B+
Detroit Lions
The Lions kept it disciplined and banked a B+.
by RaiderRich ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 4 steals
· 3 reaches
The Lions spent real capital to be 43 picks early on Fa'alili Fa'amoe, and the board is going to hold them to it. Call it a sensible B+, earned the boring way.
That Corleone pick is the receipt they will wave around later. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through wide receiver.
The hoard sets up next April more than it helps this September.
Add it up and it is a good, unfussy class.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 26 they get a lockdown presence outside at a price that makes it sweeter. The biggest hole, addressed.
Steal is underselling it; CJ Allen at the 50th overall pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A need, and now a little less of one.
Dontay Corleone in pick 97 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A minor itch, scratched.
Max Llewellyn at No. 126 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They did well to land Bishop Fitzgerald in slot 128, just ahead of his grade. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They took Beau Stephens at par in the Round 5 slot, which is nothing to complain about. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Taylen Green at slot 168 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, J'Mari Taylor at Round 6, Pick 24. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Fa'alili Fa'amoe well ahead of where he belonged. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.