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As the 2026 NFL draft inches closer, the Detroit Lions are being predicted to land a Michigan star to help Aidan Hutchinson.<\/p>\n
The 2026 NFL draft<\/a> is slated for April 23 through 25 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania<\/a>, and time is running out for the Detroit Lions<\/a> to do their homework and get ready for the event. Now, the Lions are being predicted to bring on a Michigan standout in the draft, so he and fellow Wolverine defensive end Aidan Hutchinson<\/a> will have something in common.<\/p>\n The Detroit Lions have a total of nine picks in the NFL<\/a> draft, and their first comes at No. 17. Most mock drafts have the Lions snagging an offensive tackle at No. 17, and that\u2019s the case with the ESPN mock that dropped on Tuesday, April 7<\/a>, but then, the draft takes a turn.<\/p>\n For No. 17, NFL analysts Mel Kiper Jr., Matt Miller, Jordan Reid and Field Yates select Monroe Freeling, an offensive tackle out of Georgia, for the Lions. \u201cRegardless of which side Penei Sewell plays next season, the Lions need a long-term answer at the other offensive tackle spot,\u201d they state in the feature. \u201cFreeling started just 18 games in college, but he\u2019s long and quick, and his ceiling is high.\u201d<\/p>\n Detroit Lions Bring a Michigan Wolverine to the Team in ESPN Draft Projection<\/p>\n What\u2019s cool about this projected draft is that they see the Detroit Lions picking another edge from Michigan to pair with Hutchinson. Sounds appropriate, right? For their No.\u00a050 pick, Miller sees the Detroit Lions going with Jaishawn Barham<\/a>, an edge, out of Michigan.<\/p>\n \u201cDetroit goes down the road to get a sudden defender who is still ascending after moving from linebacker to a full-time edge rusher role,\u201d Miller states. \u201cBarham could help fill the void opposite Aidan Hutchinson.\u201d<\/p>\n Barham\u2019s official NFL draft profile<\/a> sings his praises as a player who has logged most of his snaps at off-ball linebacker, \u201cbut his 2025 tape showed explosiveness that will attract teams seeking a developmental rush \u2018backer in an odd front.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s raw as a rusher, relying heavily on athleticism, but the missing elements are teachable,\u201d the profile adds. \u201cWhether outside or inside, he\u2019s a professional block-beater with the tools to stack or slip blocks, though his edge-setting needs work.\u201d<\/p>\n According to his NFL profile<\/a>, Barham\u2019s \u201cbend and reactive agility create unlikely tackle chances that few can find.\u201d He also has an \u201cintensity and motor\u201d that are \u201ctop-tier,\u201d but he \u201cneeds to play with better discipline to avoid negative snaps.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWith explosive traits and inside-outside versatility, he projects as an impactful future starter once his technique catches up,\u201d his profile adds.<\/p>\n Detroit Lions Haven\u2019t Prioritized a Lineman Early in the Draft, But 2026 May Be Different<\/p>\n In a Tuesday, April 7 feature for Detroit Jock City<\/a>, Max DeMara also digs the pick. \u201cAdding Barham in the second-round could be about as good as the Lions could be expected to do for their defensive line, given he piled up 98 total tackles and five sacks the last two seasons for the Wolverines,\u201d he states in the feature.<\/p>\n \u201cBrad Holmes notably hasn\u2019t prioritized a lineman early in the draft since selecting Hutchinson in 2022,\u201d he adds, \u201cand to land one with a high upside so early would be a fantastic coup for the front office.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAnne Erickson<\/a> is an award-winning reporter for Heavy Sports covering the NFL, NBA and college football. Anne Erickson has years of experience covering the NFL and additional sports, and her work has been published via ESPN, Fox Sports and more. She has interviewed some of the biggest names in sports, including Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Erickson also hosts several podcasts and is a Detroit-based radio host. More about Anne Erickson<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Lions\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty As the 2026 NFL draft inches closer, the Detroit Lions are being predicted to land a Michigan…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":859451,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2071],"tags":[146,113,2506,7,147,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-859450","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-detroit-lions","8":"tag-detroit","9":"tag-detroit-lions","10":"tag-detroitlions","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-lions","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116364738161526226","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/859450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=859450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/859450\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/859451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=859450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=859450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=859450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}