It's no secret the Lions are in the market for more help in the edge room. It seems to be the vogue choice at 28 for our team, but there are options in Day 2 who could come in and contribute from the first snap of our season opener. Jared Ivey, Donovan Ezeiruaku, Elijah Roberts and Kyle Kennard could all be decent picks. However, for me, there is one option that stands out if we go elsewhere at 28: Louisville's Ashton Gillotte.
Gillotte measures 6'3" and 275 lbs, which is roughly the same size as Josh Paschal (Pachal weighs 7 lbs more according to the team website).
He played 632 snaps on defence this past season, most of which came at the 5-technique, but he also took snaps from the 2i to the 9-tech, while also playing 7 snaps at off-ball linebacker over Weeks 7 and 8. On these snaps, he registered 57 pressures (5 sacks, 11 QB hits and 41 hurries), 37 tackles (10 of which were assisted), an 11.9% missed tackle rate, 23 run stops and 3 penalties. He also played 75 snaps on special teams, registering no tackles but he was flagged once. PFF graded him at 87.8 overall, with a 78.0 run defence grade, 71.6 tackling, 89.9 pass rush, 71.2 coverage and 61.1 special teams.
Unfortunately, Caddy's only had film on Gillotte from the 2023 college season. I watched his games against Notre Dame and Kentucky to review him. Against Notre Dame, he earned a 63.9 PFF grade, registering 6 pressures (2 sacks, 1 QB hit and 3 hurries) and a run stop. Against Kentucky, he earned a 75.8 PFF grade, registering 4 solo tackles, 2 pressures (a sack and a hit) and 5 run stops.
Given how Louisville used Gillotte over his time there, he is proficient at rushing from both a two- and three-point stance. He is also very useful on stunts. There were two instances versus Notre Dame where he started at the 7-tech and then looped inside to rush the A-gap after the snap. The first of these led to a sack, and the second the center stayed to count him but Gillotte deployed a swipe move to beat him. As Gillotte has a lot of experience, he has developed a range of pass-rush moves to use, including a spin, bull rush, bend, dip, swipe, stutter step and a swim move.
Despite his size, Gillotte shows some great getoff, showing multiple instances where he shoots gaps to make plays. Against Kentucky, he shot the B-gap perfectly on a 3rd-and-7 in the red zone to sack the QB and push them out of field goal range. Against Notre Dame, he nearly got a TFL after getting passed a condensed trips formation on the end of the line, and he later timed the snap perfectly to get between the RG and RT. This sneaky athleticism, combined with a high football IQ and arguably even higher motor, means Gillotte is never far from the ball. Against Kentucky, he chases down an end around easily. Later in the same game, he reads the run perfectly, hits the gap and sits there, allowing the back to come to him to be tackled. Against Notre Dame, he reads the run well on back-to-back plays, but narrowly misses both times.
Perhaps the best thing about Gillotte is that he is consistently part of productive plays, even if he isn't always the recipient of his successes. Against Notre Dame, he forces the RT back into the QB, hurrying their throwing motion which leads to an overthrow on what otherwise would have been an easy TD. Later in the same game, he bull rushes the LG into the QB for a half sack. Against Kentucky, one of his stunts leads to a sack that ends the drive for Kentucky in the red zone. Later in the game, he executes a spin move on the RT to hit the QB just as they're throwing the ball, leading to an interception.
However, he is not a perfect prospect. Due to how Louisville used him initially in his career, some teams might view him as a tweener without a true home. His production also dipped this year after a breakout 2023 season, which could worry some teams. He is also on the older side as he is a true senior, which could put teams off as they could view him with a lower upside than other edges in his range. He also can get too low when coming out of his stance, which leads to some losses, particularly against more powerful OL who can drive him down.
This comparison may be harsh to the player involved, but considering my Lions-tinted glasses, it will hopefully make sense. Gillotte looks what Josh Paschal was supposed to be when we drafted him in the second round. Both have very similar physical profiles (as I highlighted earlier), but Gillotte was more productive in college. Despite Paschal playing one more game than Gillotte in college (51 to 52), Gilotte got 2 more TFLs and almost double the amount of sacks (26.5 to 13.5). If you'd prefer a less-Lions focussed comparison, I would offer AJ Epenesa, a defensive end whose best fit is as the big end in an even front, who offers the ability to move inside on clear passing downs to allow a DPR to come onto the field and the ability to play as a 3-4 DE in an odd front if asked to (especially if you add 5/10 of functional weight onto his body).
Overall, he is the 13th-ranked DE on the ROTL consensus board, and the 64th overall-ranked prospect, which puts him as a late second- to early third-round prospect, though a lot of mocks/boards do have him ranked lower. However, I would have him ranked higher than this because of the solid floor and fit he offers the Lions. While he isn't worth 1.28, if we go elsewhere with this pick (the interior of either line), and Gillotte is available at 60, god help Brad and Dan because I'll (metaphorically) be in Green Bay running the card in myself while also telling the Packers how much they suck.
ROTL Grading Scale: 75/100 (mid second-round pick)
What do you think? Do you like what you've seen of Ashton Gillotte, and is he a fit for the Lions?
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look forward to your conclusions on these players/positions after the game today, ty
Thanks Ash, RE TE's - Just to reiterate what Riz said ,& its worth noting what the Lions want their TE3 /4 to do, and how many game reps they'll actually get . Parker Hesse has been taking most Reps in camp primairly as blocker ( & FB ). Mitchel hasn't performed BUT, can Block & has some ST value,& was a draft pick. Zylstra is the best receiver -,but can't block - heresey on this team. So.........bearing in what Campbell said about the WR room ie its about the best players , irrespective of position......how about.......Mitchel as TE4 , & Zylstra ( TE5 ) taking the place of of WR5 ?
Ash, thank you so much for doing these. You and the rest of the ROTL UK gang are fantastic!
Greetings, I was glad to listen to your interesting interview. The season went really well. I liked the quality of your broadcast, which application did you use for this? Is it on this list? I just want to do live broadcasts