![\"Dan](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776411232_456_GettyImages-2235393944-1.jpg\")
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The Detroit Lions have decisions to make, and the 2026 NFL draft may fill the holes of some players that will be leaving the team.<\/p>\n
The Detroit Lions<\/a> have decisions to make ahead of the 2026 NFL draft<\/a>, but beyond the draft, they have other aspects of their lineup to figure out. It\u2019s a reframing time for the Lions, as they work to come back from a disappointing 9-8 season<\/a> with the help of a new offensive coordinator in Drew Petzing.<\/p>\n Now, one Lions rookie entering the final year of his rookie deal is being signaled out as a possible cut candidate. The Detroit Lions could even draft a feasible replacement next week.<\/p>\n We\u2019re talking about safety Brian Branch<\/a>. The player is going into the last year of his deal, but he\u2019s also mending after a torn Achilles tendon sustained against the Dallas Cowboys<\/a>. He won\u2019t be cheap to renew, as his estimated Spotrac value is $20 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n Detroit Lions Could Part Ways With Safety After His Rookie Deal is Over<\/p>\n The Detroit Lions could draft a backup, or replacement, for Branch in Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman. Even without the Branch factor, Thieneman was selected as a top choice for the team by the Lions Collective<\/a> in their discussion about who Detroit should go after in the first round.<\/p>\n The Athletic\u2019s Colton Pouncy commented<\/a>, \u201cA lot of people would probably not like that. Some people would. Probably get some split decisions there, but yeah, it would make for an interesting conversation for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n Reporter Justin Rogers of the Detroit Football Network<\/a> actually made a Branch reference in the chat, stating, \u201cThis guy is Brian Branch.\u201d In a Thursday, April 16 feature for Detroit Jock City, Colby Colwell even says<\/a> that Branch\u2019s future could be \u201cin doubt.\u201d<\/p>\n Frankly, while it\u2019s tempting to think of Thieneman as a replacement for Branch, there\u2019s something to be said for Branch\u2019s value. Injuries happen in the NFL<\/a> all the time, and it shouldn\u2019t\u2019 cost someone their deal.<\/p>\n Branch has delivered solid numbers with Detroit, with\u00a0Pro Football Focus giving him an overall grade of 77.5<\/a> for the 2025-26 season, putting him at No. 12 out of 98 safeties in the NFL. So, when he\u2019s healthy, he\u2019s a force on the field.<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t mean the Detroit Lions shouldn\u2019t draft Thieneman. But, it does mean that they should think twice before letting Branch walk.<\/p>\n Another Option for the Detroit Lions in the 2026 NFL Draft<\/p>\n If the Lions don\u2019t go with Thieneman, the general consensus is that they\u2019ll need a strong tackle early in the draft. Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN has Dan Campbell<\/a> and company going with Monroe Freeling, offensive tackle, out of Georgia<\/p>\n \u201cGeorgia Freeling has a huge 6-7, 315-pound frame and long 34\u00be-inch arms, and he can erase pass rushers with his quickness and handwork,\u201d he states in a mock ahead of the draft. \u201cHis 18 starts of experience might worry some teams, but I\u2019d bet Detroit would be happy to land Freeling in this range.\u201d<\/p>\n He adds that the player \u201chas a ton of potential, and the Lions were 31st in pass block win rate last season at 55.5 percent.\u201d<\/p>\n So, Freeling, who played left tackle at Georgia, could step in for Taylor Decker immediately. Kiper even thinks the move could get the Lions back to the playoffs, which is exactly what they want.<\/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 The Detroit Lions have decisions to make, and the 2026 NFL draft may fill the holes of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":868209,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2071],"tags":[146,113,2506,7,147,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-868208","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\/116418893975560252","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868208","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=868208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868208\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/868209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=868208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=868208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=868208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}