2026 Detroit Lions NFL Draft in Review

A lot has happened, let's break down each pick.

Information sourced from: DLP Podcasts, Detroit Lions Official Webpage, Detroit Lions Morning Rounds, RAS

The Detroit Lions 2026 draft is complete. The lions certainly filled a lot of holes with their picks. Let’s do a quick review of every pick and see what we have in our new Lions!

Round 1 - Pick 17 - Blake Miller, OT, Clemson

Given I wrote a whole piece on Blake Miller I won’t belabor the points too heavily. However, to give a high level review: he is extremely dependable, extremely medically low risk, has a very high athleticism grade (RAS), has an iron grip, is good against the pass rush, and great blocking for the run. There is certainly a lot to like about this pick. I would not prefer that he slot in at left tackle. I hope that Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes stick to their thoughts about moving Penei Sewell to LT. I think that would make the line nearly perfect. The only questions are at left guard, but many will compete for that spot including Christian Mahogany, Miles Frazier, and Juice Scruggs.

Round 2 - Pick 44 - Derrick Moore, EDGE, Michigan

I did a lot of mock drafts this year, most of which I did not share beyond my friends and contributors to Silver & Blues. If you had seen them though, you would notice a trend: I am a huge fan of Derrick Moore’s game. Thus I may be a bit biased in this analysis. However, in my opinion he is an immediate upgrade over Al-Quadin Muhammad. He has more speed than AQM to provide pressure off the line. However, the real upgrade over AQM is Derrick Moore’s run blocking. It is not elite, but it is good. Good is enough to upgrade over AQM.

Moore also has a low medical risk and seems to have a good to great athletic profile (he did not fully test given a hamstring strain, but that appears to be non-recurrent and minor).

Round 4 - Pick 118 - Jimmy Rolder, LB, Michigan

Jimmy Rolder was not really on my radar a ton coming up to the draft. I had mocked him a few times. Looking into his profile the biggest concern is medical, which is “fairly low risk” as long as the small injuries that happened throughout college are truly that small. Skill is no question, he can play the run, he can cover well enough (average), and he is an elite athlete. I was looking for the Lions to add a coverage linebacker, and Rolder may very well be able to fit that mold with a bit of additional coaching. At least look for Rolder to slot into the rotation, and at best look for him to pick up some to all of Anzalone’s snap share.

Round 5 - Pick 157 - Keith Abney II , CB, Arizona State

The pick screamed value to me. I had him on two draft boards at position sixty seven. He is a pretty good athlete, with long speed being his calling card. His agility looks alright. He looks a lot on tape, to me, like Amik Robertson. I think he will immediately slot in at the bottom of the cornerback depth chart, and he has lots of upside. He also has extremely low medical risk (seeing a trend here?).

Round 5 - Pick 168 - Kendrick Law, WR, Kentucky

Kendrick Law was not even within my purview. However, I think he should have been. He is very much like departed wide receiver Kalif Raymond in his game and athletic makeup. Add in another player who is medically low risk, and he could find his way on to the receiver depth chart. I think it will be either him or Greg Dortch fighting for the same spot, with the other likely leaving or ending up on the practice squad. Having the depth for that receiver spot is nice though.

Round 6 - Pick 205 - Skyler Gill-Howard, DT, Texas Tech

Skyler Gill-Howard seems to be the prototypical depth defensive tackle. He is big enough to fit into a nose type role, but small enough to play elsewhere. He’s kind of a “tweener” in that regard. He is middling in this athletic profile. He also is higher risk medically due to an ankle surgery in his past. Look for him to battle for one of the last defensive tackle spots with Mekhi Wingo, Myles Adam, and Chris Smith.

Round 7 - Pick 222 - Tyre West, EDGE/DT, Tennessee

If you had to pick a position to take a flyer on a pick, I think it was the defensive line. Tyre west is very fast for his size. From my perspective he likely competes on the edge, and will also shift inside, perhaps in a role similar to Josh Paschal or John Cominsky in the past. From a medical perspective he is low risk (note: he does have a concussion in his past). I have no problems with the Lions trying to add more edge-ish depth to spell Aiden Hutchinson now and then.

That’s a wrap on the draft this year. A lot of people do letter grades, and I will do this same. I would grade this draft a B+. Coming in, my biggest needs were the same as everyone at OT and EDGE and the Lions have certainly handled those needs. I then was tied with coverage linebacker and safety. It’s too early to call Rolder a coverage linebacker but he certainly helps. From a safety perspective, Brad Holmes said “not to read too much into who was drafted” in that regard. I don’t know, he is generally truthful with us, but it has to say something positive about Branch and Joseph. Maddox and Clark don’t hurt either. The only thing they could have done is perhaps add a running back three? I am a bit concerned that Saylers and/or Vaki are not the right fit there.

The only other thing I really, really wanted was a developmental QB, and undrafted free agent Luke Altmeyer is exactly the type I was looking for. Decent arm strength, mobile, good pocket presence. Give him Mark Brunell, Teddy Bridgewater, and others to mentor him and perhaps he is the backup of the future.

Final Note: My biggest concern about this class was having healthy players. All medical risk assessments are per Detroit Lions Morning Rounds on Substack or on Dr. Jimmy Liao’s X page. I’m very thankful that Dr. Jimmy posts everything he does and gives us a new perspective during the draft as injuries have played such a part in our last two seasons.