B-
Detroit Lions
Nothing loud, just a tidy B- for the Lions.
by grady.s ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 2 steals
· 4 reaches
The Lions did not so much draft Kalil Alexander as overpay for him, 75 picks clear of his grade. It sets an uneasy tone for the weekend. No fireworks, but a solid B-.
The Clark pick alone nudges the whole weekend up a notch. That linebacker hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall. Cornerback was the priority and it is no longer a question, which is most of the job.
The back end got a real overhaul.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the linebacker spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 17 they get an island corner at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Austin Barber well ahead of where he belonged. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Circle this one: Bud Clark at the Round 4 slot is a fall that decides a draft. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Ted Hurst slipping to Round 4, Pick 28 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Quintayvious Hutchins at the 157th pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Fair-plus on Zane Durant, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. A minor itch, scratched.
A market-rate cornerback, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Jadon Canady. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Kalil Alexander in the 213th overall pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They reached into another round for Tyler Onyedim, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.