The 2027 NFL Draft is still over six months away, but the Detroit Lions scouting staff, as well as GM Brad Holmes, have been hard at work evaluating prospective draftees for weeks now. With the Lions coming up on a bye week, it’s a good time to take a look ahead at five current college players who figure to appeal to the Lions with Detroit’s first pick in the coming draft.
It’s all projection at this point as to where players will wind up slotting in the draft. Heck, some might not even declare; the NIL era has radically changed the impetus to leave college for the pros. With that said, here’s who I’ve seen this fall who look like they’ll appeal to the Lions in April.
Brauntae Johnson, S, Notre Dame
“Tae Tae” is injured right now, suffering a foot issue in Notre Dame’s early win over Wisconsin. However, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Johnson is expected back before the end of the college season. His body of work in 2025 and pre-injury this year show a heady, rangy player who can capably align at any safety spot.
Johnson reminds me more than a little as a prospect of former first-rounder Derwin James. An explosive athlete with an innate nose for the ball and instantaneous processing speed, Johnson’s physical profile will make teams consider using him as a nickel LB. Johnson isn’t as routinely as physical as James (yet), but the closing burst to the ball in both run and pass defense is elite. If he comes out in this class, Johnson becomes an instant starter with high-end playmaking potential for the Lions secondary. He’s the type who appears capable of playing with Brian Branch, or replacing him if Branch departs in free agency.
Ellis Robinson IV, CB, Georgia
The first of two Georgia Bulldogs defenders, Robinson checks a lot of boxes this Lions regime covets in an outside CB. He’s long at 6 feet tall, and if you told me the third-year player was 6-2, I’d believe you based off his tape. Despite weighing just 180, Robinson is a bulldog (no pun intended) as a run defender and at using his length and body to steer receivers. He’s improved his initial steps in his coverage marking, and his smoothness and quickness in and out of transition breaks look great.
Robinson plays with a lot of confidence, and at times he gets a little too confident in his ability to make up ground. He’s fast but not blessed with elite speed, and Robinson doesn’t consistently show a “chase” gear. He needs more experience playing in a broader team structure too, though I liked what I saw from him in the Oklahoma game this year in that regard. I suspect Robinson will wind up being slotted in the 25-40 overall range, with the Lions liking him more than other teams to push him a little above that if Detroit really wants him. If that reminds you of Terrion Arnold’s path to becoming a Lions pick, it should.
Kelley Jones, CB, Mississippi State
You want size in a corner? Jones is listed at 6-foot-4 and looks every bit of it on Bulldogs game film. While he’s slighter than ideal (listed 195), he’s not soft or lacking strength. Jones is a straight press/match outside corner who understands how to stay in good phase. There are instances where his height and length can cause him to lose track of lither receivers; long-legged outside CBs often struggle with change-of-direction and sharp transitions, and Jones is no exception. I love that he naturally starts low and balanced and does a good job staying down into his breaks.
Jones was at his best in MSU’s matchup with Missouri, breaking up two passes (one was a dropped INT) and not backing down from physical receivers. Against Alabama, Jones conceded a (really impressive) contested catch and also struggled some in run defense leverage. If he finds the balance between those performances, Jones has high-end NFL starter and top-20 overall pick potential.
Chris Cole, LB, Georgia
If the Lions are looking to boost the athleticism quotient at linebacker early in the draft, Cole makes perfect sense. A third-year player with optimal size (6-3/238), Cole has primarily played as Georgia’s “Money” backer, which is equivalent to how the Lions deploy Jack Campbell in 3-LB sets as the MIKE vs. the run and the primary man-coverage defender against tight ends and RBs in the pass game.
I thought Cole’s coverage was a little better in the 2025 tape than it has been in 2026, but it’s still better than anything the Lions currently have. Cole has quick-twitch speed (he was a HS track star) and a nice blend of reactionary quickness and patience to not chase every play-fake. He’s a powerful downhill tackler and shows good eyes and positional discipline. Cole needs work at block avoidance and anticipation; he gets locked up too frequently by blockers he doesn’t expect. Like others here, he’s got multiple years of eligibility remaining and might not declare. Of all the players listed, he’s the most likely to need time to adjust his game to the NFL, though the coverage portion of his game can have him step into the roles currently occupied by Malcolm Rodriguez and Trevor Nowaske, both of whom are free agents at the end of the season.
Jamari Johnson, TE, Oregon
It’s not a popular idea for the Lions to let Sam LaPorta walk in free agency, but if they do, he will need to be prominently replaced. Likewise, the Lions can also stand with radically upgrading the TE2 spot over Brock Wright, who is also a pending free agent in the coming offseason. Johnson sits atop a TE class that is thin at the top but bubbles out in the middle rounds.
Johnson is one of the rare blends of someone who is both a very good athlete and also a very polished, intelligent football player. He’s capable of excelling in any possible usage asked of an NFL tight end. His inline blocking is very good and tenacious. Johnson understands hand placement and footwork as a blocker. His burst off the line as a receiver stands out, and he can do that from inline or flexed in the slot.
Johnson isn’t blessed with blazing speed, but his acceleration and sharp footwork allow him to win at all levels as a receiver. That showed in Oregon’s game against USC, which marked a return to the field after Johnson missed a couple of games. He’s capable of making the spectacular one-handed catch, and he transitions well from receiver to runner with power. A former QB who started his career at Louisville, it’s easy to tell Johnson still sees the field like a quarterback.
Others will be faster, and others will be stronger inline, but there isn’t a TE in the draft class of 2027 that I’ve seen who puts those two hands together better than Jamari Johnson.
