I’m live from Indianapolis for the next several days, encompassing the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine. The Combine tends to be where we learn more about the Lions offseason plans, both for the draft and free agency, than any other point of the year. We have public access to Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell early next week, as well as the coordinators.

But it’s the hotel lobbies, the restaurants and bars in downtown Indianapolis, and the corridors of the Indiana Convention Center where the real gleanings from the Combine spring. Agents, scouts, coaches, fellow media members and even prospects and their families tend to be willing and useful sources of info about the Detroit Lions and the NFL as a whole.

The point being, I’ll have a much stronger feel for where and who the Lions are looking at in the 2026 NFL Draft when I return home from Indianapolis than when I got here. As the week starts, here are the five players I believe are Detroit’s most likely targets with the No. 17 overall pick.

Listed in alphabetical order

Keldric Faulk, EDGE, Auburn

We’ve talked a lot about Faulk on the Daily DLP and elsewhere, but it’s impossible to stress just how optimally the big 20-year-old checks every box the Lions mandate from their defensive ends. His 6-6, 280-ish pound frame with long, powerful arms and power-to-speed pass rush style are exactly what the Lions loved in oft-injured Marcus Davenport. Faulk is young and healthy, and he plays the run exceptionally well already. His football IQ and off-field character are off-the-charts good.

Faulk can line up anywhere on the Lions’ defensive line from 3T to 7T, a la oft-injured Levi Onwuzurike. He’s got significantly more athletic upside than either Davenport (now) or Onwuzurike (ever). Ah yes, here comes the but…

Faulk bagged just 10 sacks in three years at Auburn, with seven of those coming in 2024. There is some context needed; he played much more of an attacking DE role in that year before a defensive scheme change in 2025 forced him into a more read/react interior presence. Even so, Faulk is not a dynamic or explosive attack dog. He’s not stiff or lacking athleticism, but those qualities are not (yet) how he makes his impact felt on the field. The potential is certainly there, but it has yet to develop for Faulk.

Keldric Faulk as prospect of the day

Monroe Freeling, OT, Georgia

Another recently featured prospect of the day for the Daily DLP, Freeling is definitely gaining momentum as a potential pick in the teens. NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah, one of the most dialed-in draft insiders, mentioned Freeling first in his pre-Combine press conference when discussing Lions offensive line options at No. 17.

It’s easy to understand the growing love for Freeling, who was something of a surprise early entrant. He’s played over 1,500 snaps in college with 18 total starts for the Bulldogs, all of those at left tackle–though he has dabbled on the right side as well. Freeling offers prototypical size for a tackle and appears to be a plus athlete for the position (Combine testing will validate). There are some technicalities to his game that must get cleaned up, namely in the run game. Freeling is a leaner more than a striker, and he winds up on the ground on his own volition too often. However, basically everything that falls into Freeling’s “negative” column is coachable and should also get better with more experience.

Blake Miller, OT, Clemson

Miller has been Clemson’s right tackle for the last four seasons. That statement merits some context as to why it’s so impressive: Miller is the first Clemson offensive lineman to ever start for four seasons, beginning as a true freshman, since World War II ended. Despite his considerable experience, Miller’s overall skillset took a big jump in 2025.

Jeremiah took notice, mentioning Miller in the same breath as Freeling in his press conference. Miller dramatically scaled back the misfire plays, whiffs that pockmarked his Clemson career. His balance on the end of the line improved, as did his reactive quickness and overall pad level in the run game. While he’ll never be confused for a road grater in run blocking, Miller showed decent power and impressive latchability. If he gets his hands on the defender, they’re not making a play, period. The 22-year-old (his 22nd birthday is Wednesday) cleaned up his penalty issues, too.

Miller is a right tackle-only, though he did have an impressive cup of coffee at LT in 2024 vs. Pittsburgh. If his growth arc continues from 2025 into the NFL, and it absolutely can, he’s a high-ceiling RT prospect with a good schematic and grit fit in Detroit. There are still just enough “what the hell was that?!” plays on Miller’s film that 17 overall might wind up being too rosy of a projection, however.

T.J. Parker, EDGE, Clemson

Speaking of Daniel Jeremiah, Parker is his current projection to the Lions at No. 17. DJ is not alone in that projection either, as Parker–or perhaps more correctly, Parker’s agent–has done a great job of rebuilding his draft stock.

Entering the 2025 college season, it wasn’t uncommon to see Parker as the first defensive player projected for the 2026 Draft. He exploded in 2024, his true sophomore season, with 20 TFLs, 11.5 sacks and 6 forced fumbles in a breakout sophomore season. Draft momentum cooled when Parker, like most of the Clemson team, didn’t fare as well in 2025 (9.5 TFLs, 5 sacks in 12 games). He looked a little sluggish and tighter through the ankles and hips last fall.

The 2024 version of Parker reemerged at the Senior Bowl, where he was unblockable in practice. He appeared to have trimmed a little weight and worked on his snap timing, and the 21-year-old wore that very well. Taking him at 17, which is probably higher than he’ll be ranked by most every draft analyst, is a bet that the Lions can consistently coax out the dynamic sophomore and make everyone forget about the less sizzly junior.

Kadyn Proctor, OT, Alabama

Proctor stands 6-foot-7 and played at a weight over 365, and still he looked like one of the most athletic players on the field at Alabama. That in and of itself draws a lot of attention to Proctor, the Crimson Tide’s starting LT for the last three seasons.

Many expect Proctor to test quite well in athletic metrics, myself included. It’s the “playing actual football” part that brings the question marks out for Proctor. He’s an unrefined technician, and his technique–especially in pass protection–looks the same as it did when he arrived on campus. Proctor often annihilates straight bull rushes, and EDGEs without a real plan are easy pickings. Rushers who can cross his face or get into and then out of his chest remain a major issue for Proctor, who is more passive and reactive than the other OTs listed here. His style of play might be more suitable for guard, but Proctor’s massive size could be an issue for a pocket-centric QB like Jared Goff if he moves inside.

Of the quintet listed here, Proctor is handily the easiest to project falling out of consideration during the Combine week. Still, he fits the “planet theory” that enticed Brad Holmes to jump significantly higher than expected for Giovanni Manu two years ago, and there is indeed enough good game film to sell it to his scouting staff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEZ5qeOBCtw&t=828s