C+
Detroit Lions
The Lions land in the muddy middle: C+.
by aechean ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 3 steals
· 6 reaches
The Lions bet big and early on Patrick Payton, 63 picks ahead of the board. Bold does not always mean right. A mixed bag that lands at C+.
That safety hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall. The Muhammad value carries more weight than any single miss elsewhere. The roster is better shaped than it was, with cornerback chief among the fixes.
The trenches got the money picks, top to bottom.
So much rides on Blake Miller that the real verdict is a season or two away.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get protection for the quarterback, a steep price for the projection. The biggest hole, addressed.
LT Overton at the 50th pick is a conviction pick that outran the value. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A top-tier cornerback at a bargain, Malik Muhammad in the 118th overall pick, plain and simple. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A wild overpay on Zane Durant in No. 128, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Isaiah World slipping to slot 157 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They talked themselves into Patrick Payton at pick No. 181, and the board did not agree. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Nick Barrett well ahead of where he belonged. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
Tyler Onyedim at the Round 6 slot is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Jeremiah Wright at pick 222 is money in the bank, a offensive lineman taken below his worth. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.