NFL Draft 2026: Dos & Don’ts for the Lions in the Second Round

Information sourced from: DLP Consensus Draft Board

We stand three days and one hour away from round one of the 2026 NFL Draft. While there is a lot of talk about the first round, let’s dig into the second round today, with dos and don’ts for the Lions in round two.

Do: Draft your guy this year, even if it is a bit early

I think Brad Holmes has shown the propensity to move to get his guy, and trust his value versus the consensus value (for better or for worse). In this draft, I think this is even more critical than previously, given that the depth in the draft may not even sniff the roster for the Lions. So, for instance, if you have a big edge like LT Overton out of Alabama who is showing on the Detroit Lions Podcast consensus draft board at pick one hundred twelve, and he is your guy: go get him! I’m not suggesting him for the Lions, I just think that specifically at a “blue chip” positions, you should go and get the player you want even if it means overspending a bit.

Don’t: Bite too early at safety

This may seem a bit counter intuitive to my previous point however: I would not bite too early at safety. After the combine it became very apparent there are a bunch of very talented safeties in this draft. Combine that with the fact that Brad Holmes has done an excellent job of drafting safeties in the past, and this is simply a no brainer. Wait on safety until round four when you have two picks, or even round five. It is a wealth of this draft.

Do: Move up if you need to

The Lions have a good roster. I know some of you disagree with this fact. However, I believe they are very likely to bounce back this year. That said, if you are Brad Holmes and feel that you need a certain position and are going to lose that position if you wait, package picks or players and move on up! If you are a believer in the “super bowl window” theory, then it could be argued the Lion’s super bowl window is not getting any bigger and they should aim to compete this year.

Don’t: Trade out of the second round

I stated above that a good portion of the depth in this draft may never sniff the Lion’s roster. So while this is not something that is very common for Brad, I still think it’s worth avoiding. We need “blue chip” players on this team and they aren’t going to be available in rounds five, six or seven, and possibly not in round four (beyond safety). Use that second round pick and take your best player available even if it’s not your first choice.

No one knows truly what the Lions will do, but I will keep digging at it this week to bring you a whole week of uninterrupted draft commentary and coverage. Keep checking back to Silver & Blues for more, and Let’s go Lions!