B-
Detroit Lions
No fireworks, just a tidy B- for the Lions.
by jinxbuster ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 3 steals
· 3 reaches
A patient hold paid off with Zakee Wheatley at the Round 4 slot, comfortably ahead of the going rate. They moved the roster forward and banked a B- for it.
A whole weekend of picks and running back is somehow still a want. If Payton pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about.
They left with cornerback solved and the rest of the wish list mostly ticked off. Trading back for volume was the quiet throughline of their weekend.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the running back spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
By-the-book stuff, Zion Young at slot 35 squarely in line with his ranking. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Caleb Tiernan. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They read the board right and Jake Slaughter was the payoff at the 66th overall pick. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Zakee Wheatley at pick No. 101. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A quiet steal in No. 118: Tacario Davis for less than the market said. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They paid sticker price for Kaleb Proctor in Round 4, Pick 28, and that is fine. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
They took Marlin Klein at par in the 157th pick, which is nothing to complain about. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A reach on Cole Payton in slot 181; the board had better options right there. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Justin Jefferson in Round 6, Pick 24 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A premium they did not need to pay, Miles Kitselman a notch or two before his time. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A conviction pick on Lander Barton at the Round 7 slot that the board grades a round light. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.