{"id":16375,"date":"2025-06-26T13:26:08","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T13:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/16375\/"},"modified":"2025-06-26T13:26:08","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T13:26:08","slug":"2025-detroit-lions-roster-preview-why-giovanni-manu-is-poised-for-year-2-jump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/16375\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 Detroit Lions roster preview: Why Giovanni Manu is poised for Year 2 jump"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our 2025 Detroit Lions<\/a> roster review continues with one of the most enigmatic players on the team. <\/p>\n

Offensive lineman Giovanni Manu was arguably the most shocking pick of Detroit\u2019s 2024 draft class, with general manager Brad Holmes trading a future third-round pick to select the University of British Columbia talent in the fourth round.<\/p>\n

With that aggressive of a move in the draft, Holmes clearly sees potential with the raw prospect, but his rookie season was spent behind closed doors. Still, there are a lot of reasons to expect a huge jump from the massive offensive tackle in 2025. <\/p>\n

Previous previews: RB Sione Vaki<\/strong><\/a>,<\/strong> RB Jahmyr Gibbs<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>WR Jameson Williams<\/strong><\/a>, TE Sam LaPorta<\/strong><\/a>, EDGE Aidan Hutchinson<\/strong><\/a>, DT Brodric Martin<\/strong><\/a>, LB Grant Stuard<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>CB Ennis Rakestraw<\/strong><\/a>, K Jake Bates<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Giovanni Manu<\/strong>
\nExpectations heading into 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

From the moment the Lions drafted Manu, they warned the public that this was going to be a long-term project. All of the physical tools\u2014including a massive but cut 6-foot-7 frame and incredible speed\u2014are there, but an extensive amount of overhaul was needed to his form and football IQ. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is more of a down-the-road future deal, but the upside is enormous. Just really, really excited to work with him,\u201d Lions general manager Brad Holmes said on draft night. <\/p>\n

And when training camp hit, it was abundantly clear that the Lions had little intention of having him play a significant role during his rookie season. <\/p>\n

\u201cI would love to say, \u2018Hey we\u2019re going to get him this year by the middle of the season,\u2019 and that would be great, and that\u2019s always going to be the goal is, how fast can we get one of these guys to where they\u2019re contributing and helping us,\u201d coach Dan Campbell said at the beginning of training camp. \u201cBut we also knew what we were acquiring. We\u2019re prepared to take this as it comes. Whenever he\u2019s ready, he\u2019s ready, and that\u2019s okay. If that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s this year and it\u2019s next year, great. Certainly, we\u2019re trying to push to get him ready now. That\u2019ll always be the goal with these guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Actual Role in 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

0 games played \u2014 inactive each week <\/strong><\/p>\n

As most expected, Manu\u2019s rookie season turned out to be a redshirt year. He made the initial 53-man roster, stayed on it all year, but was never part of the active gameday roster. <\/p>\n

But that doesn\u2019t mean it was a wasted season. While the media was not privy to Manu\u2019s development in practice from September to January, players and coaches were. And just about everyone raved about the progress he made, as detailed by this excellent piece from Justin Rogers of Detroit Football Network<\/a>. Here are just a few snippets: <\/p>\n

Offensive line coach Hank Fraley:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI liked where he ended last year, where he was with his play, where his demeanor was, where he really was, assignment-wise. He really did a good job, and he grew every day.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Assistant offensive line coach Steve Oliver: <\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI can\u2019t pinpoint one specific thing because he\u2019s a more confident, totally transformed player. You see the strength when he gets hold of guys, plus the feet and the athletic ability.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cHe\u2019s out of the baby-giraffe stage and he\u2019s a full-grown giraffe or whatever the hell you want to call it. He\u2019s using that big-ass frame of his and he\u2019s using it right. Any run plays, he\u2019s coming downhill and he\u2019s scooting guys out of the way. His form is good. I don\u2019t know what Hank has been teaching him, but he\u2019s learning quick.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026His improvement, I would say, has been the same as (Christian) Mahogany\u2019s. Both of them during the offseason, I\u2019d say it was really easy to beat them (one-on-one). Really easy. Three months later, they\u2019ve developed so quickly, they\u2019re playing so much better.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Defensive end Josh Paschal:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cHe has a very strong reach block. In the run game, I feel like he\u2019s going to be a menace. I feel like the coaches have done a great job developing him. I\u2019m excited to see what his future holds.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

General manager Brad Holmes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIf you\u2019ve watched the film of Gio in OTAs and you watched the film of Gio in practice, I mean, it literally is night and day.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

We can only take these people\u2019s words for Manu\u2019s development, but the praise is so widespread\u2014and often very specific\u2014that it feels like you can trust these testimonials. <\/p>\n

Outlook for 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 2025 offseason is already off to a strong start for Manu. It appears left tackle Taylor Decker has taken him under his wing a bit, as the duo trained with former NFL offensive lineman LeCharles Bentley earlier this year. <\/p>\n

\u201cWith LeCharles, there are a lot of guys out there who do a really good job with these guys, and I know what kind of shape Decker is in,\u201d Fraley said this spring. \u201cWe have a bunch of guys that go to LeCharles that are on our roster here. I know this: Decker always comes in ready to play, in shape, and ready to go. I know LeCharles a little bit, we played in the same era a little bit there, so I like what LeCharles is about and how he gets the guys ready to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

But where does that leave Manu? There was some early talk about playing him at guard, and Campbell hinted at it again this offseason. But on the field at OTAs, Manu was strictly at offensive tackle during the practices open to the media. While Decker and Penei Sewell have the starting tackle gigs locked down, could Manu push the likes of Dan Skipper, Jamarco Jones, and Colby Sorsdal for the primary backup job? Could he eventually take over for Decker as early as 2026? <\/p>\n

Those are questions that I\u2019m sure the Lions don\u2019t even know right now. As much progress as he\u2019s made in a year, the Lions have openly admitted there\u2019s still plenty of progress needed, particularly in the mental aspect of the game. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe does have a physical presence about him, and he can exert his physicality on the field. That\u2019s what I think you got to see later in the year. Now it\u2019s, can he take that next step? It\u2019s a huge step,\u201d Fraley said. <\/p>\n

During OTAs, Manu assumed the backup left tackle position\u2014already a promotion from last year\u2019s third\/fourth-team designations. It\u2019s a small sign of the progress promised by everyone in the building. But we\u2019ll have to see in training camp\u2014when the pads go on\u2014just how much growth has truly happened. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Our 2025 Detroit Lions roster review continues with one of the most enigmatic players on the team. Offensive…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16376,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[1449,16242,9328,381,204,16238,1622,16241,9321,16239,1232,1539,16240,4360,3009,1242,62,67,132,68,3247,1628],"class_list":{"0":"post-16375","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-detroit","9":"tag-detroit-lions-analysis","10":"tag-detroit-lions-roster","11":"tag-for","12":"tag-front-page","13":"tag-giovanni","14":"tag-is","15":"tag-jump","16":"tag-lions","17":"tag-manu","18":"tag-nfl","19":"tag-of","20":"tag-poised","21":"tag-preview","22":"tag-pride","23":"tag-roster","24":"tag-sports","25":"tag-united-states","26":"tag-unitedstates","27":"tag-us","28":"tag-why","29":"tag-year"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114749897611576352","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16375\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}