B-
Detroit Lions
A sensible, unshowy class lands the Lions a B-.
by 6666 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 2 steals
· 6 reaches
If confidence were a draft strategy, the Lions would have aced it. Jimmy Rolder at No. 205 is 25 spots clear of where he belonged. Call it a sensible B-, earned the boring way.
The Lane value carries more weight than any single miss elsewhere. The cornerback hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
All told, a draft that does its job without fuss, and there is real value in that.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 17 they get juice off the edge, though the board says they badly overpaid. The biggest hole, addressed.
They let Emmanuel Pregnon come to them and pounced at the 50th pick. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Ja'Kobi Lane in slot 118 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Cade Klubnik in pick No. 128 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Kaleb Elarms-Orr at Round 5, Pick 17 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They liked Jeff Caldwell enough to skip the value, taking him in pick 181. The roster fit checks out.
Jimmy Rolder at Round 6, Pick 24 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It fills a real need, too.
Brandon Cleveland at the 213th pick is a conviction pick that outran the value. A minor itch, scratched.
By-the-book stuff, Jeremiah Wright at slot 222 squarely in line with his ranking. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.