Detroit Lions Draft Class Review

The 2026 NFL Draft is in the books, and boy was it a mad one. Here, I’ll take a look at the Lions’ haul, giving my honest assessment of each player. I’m not a fan of giving grades, especially before the players have even entered the building, it will be more of a summary of the type of player they are and their fit in Detroit.

1 (17) – Blake Miller – OT – Clemson

Despite the usual draft day buzz that the Lions were looking at trading up, General Manager, Brad Holmes held his nerve at 17 and selected arguably the most ‘Lions’ player in the class. It’s easy to see why the Lions love Miller: the Ohio native broke the record for snaps played at Clemson with 3,778 over his 54 consecutive starts at right tackle, and he improved each year during his four-year college career. Miller was built to play offensive tackle in the NFL, standing at nearly 6’7’’ 317lbs with 35’’ arms, and a wingspan of nearly 84’’. At the combine he showed that he moves well at that size; his 5.04s forty with a 1.75s 10-yard split, 32’’ vertical and 9’5’’ broad jump are all at least 75^th percentile amongst offensive tackles.

Throughout the process, Miller was described as a ‘high-floor’ prospect, and while I agree that his floor is high, I am also bullish on his ceiling. Head coach, Dan Campbell has made no secret of the fact that he wants to move Penei Sewell to the left side of the line, Miller allows him to do so, slotting straight in at right tackle. He is equally adept in the run and pass games; he does give up his chest a bit too much on speed to power rushes for my liking, I would like him to be able to get his hands inside more on these plays, but other than that he is very technically sound with good footwork and hand usage. In the run game, Miller is effective rather than dominant, he is hard to shed once he latches on and often finishes with a mean streak, he can miss his landmarks at the second level which is something for him to work on, but overall a very solid player.

Overall, I love this pick, it fills a massive need at a position of value, restoring the offensive line back to where it should be. With a bit of guidance, I think his ceiling is that of a top 5 RT in the NFL. The more I hear Miller talk, the more I can see why Brad and Dan liked him so much, he seems a perfect fit in Detroit. 

2 (44) – Derrick Moore – Edge – Michigan

The Lions sent pick 128 to the New York Jets to move from 50 to 44 to secure their guy, they did so to jump the Baltimore Ravens whose new head coach, Jesse Minter, was Moore’s defensive coordinator at Michigan during his freshman and sophomore years. Moore, who will turn 24 during his rookie season, was voted a team captain in Ann Arbor for 2025 in which turned out to be his most productive year; he was a constant presence in the backfield with 10.5 TFL’s and 10sacks. At just under 6’4’’ and weighing only 255 lbs, he doesn’t fit the typical size that the team has coveted on the edge opposite of another former Wolverine, Aiden Hutchinson, but Moore does have good length to him with 34 ¼’’ arms and 81 ¼’’ wingspan.

Moore uses that length well to get into the chest of the offensive tackle, especially on speed-to-power rushes, this allows him to control the rep and force the tackle back towards the quarterback, ‘crushing the can’ just how the Lions like. I don’t think Moore is a particularly explosive athlete and he lacks the bend to constantly beat good tackles around the outside, but he does set up moves and counter moves well, I like his pass rush plan. Moore isn’t a great run defender, which again, is a change to the Lions’ preferences over recent years, don’t get me wrong, he isn’t a bad run defender either, he sets a good edge and plays the run snaps with the same aggression and commitment as the pass game. Where Moore struggles is disengaging from blocks which can result in him getting washed out of the play occasionally.

If the Lions’ defensive scheme is the same in 2026, then Moore will probably be a rotational piece akin to Al-Quadin Muhammad in 2025. He may become a starter if defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard moves to a 5-man front, more about this later. I wasn’t a fan of the pick at first, but I have warmed to it in the days since, I still would have preferred to stick at 50 and pick a player like Gabe Jacas who ended up being selected at pick 55 by the New England Patriots. But, Moore is a Lion now and has my full backing.

4 (118) – Jimmy Rolder – LB – Michigan

The second Wolverine selected by the Lions, Rolder was a player that was all over the place on boards, his consensus ranking was 235, but some analysts, such as Daft on Draft’s Cory Kinnan (please go and check our Cory’s Substack, it's excellent) ranked him as a top 100 player. For me, Rolder barley had a draftable grade so it’s fair to say that I am not a fan of this pick. At 6’2 1/2 ‘’ 238 lbs, Rolder has a good build for an NFL linebacker, albeit with shorter arms, which matters a little less at this position.

Let’s start with the positives in Rolder’s game; he is a great form tackler, he only missed 4 tackles all year for a 4.7% missed tackle rate, amongst the best for FBS linebackers. He also stacks well, delivering a forceful blow while doing so, this is where the positives end as he struggles to disengage from blocks. Rolder looks like a stiff athlete on tape who struggles to turn and run but his agility testing numbers were 68^th and 70^th percentile so maybe there is more to come. I do feel that he lacks overall awareness in zone coverage, he allows too many routes to develop behind him and struggles to react to some of the short stuff in front of him.

I struggle to see a natural fit for Rolder other than backup linebacker and core special teamer, which isn’t worthy of a fourth-round pick for me. Maybe he can improve his coverage and overall movement ability, but I don’t see the upside here, I sincerely hope I am wrong. As with Moore, Rolder is now a Lion, and I will support him just as much as any other player.

5 (157) – Keith Abney II – CB – Arizona State

Probably my favourite pick of the draft, Brad absolutely coked with this one. The lowest Abney II appeared on a big board was CBS’s Ryan Wilson who had him 125, still a round higher than where we picked him, his consensus ranking was 50 with five analysts ranking him as a top 32 player in the class. The true junior was a three-star recruit out of Dallas, he enrolled at Arizona State where he stayed for all three years of his college career. Over his last two years as a Sun Devil Abney II managed 96 total tackles, 21 PBU’s and 6picks.

So why did he fall? Well maybe teams were worried about his size at just under 5’10’’ and 187 lbs, there are also some analysts who have concerns about his recovery speed which is not something I agree with. Even if his long speed is a problem, he’s in phase with the receiver so often that he doesn’t need to use it anyway. He has the movement skills and physicality to play man coverage and elite instincts in zone. Abney II is aggressive in run support and shows the ability to fight through perimeter blocks, this aggression can be his undoing at times, he has fallen for play action and double moves on a few occasions.

I can’t really put into words how high I am on this pick, getting what I believe is a starting-calibre cornerback in the fifth round is great value. I don’t like player comparisons, but I have seen the name Trent McDuffie chosen for Abney II, that’ll do! For me, Abney II projects best as a nickel but I would also have no qualms with putting him on the outside either. He won’t turn 22 until January and still has developing to do, I can’t wait to see him play in Detroit, fans are going to love his style of play.

5 (168) – Kendrick Law – WR – Kentucky

The Lions sent pick 213 to the Buffalo Bills to move from 181 to 168 where they selected the versatile Law. I’ll be honest, I didn’t have wide receiver on my list of possible selections, but I am a fan of Law, I’m not so enamoured with the trade up to get him though, but as we’ve learned over the year, Brad will go and get his guys. The 5’11’’ Law is an explosive athlete, his top speed is fine, 4.45s forty is 70^th percentile but his jumps are where it's at, 10’8’’ broad jump, 83^rd percentile, 42’’ vertical 97^th percentile. This explosion shows on tape too, he is able to accelerate so quickly, it’s a joy to watch. He’s not a lightweight either, at 203 lbs, he’s not afraid to lower his shoulder.

Law spent three years at Alabama who never figured out how to use him effectively, he only had 33 receptions during his time there. This past year at Kentucky, it all clicked for Law, 53 receptions for 540 yards and 3 touchdowns he also ran the ball 8 times for 53 yards. As you can see from his profile, Law was used as a gadget player during his college career, and while that’s probably how he starts life in the NFL, I believe he can develop into a legitimate wide receiver at the next level. His quickness and agility can put a defensive back in a blender when he explodes out of breaks. He’s a good, aggressive run block too, which will allow him to be on the field more than most gadget receivers.

Law is probably the long-term replacement for Kalif Raymond but is probably in a fight with Dominic Lovett to make the roster as WR5, but I’d give the early advantage to the rookie. He will need to show he can contribute on special teams, which he does have experience in so it shouldn’t be an issue, I’m excited to see what he can do.

6 (205) – Skyler Gill-Howard – DL – Texas Tech

I wrote about Gill-Howard in my ‘Favourite Day-3 DT’s’ article, so I am excited that I get to watch him in Detroit. The redshirt senior began his career in Div II with Upper Iowa, before transferring to Northern Illinois and then to the Red Raiders for his last year. He is undersized for the position at under 6’1’’ and weighing 291 lbs, he also lacks length with 30¾’’ arms.

The converted linebacker only played six games in 2025 before suffering an ankle injury that required surgery. In those six games though he was a menace on the Red Raider defensive line, he started the year outplaying his teammates Lee Hunter, Romello Height and David Bailey, he earned a 90.0 pass rush grade from PFF. Unsurprisingly, at his size, Gill-Howard is a gap shooter, he has an elite first step and lateral quickness and is often just too fast for offensive linemen. If he does get stonewalled, he’s very active in fighting off the block but not always successful, It’s a similar story in the run game, I think he shows a decent anchor to stack the blocker, using his natural leverage, but struggles to disengage and often takes a step backward to do so, he is very adept at scraping across the line of scrimmage to fill gap in the line.

Gill-Howard is a defensive lineman who moves like a linebacker, he return an interception for a 55-yard touchdown against Kent State in 2025. His fit with the Lions is going to be intriguing, he is often compared to Mekhi Wingo, who was a healthy scratch all year, so maybe this points to a change in the defensive front for Detroit.

7 (222) – Tyre West – DL – Tennessee

West was the first player that the Lions brought in for a pre-draft visit, and he obviously impressed them. He played mostly at the edge position for the Vols but at just under 6’2’’ weighing 283 lbs he is a bit of a ‘tweener, although he does have length with 33 ½‘’ arms. At his Pro Day, he ran a 4.84s forty with a 1.68s 10-yard split which for 283 lbs, is moving. His career production will not blow anyone away, 20.5 TFL’s and 10sacks.

Why was his production so low? Well, he only played 835 defensive snaps during his time in Tennessee who rotate the linemen more than any other team, so West just wasn’t on the field that often, averaging only 17.4 snaps per game, this was up to 23.4 in 2025. Honestly, after watching some of his tape, I don’t understand why he wasn’t on the field more. To me, West looked fast and twitchy off the snap and used his heavy hands to win quickly against offensive tackles, he was a problem on nearly every snap that I saw of his. With his slightly shorter stature but long arms, he has a perfect build to use both leverage and length to stack and shed on the edge of the line.

I am higher on this pick than most, in my opinion West is a perfect depth defensive lineman, he can cover multiple positions from the 3-tech out to the 7-tech. Don’t get me wrong, he's certainly not a lock to make the 53-man roster, but I like his chances personally. If they see him as more of an interior player, then this may be another signal that the defensive front is changing.

Overall, I quite like this class, it feels like Brad Holmes got back to his roots and just picked good football players, there are no real projects here, outside of Rolder, but that might just be me being way off base.

I have mentioned a few times in this article about the Lions changing their defensive front, let me explain; they drafted an edge who is best in a stand-up role and has some experience dropping into coverage, they also drafted two big-ends/3-techs when they didn’t use the one they already have on the roster in 2025. All this might signal that they are moving to a more 5-man front, with small, more agile defensive linemen on either side of Tyliek Williams at nose tackle. I may be well off her, but it would also fit with what defensive line coach, Kacy Rodgers ran in Tampa Bay. It’s going to be an interesting storyline heading into training camp.

I’ll be back in a couple of days with a breakdown of our UDFA class.