B+
Detroit Lions
The Lions turned the phones into found money: B+.
by ScholarlyViking ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 3 steals
· 5 reaches
The Lions spent real capital to be 109 picks early on Dasan McCullough, and the board is going to hold them to it.
The trade ledger is the best part of the whole weekend. They punted on linebacker, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest. That is a cornerback worth more than the slot they spent on him, plainly.
Solid rather than spectacular, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Pick-by-Pick
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Chris Johnson at pick No. 47. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They read the board right and Emmanuel Pregnon was the payoff at the Round 2 slot. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They went early on Trey Zuhn III in the 118th pick, and the value did not follow. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
DeMonte Capehart at slot 128 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. A minor itch, scratched.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Ephesians Prysock well ahead of where he belonged. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Nothing to complain about; Aamil Wagner went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Jeff Caldwell at the Round 6 slot is money in the bank, a wide receiver taken below his worth. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Dasan McCullough at Round 6, Pick 32 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Robert Spears-Jennings at No. 222 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.