A
Detroit Lions
The Lions won the night they stopped Golday from sliding. Grade: A.
by SunDGod ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 6 picks
· 6 steals
· 0 reaches
Every so often the board makes a mistake, and the Lions were there to profit. Jake Golday, the No. 59 name on the board, should have been long gone before pick 118.
They punted on safety, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest. Cornerback was the priority and it is no longer a question, which is most of the job.
Bottom line, they left the weekend a clearly better team, and they earned every bit of it.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 17th pick they get an island corner at a price that makes it sweeter. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Value with a capital V on Emmanuel Pregnon in slot 55, a genuine coup. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Jake Golday in Round 4, Pick 18 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They read the board right and Justin Joly was the payoff at pick 134. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They will replay Aamil Wagner at No. 192 for years; that is how good the value is. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Keagen Trost at pick No. 193. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.