a productive young receiver at the end of the first round.

Possible better pick: Ricky Pearsall (No. 31), Keon Coleman (No. 33) and Ladd McConkey (No. 34) were the next three receivers off the board. McConkey was second among all rookie receivers with 82 receptions and 1,149 yards with seven touchdowns for the Chargers this season.

2023: DE Myles Murphy, Clemson

Drafted by Cincinnati

Murphy played in 17 games as a rookie and recorded 3.0 sacks and three tackles for loss. In 13 games this year, he did not record a sack and had just one tackle for loss and four quarterback hits.

Draft ranking: Cincinnati got a rotational edge player with limited sack production and no starts in two seasons.

Possible better pick: Linebacker Nolan Smith was taken two picks later by Philadelphia and became a key starter in his second season for a terrific Eagles defense, recording 6.5 sacks in the regular season and four more in the playoffs.

2022: DT Devonte Wyatt, Georgia

Drafted by Green Bay

Wyatt has become a nice rotational player along Green Bay's defensive line recording 5.5 and 5.0 sacks, respectively, the last two seasons to go along with 15 tackles for loss.

Draft ranking: Green Bay got a consistently productive rotational player along the interior of their defensive line. Good pick.

Possible better pick: George Karlaftis was selected two picks later by Kansas City and the edge rusher has recorded 24.5 sacks and 24 tackles for loss in three seasons as a 44-game starter.

2021: DE Payton Turner, Houston

Drafted by New Orleans

Turner dealt with a number of injuries early in his career and played in just 15 games total his first three seasons. He played in 16 games this past season with 2.0 sacks and three tackles for loss.

Draft ranking: Injuries have been a big storyline so far in his career and haven't allowed him to be a truly productive player.

Possible better pick: Greg Rousseau was the next edge rusher selected two picks later by Buffalo and he has 25.0 sacks and six forced fumbles as a four-year starter along the Bills' defensive line.

2020: LB Patrick Queen

Drafted by Baltimore

Queen was named Second-Team All-Pro in 2023 and has been a Pro Bowler in each of the last two seasons. He signed a three-year $41 million free-agent contract with Pittsburgh last offseason and recorded 129 tackles and six tackles for loss for the Steelers this season.

Draft ranking: Queen was a home-run pick for the Ravens late in the first round.

Possible better pick: Queen has started all 84 games he's played in over the last five seasons. There were eight Pro Bowl players selected in the second round of this draft including Xavier McKinney, Robert Hunt, Jonathan Taylor, Antoine Winfield, Jaylon Johnson and Jalen Hurts, but Queen is right up there among the best linebackers in the NFL.

2019: DT Jerry Tillery

Drafted by Los Angeles Chargers

Tillery has played for three teams in six years, the most recent being Minnesota in 2024 where he made an appearance in 17 games with 11 starts. His best season came in Los Angeles in 2021 when he recorded 51 tackles (24 solo) and 4.5 sacks.

Draft ranking: Tillery had some solid seasons in LA, but the team ultimately declined his fifth-year option and released him in November of his fourth season.

Possible better pick: Kaleb McGary was taken at No. 31 by Atlanta and has been a six-year starter at tackle, signing a three-year $34.5 million extension in 2023.

2018: S Terrell Edmunds

Drafted by Pittsburgh

Edmunds had five good seasons in Pittsburgh, making 75 starts. He had 105 tackles in 2019 and had at least 68 tackles in every season with Pittsburgh. After leaving the Steelers in 2023, he bounced around to four other teams making just eight starts.

Draft ranking: The Steelers got a productive five-year starter out of this late first-round pick. That's a win in my book.

Possible better pick: Lamar Jackson was taken four picks later by Baltimore. The Steelers still had Super Bowl winning quarterback Ben Roethlisberger at the time, but he would only guide Pittsburgh to the playoffs in two of his last four seasons from 2018 to 2021.

2017: DE Taco Charlton, Michigan

Drafted by Dallas

Charlton's tenure in Dallas was one of the shortest ever for a first-round pick by the Cowboys, lasting just two years. He was released two weeks into his third season in 2019. He last played in Chicago in 2022 and has 11.5 career sacks.

Draft ranking: Never lived up to his sack production at Michigan (28).

Possible better pick: The next two picks were Pro Bowl tight end David Njoku at No. 29 and four-time All-Pro edge rusher T.J. Watt at No. 30 to Pittsburgh.

2016: G Joshua Garnett, Stanford

Drafted by San Francisco

Garnett played in 15 games with 11 starts at guard as a rookie in the 2016 season. He missed 2017 with a knee injury and 2018 with toe and thumb injuries and was released before the 2019 season. He was waived by Detroit in August 2020 and played three games with Washington in 2020 before announcing his retirement in October of that season.

Draft ranking: Never worked out for him. Garnett was considered the second best interior O-line prospect in this draft behind Alabama's Ryan Kelly (drafted No. 18 by Colts) and the 49ers only got 11 starts out of him total in two seasons. He could never overcome the early injury troubles.

Possible better pick: Edge rusher Emmanuel Ogbah was taken at No. 32 by Cleveland and has a nine-year career with 47.5 sacks.

2015: G Laken Tomlinson, Duke

Drafted by Detroit

Tomlinson played two seasons in Detroit, making 24 starts before being traded to San Francisco in August 2019 for a fifth-round draft pick after losing his starting job to Graham Glasgow and T.J. Lang.

Draft ranking: It's hard to say it was a bad draft pick as Tomlinson has since carved out a 10-year career, starting every game he's played in with the 49ers, Jets and Seahawks. He has 155 NFL starts. It was maybe more a case of a previous Lions regime not realizing what they had.

Possible better pick: DT Malcom Brown was taken by New England at No. 32 and he played 106 games with 97 starts for three teams, recording 304 career tackles and 27 tackles for loss.