The Detroit Lions have plenty of household names as one of the best teams in the NFL entering the 2025 season. Fans have gravitated to Aidan Hutchinson, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Jahmyr Gibbs as Detroit has risen from the outhouse to the penthouse, and those same names will look to get Detroit to its first Super Bowl this fall.

But the difference between a good team and a great team is having players that can contribute outside of the spotlight. These players either have a key role or a skill set that flies under the radar that could help them become the next big name or just a valued piece to a championship puzzle.

For the Lions, that player could be a rookie that was selected late in the NFL Draft and could make a push to join the roster during training camp.

Lions Rookie Ahmed Hassanein is a Player to Watch Entering Training Camp

The Lions took a shot on potential when they selected defensive end Ahmed Hassanein in the sixth round of April’s draft. The 22-year-old wrapped up a standout career at Boise State, where he collected 24 sacks, including 22 over his junior and senior seasons. But the intrigue comes from his background, growing up in Egypt and not playing football until he returned to the United States for high school.

Hassanein has experienced rapid growth since then and played his way onto the Lions’ radar. While no pads have been put on, he still found a way to stand out and get a shoutout from head coach Dan Campbell during OTA workouts.

“I like his intensity, I like his urgency, he seems to be a pretty smart guy,” Campbell said last month. “There’s things he’s going to have to learn from. He’s a little bit raw. But there’s nothing that tells me, ‘Man, I don’t like this guy,’ or, ‘He’s miles away,’ or something like that.”

While those words don’t guarantee Hassanein a roster spot and he has some things to clean up, including a 22.6% missed tackle rate and his work against the run, there is an opportunity for him to make the team and carve out a role during training camp.

Hutchinson will return after suffering a broken leg during training camp, but the oft-injured Marcus Davenport is on the opposite end. Unless Za’Darius Smith and the Lions have a reunion at the eleventh hour, Hassanein will be battling Josh Paschal and Al-Quadin Muhammad for a roster spot, and could at the very least push for a situational pass rush role.

There’s a long way to get to that point, but Hassanein’s production in college could hint at some unlocked potential and give Detroit a steal nobody was expecting.