It's the middle of January, and the Detroit Lions are still recovering from a disappointing 2025 campaign. While injuries and offensive coordinator John Morton’s performance were key reasons for Detroit’s decline after reaching the NFC Championship Game in 2023 and earning the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs in 2024, another big issue was the lack of contributions from their recent draft picks.
Toward the top of the list of disappointing young players is offensive tackle Giovanni Manu. A fourth-round pick for the Lions in the 2024 draft out of the University of British Columbia, Manu has played sparingly in his first two seasons but may have had a path to playing time in 2025 amid rumors of Taylor Decker’s retirement.
Although Decker could hang up the cleats, it still doesn’t sound like the Lions have confidence in Manu after general manager Brad Holmes was asked about his progress during his season-ending press conference on Jan. 8.
“Manu, he’s taken steps, I’m not going to sit here and say that we feel convicted that he’s ready to be a major contributor. We hope that he is,” Holmes said via Sports Illustrated’s John Maakaron. “We’re just going to have to wait to see, in terms of when we get started in the offseason program, how he comes back in the OTAs.”
Giovanni Manu Facing Dire Situation Heading Into Third Offseason with Lions
Holmes’ comments make it seem like Manu is a long way from competing. The Lions took Manu in the draft knowing that would be the case as an international pathway program player. But they probably wish they had some idea what they had in him going into this third season.
The Lions' offensive line broke down throughout the course of last season and while Decker gutted through a shoulder injury among other ailments, Manu couldn’t get on the field largely due to a knee injury suffered in his first career start in a Week 5 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Before the injury, Manu allowed two sacks on 28 pass-blocking snaps and he wasn’t able to return for the rest of the season despite the team opening his practice window late in the year.
“I think for Gio, he needs reps,” Campbell said via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press in December. “Practice reps, get out there against our defense in real-time practice. It’s not a ton of them, and it’s not like training camp, but God he just needs reps, man. He cannot get enough reps, and if we’re able to use him or there’s something there this year, that’s a bonus. Will this set him up better for next year? Training camp going into that next year? That’s really it.”
With just 69 snaps and limited practice reps to his name, the Lions have no idea what they have in Manu. It’s also just one issue in the trenches heading into the season as Detroit would like to solidify the left guard position and are still reeling from Frank Ragnow’s retirement in June and failed comeback attempt in November. Messing with the left tackle position would be another ill-fated decision and placing Manu in there with limited experience would be another moment of self-sabotage.
Holmes also suggested that Manu would be competing for a spot even if they don’t add a left tackle over the offseason, noting “As always, he’s going to have to win a job.” But this is a team built to win now and they haven’t shown patience with young players, including quarterback Hendon Hooker, as they look to win a championship.
With that in mind, Manu could be out of Detroit before his third season and be another example of a wasted draft pick by the front office.