B
Detroit Lions
Slaughter should have been long gone. The Lions pounced, and earned a B.
by GranbomH ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 4 steals
· 5 reaches
The board owed the Lions one, and it paid up: Jake Slaughter, the No. 58 name on the board, sitting there at the 93rd overall pick like a gift left on the doorstep. A dependable weekend that grades out a B.
They are betting Kelly proves the room right and everyone else wrong. Leaving wide receiver unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.
Cornerback was the priority and it is no longer a question, which is most of the job.
Not a headline-grabber, but a perfectly good weekend's work.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 24 they get a blindside protector. The biggest hole, addressed.
They let Jacob Rodriguez come to them and pounced at the Round 2 slot. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A top-tier cornerback at a bargain, D'Angelo Ponds in pick 70, plain and simple. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Michael Taaffe in No. 82. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Taking Jake Slaughter in Round 3, Pick 29 is close to grand larceny; an offensive lineman that good had no business lasting this long. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
DeMonte Capehart in slot 118 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Kaytron Allen at the 128th overall pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. The roster fit checks out.
Max Llewellyn at the 135th pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Drew Allar in the 139th pick, miles early. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They did well to land Eli Raridon in pick 140, just ahead of his grade. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Value said wait; Jack Kelly in pick No. 242 says they were not listening. A need, and now a little less of one.