The Detroit Lions’ goal is to improve in 2026 and get back to the playoffs, with hopes of making their first-ever Super Bowl. After a somewhat quiet free agency, the team shifted its focus to the 2026 NFL Draft. Unlike last year, Detroit had more needs heading into the draft.
The Lions have some tough decisions to make soon regarding re-signing players, letting them walk, or trading them away for assets. This is the beginning of the tough road ahead for general manager Brad Holmes in roster building. His star players on rookie contracts are now expecting extensions, costly ones at that.
The team needs to save money, and the best way to do that was through the draft. Holmes had to nailed it. Did he? Here are my grades for each pick and the entire Detroit Lions 2026 NFL Draft class.
First round (17): OT Blake Miller (Clemson)
Meet your new starting right tackle, folks. While he was picked higher than he was projected, it was smart for the Lions to get him while they could. Miller fits like a glove for his personality on and off the field. On the field, he’s a tough-nosed player who’s quick, has good footwork, and a great motor. Off the field, well, he doesn’t like to be off the field. During his time at Clemson, he missed just one practice for surgery on a broken wrist.
According to Dane Brugler’s The Beast, “The thought of letting down his coaches and teammates kills him.”
If that doesn’t scream Lion, I don’t know what does. He’s a guy who will give his all in practice and in games. For example, he did not opt out for the Pinstripe Bowl back in December after his Clemson Tigers went 7-5 and had a disappointing season. He could have sat and protected his draft stock, but wanted to play with his teammates one more time, setting a Clemson record of 54-straight starts. He will fight Larry Borom for the starting right tackle job, and I think he wins the competition.
Role: Starting right tackle
Second round (44): EDGE Derrick Moore (Michigan)
After standing pat in the first round, Holmes didn’t waste much time on Day 2 to trade up to get his guy. Moving up from pick 50 to 44, giving up a 2026 fourth-round pick (128), the Lions selected Michigan defensive end Derrick Moore. Moore, like Miller, was picked higher than projected, but the Lions got their guy and wanted to make sure. Holmes said on Friday night that Moore was the top edge defender left on their board, and with the Baltimore Ravens picking at pick 45, he may have felt the heat to jump ahead and ensure Moore would be his.
Moore is a pass-rushing edge who can generate pressure with his strength and power. While his run defense isn’t the best, he can still make plays there and he’s certainly a willing run defender. He improved over his four-year career at Michigan, finishing last season with a team-high 10 sacks, and was tied for ninth in the country with a 92.4 PFF pass rush grade. He might not start when the season kicks off, but by the end of the year, he should be taking a majority of the snaps opposite Aidan Hutchinson.
Role: Future starting EDGE
Fourth round (118): LB Jimmy Rolder (Michigan)
The Lions gave their defense more help and depth by selecting linebacker Jimmy Rolder at pick 118 on Day 3. Rolder is a solid run defender who doesn’t miss tackles. His lack of experience (one-year starter) could hinder his ability to see the field in 2026, as the team has question marks about who their third linebacker is. He will compete with Malcolm Rodriguez for a possible starting role, depending on if the defense adjusts their scheme.
If he doesn’t start in 2026, he will see the field on special teams, something he played for three years at Michigan before becoming the starter in 2025. The Lions have thin long-term options at the position, with Derrick Barnes the only one under contract beyond 2026, until the team either picks up the fifth-year option or extends Jack Campbell. Rolder gives the Lions a player who can be part of the long-term solutions at linebacker.
Role: Depth/starting linebacker/special teams
Fifth round (157): CB Keith Abney II (Arizona State)
No position needed as much depth as the cornerback spot. That position has been riddled with injuries for two seasons in a row, and the Lions found someone who is versatile in playing outside and inside. While he can do both, expect him to focus more on the nickelback role, competing with Roger McCreary for the starting job.
He’s a playmaker that this defense could use more of, and gives them some juice with their top two playmakers in the secondary dealing with injuries currently.
Fifth round (168): WR Kendrick Law (Kentucky)
The first miss for Holmes in the draft was taking a kick returner in the fifth round and trading up to get him. Detroit sent a sixth-round pick to move up from 181 to 168.
While he has a chance to compete for WR4 and has solid hands, Law doesn’t feel like a pick the Lions could have afforded to take right now. Holmes doesn’t always draft for need, but with glaring questions at other, more important positions, it seemed like his biggest reach of the draft.
Law has a chance to miss the 53-man roster as well, just because the Lions need more people at other positions, and keeping a guy on the roster strictly as a kick returner isn’t needed. I am glad it wasn’t in the fourth round or earlier, but this gives me the yearly head scratch project by Holmes, which hasn’t worked out for him yet.
Role: Kick returner/special teams
Sixth round (205): DT Skyler Gill-Howard (Texas Tech)
Holmes went back on the defensive hunt in the sixth round and got himself a defensive tackle in Skyler Gill-Howard. Gill-Howard is a balanced defensive tackle who can stop the run and generate pressure on the quarterback. He will compete for a spot on the roster, and if he can bounce back from his season-ending ankle injury suffered back in October, he could be a steal that gives the Lions more help on the defensive line.
Role: Depth defensive tackle
Seventh Round (222): EDGE Tyre West (Tennessee)
To close out the draft, Holmes went back to the defensive line and got himself a versatile player in defensive lineman Tyre West. While he played on the edge at Tennessee, scouts project he will move to the interior part of the defensive line. The Lions love versatility in players, so if West can play at defensive tackle and on the edge, he could be a replacement for Levi Onwuzurike in 2027.
Role: Depth defensive tackle/EDGE
When reviewing the draft picks overall, I come away satisfied, but I do wish there were a few different picks. To start positively, I believe Holmes had a great first two days of the draft. He didn’t have to trade up and spend extra capital to land Miller. Then he addressed the need for a pass-rushing defensive end in Moore in the second round. The trade to move up was fine with me, and I think it was a smart move to get ahead of the Ravens because I am sure they would’ve taken Moore if given the chance. He has obvious links to head coach Jesse Minter, and the Ravens also were in the edge market (they drafted Zion Young with the next pick).
Day 3 started strong as Holmes addressed the linebacker room that has question marks for depth in Rolder and gave the secondary more help and versatility in Abney II. The ending of Day 3 is where things took a downward turn from an A draft down to a B. Not only did Holmes draft a wide receiver in Law, but he traded up for him. The trade value wasn’t an issue, but that position wasn’t a need worthy of a trade up. I don’t care if Law can do well on special teams; a tight end there would’ve made more sense.
The final picks being on the defensive line in Gill-Howard and West weren’t bad, as those last two rounds are flyers. So, sure, take a shot. Where I have an issue is the part where they ignored tight end and running back in this draft overall. I don’t know if Sione Vaki can be RB3, and who’s playing tight end for the Lions in 2027? Nobody is currently signed for it.
These are minor issues, but questions that need to be addressed in the next five months. In the end, I came away happier than not, and that’s better than coming away frustrated and hopeless like previous regimes. So I appreciate knowing this team is moving in the right direction. Even if I don’t like every pick, the overall mission of improving the team and planning for the future was accomplished.
