It’s the day before the 2026 NFL Draft. The combination of excitement, anxiety, sleeplessness and overanalysis is powering me to Thursday night and will carry over through my favorite weekend of the year. 

It’s an intriguing and mysterious draft for the Detroit Lions. Picking at No. 17 overall in the first round, and with clear needs at offensive tackle and defensive end/EDGE, there figures to be several appealing options for Lions GM Brad Holmes to choose from. 

Here’s how I can see it playing out for the full seven rounds for Detroit in the draft. 

First round

With no trade from 17, I very strongly believe the realistic player pool the Lions will choose from involves a handful of targets:

Monroe Freeling, OT, Georgia

Blake Miller, OT, Clemson

Kadyn Proctor, OT, Alabama

Keldric Faulk, EDGE, Auburn

T.J. Parker, EDGE, Clemson

Lions 1st round draft prospects: Rules of Thumb

Now, should a player like Ohio State safety Caleb Downs or Utah offensive tackle Spencer Fano fall, I can absolutely see Holmes and the Lions pouncing, even moving up a couple of spots to ensure they get the higher-end talent. Can’t rule out Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman either, though I think that would take the board falling in an unusual and specific manner to make him the best player available at 17. 

Of the quintet listed above, Freeling and Faulk appear more likely than not to be off the board at 17. I will maintain that if Freeling is on the board, he will be the Lions pick. However, I think he’s going to Cleveland, Kansas City or perhaps the Rams. Faulk projects as a great fit for Dallas and Tampa Bay, and maybe even the Jets at 16. He’s a very difficult player to slot; Faulk could very well last into the 20s, too. 

Erasing Freeling and Faulk from availability, my belief is the Lions would turn to Blake Miller ahead of Proctor or Parker. He’s an optimal grit fit and an NFL-ready starting right tackle. That’s an important distinction after hearing both Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell candidly express the desire to move Penei Sewell to the left side from right tackle. Are we reading too much into their comments on Sewell? Perhaps, but we’ve learned over the years that this regime doesn’t offer disingenuous information very often. I might argue that some are not paying enough attention to the goal of installing Sewell at left tackle. 

All that adds up to the projection being…

Blake Miller, OT, Clemson

Second round

It wouldn’t be surprising for the Lions to double up on the offensive line, but I don’t see it in the second round. This is prime territory to address the defense. Solidifying EDGE would be the personal preference, but I can envision this being the selection where Holmes truly adheres to the “best player available” philosophy. 

Ascertaining which player fits that bill for these Lions is difficult, and that’s an understatement. In the Daily DLP on Wednesday, I listed six separate options as good “Grit” fits for Detroit in the 50 overall range,

Derrick Moore, EDGE, Michigan

Gabe Jacas, EDGE Illinois

Dani Dennis-Sutton, EDGE, Penn State

Anthony Hill, LB, Texas

D’Angelo Ponds, CB, Indiana

Treydan Stukes, DB, Arizona State

There are some other talents who would supersede that list. Among them are Jacob Rodriguez, Jermod McCoy (even as injured), C.J. Allen, Akheem Mesidor, and Aveion Terrell. That list could very well be in order of Detroit’s preference, though that’s simply a speculative guess on my part. I don’t expect any of those players to last to 50, though it’s plausible Mesidor and Terrell could. Both could go in the late 20s and it woudln’t surprise me, either. 

In my final mock draft at RealGM, I landed on Dennis-Sutton to Detroit. Many of those six options were already gone, which made it a little easier. Much like Blake Miller (and Keldric Faulk), Dennis-Sutton’s astronomical RAS score didn’t necessarily show on game film, but he’s definitely shown some real impressive athleticism. As a power-to-speed style of pass rusher, “DDS” fits the profile of the DE the Lions have continually plugged in opposite Aidan Hutchinson. 

In my mind, DDS earns the Lions nod over the more explosive Jacas due to his stellar run defense. That’s not an area where Jacas thrives, though the negativity aimed at his run defense film is too extreme based on Illinois’ 2025 game film. 

None of the six listed above would surprise me one bit, but in the end, I’ll roll with…

Dani Dennis-Sutton, EDGE, Penn State

Now we’re in a range where the player pool is truly a wide variable. The rest of the picks will be made with an eye toward realistic perceived draft availability. The history of Brad Holmes indicates that nearly all of these picks will be traded in one direction or another. Again, I’m not projecting trades, but they certainly could happen to land these players, a la how I projected Isaac TeSlaa a year ago. 

Fourth round, No. 118

V.J. Payne, S, Kansas State

I recently profiled Payne as a Daily DLP Prospect of the Day. Here’s the skinny scouting report:

6-foot-3, 206 pounds (at Combine)

Payne started 3 of his 4 seasons for the Wildcats and earned a Senior Bowl invite. A 2-time team captain, Payne turned 22 on St. Patrick’s Day. 

Pros

–High-end athlete with size and speed (9.72 RAS)

–Has played extensively in all safety roles

–Excellent coverage vs. flexed TEs and bigger slot WRs

–Attacks the ball well in coverage and post-catch

–Doesn’t chase the cheese on boots/misdirections

–Showed pass rush timing and vision

Cons

–Tape is littered with hits without wrapping up

–Slow trigger vs the run, notably when playing slot

–Stays blocked too easily

–Long strides show hip tightness

–Tested with better acceleration than shows on field

I know Payne has met with the Lions in some capacity at both the Senior Bowl and the NFL Scouting Combine. 

Fourth round, No. 128

Dontay Corleone, DT, Cincinnati

The Godfather is a major Grit fit. Corleone overcame a blood clot in his lung ahead of the 2024 season, remaining fully engaged and active as a teammate before returning as an all-conference nose tackle. He’s the immovable object type of nose tackle that the Lions lost with D.J. Reader’s departure. 

Much like Reader in his two seasons in Detroit, Corleone is a player who makes the LBs behind him so much better. He reliably, consistently soaks up double teams and holds his ground. There isn’t a lot of pass-rush oomph to Corleone’s game, though he did manage at least three sacks in three of his four full seasons for the Bearcats. In a recent interview with Justin Melo, Corleone talked up the Lions’ keen interest in his services. Good enough for me to make him the choice here.

Fifth round (two picks)

Febechi Nwaiwu, IOL, Oklahoma and Adam Randall, RB, Clemson

Nwaiwu is the consolation prize for Lions fans who covet Vega Ioane in the first round. They are quite similar players–snowplows in the short-area run game but limited athletes outside the phone booth. 

A former walk-on for North Texas, he played his way into winning the Pat Tillman Award at the Shrine Bowl. I’m writing this on the anniversary of Tillman’s passing, and I can’t help but be influenced by what that will mean for the Lions in the character department. Nwaiwu has the scheme-specific talent and Grit to compete for a reserve IOL role as a rookie with a chance for more. 

Randall made my Lions Dream Draft as a fifth-round selection, and I got some favorable “insider” feedback on that dream’s potential of coming true. His background as a wide receiver, albeit a 230-pound one, and a kick return option give Randall very real appeal to Detroit. 

Sixth round (two picks)

Max Llewellyn, EDGE, Iowa and T.J. Hall, CB, Iowa

Hawkeyes teammates in the same round?! It could happen, as the Lions scouting staff has shown a predilection for the type of players and men that the Iowa program produces. 

Llewellyn is a pass-rush specialist whom I’ve repeatedly connected to Detroit. His length and ability to generate pressure over either shoulder of the offensive tackle. As pointed out here, Llewellyn is going to miss some tackles. He’s also fully capable of chipping in 5.5 sacks in 250 snaps as a designated pass rusher. In this range of the draft, that’s a definite hit. 

Hall checks a lot of Lions’ boxes. Very impressive athlete, check. Injury history that waters down his broader appeal, check. Special teams ability, check. Man coverage skills with good physicality, check. Passionate play on every snap, check. 

Seventh round

Every year, the Lions bequeath one specific draft selection to special teams coordinator Dave Fipp. Last year it was Dan Jackson, following Sione Vaki in 2024, Antoine Green in 2023 and Chase Lucas in 2022. This year, it’s a player I’ve spotlighted quite a few times since his breakout Shrine Bowl week. 

Jackson Kuwatch, LB, Miami OH

He might never play a down on defense, though his athleticism and length do offer some value as the backup to Derrick Barnes.