For all the Detroit Lions fans clamoring for GM Brad Holmes to add depth at edge rusher, Holmes has obliged with the selection of Boise State's Ahmed Hassanein with the 196th overall pick in the sixth round. Hassanein (6-3, 267) is the first Egyptian player to be drafted to the NFL.
He was a two-year starter for the Broncos, racking up excellent production with 101 tackles, 32.0 tackles for loss and 22.0 sacks over the last two seasons. He generated over 115 quarterback pressures over the last two years, which was third most in the FBS over that span.
View photos of defensive lineman Ahmed Hassanein.
Boise State Broncos defensive end Ahmed Hassanein (91) rushes the passer during an NCAA football game on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024 in Statesboro, Ga. (AP Photo/Peter Joneleit)
Boise State defensive end Ahmed Hassanein (91) rallies the crowd against UNLV in the second half of the Mountain West Championship NCAA college football game Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in Boise, Idaho. Boise State won 21-7. (AP Photo/Steve Conner)
Boise State defensive lineman Ahmed Hassanein runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
UNLV quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams (6) scrambles with the ball in front of Boise State defensive end Ahmed Hassanein (91) in the second half of the Mountain West Championship NCAA college football game Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in Boise, Idaho. (AP Photo/Steve Conner)
FILE - Boise State defensive lineman Ahmed Hassanein runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine on Feb. 27, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
Boise State defensive end Ahmed Hassanein (91) during the Fiesta Bowl College Football Playoff game against Boise State, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Boise State defensive end Ahmed Hassanein (91) rallies the crowd against UNLV in the second half of the Mountain West Championship NCAA college football game Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in Boise, Idaho. Boise State won 21-7. (AP Photo/Steve Conner)
Boise State defensive end Ahmed Hassanein (91) looks up at the video board after a sack against Utah State in the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Boise, Idaho. Boise State won 62-30. (AP Photo/Steve Conner)
Boise State defensive end Ahmed Hassanein (91) looks of the Oregon State offense before the snap in the second half of an NCAA college football game, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, in Boise, Idaho. Boise won 34-18. (AP Photo/Steve Conner)
Boise State defensive end Ahmed Hassanein (91) looks up at a replay on the video board against Utah State in the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Boise, Idaho. Boise State won 62-30. (AP Photo/Steve Conner)
Boise State defensive lineman Ahmed Hassanein runs the 40-yard dash at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Boise State defensive end Ahmed Hassanein (91) tackles Wyoming quarterback Kaden Anderson (12) in the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Laramie, Wyo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Boise State defensive end Ahmed Hassanein (91) looks to sack Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel (8) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Lydia Ely)
Boise State defensive lineman Ahmed Hassanein runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Boise State defensive end Ahmed Hassanein is pictured during an NCAA football game against Washington on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023, in Seattle. Washington won 56-19. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
Hassanein has a motor that never quits and he can set the edge in the run game. He has a ton of upside as a pass rusher with still a lot to learn. He only started playing football in 2019.
He was born in the United States but moved to Egypt as a child and spent the next 10 years in Africa. He moved back to the states in 2018 to stay with his older brother, Cory Besch.
Besch, an English teacher and football coach in Anaheim, Calif., played college football at Division II Azusa Pacific and semi-professionally for the Schwaz Hammers in Austria. Besch became his legal guardian and taught him the game of football, along with YouTube videos and Aaron Donald highlights.
"I haven't even reached anything of my top ceiling," Hassanein said via Zoom after the Lions selected him. "I'm just ready to grow and ready to learn and ready to help the team with whatever they need because they believe in me and whoever believes in me that means the world to me."
He gives the Lions more depth along the edge in a group that currently includes Aidan Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport, Josh Paschal, Al-Quadin Muhammad and others.
Hassanein was voted a team captain in 2024 and is the only FBS defensive lineman to have more than 15 tackles for loss in each of the last two seasons.
"Relentless, man," Hassanein said of his play style. "I never stop. I go 100 miles per hour on every play. You can't teach that. I'm relentless in the run game and I can get after the quarterback. I'm consistent at doing my job. I don't do my own thing. I do my job."
