B
Detroit Lions
Nothing loud, just a tidy B for the Lions.
by TBarin13 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 3 steals
· 2 reaches
There was a run on nobody at that position, and the Lions started one anyway for Eric O'Neill, 54 picks ahead of schedule.
If one pick saves this weekend, it is Wheatley. They punted on linebacker, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the linebacker spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 17 they get a sticky cover corner. Exactly the need they had to hit.
A straight-up fair deal on Gennings Dunker at slot 50, value and slot in agreement. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A offensive lineman of that caliber at pick No. 118 is the definition of value, full stop. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Zakee Wheatley at the 128th pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Zxavian Harris at Round 5, Pick 17 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It adds depth where they could use a little.
They paid sticker price for DJ Campbell in the Round 5 slot, and that is fine. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Eric O'Neill in pick No. 205 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Eric McAlister slid further than he should have, and the 213th overall pick is lovely value for the wide receiver. A need, and now a little less of one.
They talked themselves into Tyler Onyedim at pick 222, and the board did not agree. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.