Up next in the 2026 edition of the “A Lions prospect for each round” project, the off-ball linebackers. It’s a strong overall class with a potential star at the top and what could be solid NFL starters and contributors available deep into the draft. 

Lions draft: An EDGE for every round

No, the Lions aren’t going to draft an off-ball LB prospect in each round. The purpose is to demonstrate which types of talents look to be available for Lions GM Brad Holmes in each of the draft’s seven rounds. They are done with an eye toward scheme and culture fit. 

The Lions currently don’t have a third-round pick, but there is still a third-round candidate listed. As Holmes has repeatedly shown, he’s not afraid to go get his man in draft-day trades. For the first two rounds, there is more personal discretion toward likely availability at the current slots the Lions are slated to pick, No. 17 and No. 50 overall. 

State of the position

The Lions played three linebackers more than any other NFL team in 2025, but only two of the primary LBs are under contract. MLB Jack Campbell is an All-Pro and one of the game’s emerging defensive stars, and he’s under contractual control through the 2027 season, pending the fifth-year option on his rookie deal.

Derrick Barnes is back as another starter. He’s also under contract through 2027. Barnes had an underwhelming 2025 but has proven to be a reliable starting LB.

Alex Anzalone has been the team’s best coverage backer for years, and his tackling range and leadership will not be easy to replace. He’s 31, a free agent, and it would be surprising if he returns to Detroit. Top reserve backer Malcolm Rodriguez is also a free agent, and the popular “Rodrigo” figures to have some suitors on the open market. He’s more of a between-the-tackles payer but has also been a standout on special teams.

Speaking of special teams, Grant Stuard is also hitting free agency. The veteran appeared almost exclusively on special teams. Depth players Ezekiel Turner and Zach Cunningham are also free agents. That leaves third-year Trevor Nowaske as the only reserve LB still on the roster. Nowaske has moved between SAM and WILL spots in part-time duty. He’s athletic and hits hard, but hasn’t shown enough to trust as a starting option.

Draft options

 

First round: C.J. Allen, Georgia

In normal years, Allen probably isn’t considered a first-round prospect. The grade I gave him is commensurate with a mid-Day 2 value. But this is an odd draft class.

Presuming Sonny Styles is one of the first handful of picks (and he should be), Allen is effectively the only other off-ball linebacker worthy of consideration in the first 40 picks. He does fit the Lions profile of a smart, hard-nosed and positionally disciplined backer with good open-field athleticism. His coverage instincts and ability to run with tight ends down the field would make Allen a nice potential Anzalone replacement.

Allen can shed blocks and get to the point of attack decently, but avoiding the block in the first place is an area of definite improvement. Getting from the middle of the formation to runners outside the tackle box is another work in progress, though Allen’s speed and good body control offer higher potential. No. 17 seems very high for a player like Allen, but if Brad Holmes engineers a trade back and acquires a pick in the final slots of the round, Allen makes some sense–especially if DC Kelvin Sheppard continues to deploy three-LB sets more than any other NFL team.

Second round: Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech

One of the Combine’s bigger winners, Rodriguez vaulted from the third round selection here in the initial draft up to the second round. Rodriguez is not related to the current Lions LB, but his game eclipses “Rodrigo” in a few ways.

The speed from inside to outside the tackle box is a major asset for the former Virginia quarterback. His offensive background shows in his ability to anticipate and diagnose what the offense will do. That gives Rodriguez, who plays bigger than his 6-1, 231-pound size, some outstanding tackling productivity numbers. He’s also very good at forcing fumbles and extricating the ball without missing the tackle if it doesn’t come out, an underappreciated skill.

Rodriguez played behind a very good defensive line and that kept him free and clean to go make plays all over the formation. He did take some risks that will need to get ironed out in the NFL; Rodriguez still chases the cheese too much on play-action and misdirections, and he will jump short routes that aren’t really short routes. Rodriguez is an effective tackler but will aim his tackle target point too high at times, too. There’s more than a little stylistic and body shape resemblance to former Lions LB Stephen Tulloch, though Rodriguez is a more spry athlete.

Third round: Josiah Trotter, Missouri

The latest in the Trotter linebacking family, the 20-year-old Josiah was something of a surprise early entrant in the 2026 Draft. Like his father and older brothers, Trotter is a power-based ILB who represents some truly devastating in-the-box tackling and playmaking. He might be the best A-gap blitzer in the class, blessed with both innate timing and speed through the crease.

Trotter is of a build (a short-armed 6-2/234) that makes him look more like a shrunken offensive guard, but he’s more fluid strafing outside the tackle box than he looks. There is pop in his hands and his pads, and Trotter can shed blocks better than either player listed above him here. He’s got quick eyes and quicker feet. The biggest issue for Trotter is in coverage, where his average burst and still-developing spatial awareness mean he probably needs to come off the field–at least early in his career. That’s not ideal for the Lions, who are losing top coverage backer Alex Anzalone, but Trotter offers so much as a downhill attacker that he’s hard to overlook.

Fourth round: Kyle Louis, Pittsburgh

Louis is the epitome of a hybrid safety/LB. He’s a 6-foot-2, 220-pound coverage backer who blossomed when Pittsburgh started using him more in the overhang/heavy slot role on defense. That’s similar to the Brian Branch role in Detroit.

The speedy Louis tested better athletically than Branch, but he’s not as physical or decisive in his movements. In the last two games of his that I watched (Notre Dame and Louisville), Louis missed 6 tackles and ran past a few others. He stays blocked a little too readily as well to play in more than a nickel LB role as he continues to convert from safety to off-ball backer. Those are very real detriments to what might otherwise be the most coverage-adept LB in the entire class. It’s easy to see the Lions subbing him in for Derrick Barnes in obvious passing downs, or using him to cover flexed TEs or motioned-out RBs in more obvious passing situations. Louis does avoid blocks decently in space, and his quick-strike burst is a nice answer to screens and swing passes that have been problematic for the Lions on 3rd-and-longs in the last couple of seasons.

Fifth round: Red Murdock, Buffalo

Murdock is the all-time FBS leader in forced fumbles. That right there grabs the attention. He also notched two games with at least 18 tackles in 2025 for Buffalo in the MAC. The 23-year-old is a throwback-style of MIKE backer, the kind of sturdy, hard-nosed, powerful and heady ILB that Belichick-style defenses love in a traditional 3-4 scheme.

The Lions don’t use a 3-4, obviously, but they do run some 5-man fronts and short-yardage packages that can take advantage of Murdock’s jarring in-the-box power and vision. He often obliterates lead blocks and can get off them well enough to still make a play. Murdock is sort of the anti-Kyle Louis; the 6-1. 240-pound Murdock is tight in the ankles and hips and not reliably instinctive in coverage situations. While he’s got decent closing burst, the chase gear and fluidity to chase down runners in the open field are lacking. He does make up for that by being an outstanding blitzer, recording 6 sacks and 12 QB pressures on just 34 blitzes in 2025–a season in which he led the MAC in tackles. Murdock would project to Detroit as a Malcolm Rodriguez replacement in the same realm of the draft.

Sixth round: Jaden Dugger, Louisiana

A Shrine Bowl standout, Dugger was a Combine snub. That’s too bad, because his on-field movement ability at his size (he’s 6-4/240) likely would have played very well in Indy.

Reactive quickness and length are Dugger’s biggest assets. He sees the field well and has a good feel for football geometry in the run game. Dugger is very good at knifing around blocks and getting to the point of attack, and he can bend and dodge second-level blocks. Very athletic and incredibly long (84″ wingspan), the all-around skills are still developing. Dugger stood out for his coverage skills at Shrine Bowl week, but that wasn’t always evident on his game film. He got by more on being long and being quick to flow and follow the QB’s eyes than on being instinctive in coverage.

Dugger is something of a late-round athletic lottery ticket, and likely a prospect who wouldn’t play more than special teams early on until he gets a better feel for the physicality of the NFL game. Not that Dugger lacks physicality to his game, but it will be a jump from the Sun Belt–see his game vs. Missouri.

Seventh round: Namdi Obiazor, TCU

Obiazor is in the ilk of the “too big to play safety” types of off-ball backers. The 6-foot-3, 229-pounder was a safety before TCU converted him to backer. He’s a very sure tackler in the box and can stack/shed better than expected for a former DB. The speed is impressive, but Obiazor is very straight-line with it. That is one big reason why he bulked up and moved from safety.

Much like former Lions draft pick Miles Killebrew, Obiazor projects as a subpackage/depth piece on defense but a potential special teams standout. His open-field speed, tackling power and vision portend well for punt and kick coverage units, where the Lions do have some holes to fill. There’s enough short-area coverage and run-stuffing ability with Obiazor as a reserve LB to make him worth the late pick.

Priority UDFA

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Miami Redhawks LB Jackson Kuwatch. He’s a truly special athlete with size and range, and he made a couple of outstanding plays in space in Shrine Bowl week. I don’t see him being drafted after he barely played in his first two seasons at Miami, after transferring from Ohio State following two years of never playing. One year of solid production in the MAC and his athletic traits are worthy of a priority UDFA status with a very real opportunity to show more in the summer before his rookie season begins.