2026 NFL Draft Thread

[Mr.TaterSalad]

The Lions are very likely to miss the playoffs. And with that, the return of a Lions fan tradition. A tradition where the draft becomes the Super Bowl for  fans once again. After the loss to the Rams and a less than 40% chance at making the playoffs, I thought now was as good a time as any to start the 2028 NFL Draft Thread.

What do you think our needs are for this coming offseason? What positions and players are on your draft radar?

[Motown Bombers]

If the Lions win their last three games, all winnable games, they have a 94% chance of making the playoffs. 

[Mr.TaterSalad]

When is the last time the Lions have won back to back games, let alone three in a row?

[MichiganCardinal]

Another year, another offseason thread created too early.

Other than the Vikings, who they never should have lost to, their losses have come to the Packers x2, Eagles (road), Rams (road), and Chiefs (road). I'll be damned if you can find a more difficult schedule in the NFL. And yes, you'd like to see at least a win or two against that top tier of the league, particularly in an off year by the Chiefs, but here we are.

They've got the Steelers, Vikings, and Bears to go. Three teams I would not put in that top tier. And if they win out, they're very likely in the tournament. And if you're in the tournament with a team that can score 50 at the drop of a hat, anything can happen.

[1984Echoes]

3 hours ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

When is the last time the Lions have won back to back games, let alone three in a row?

Dude... they were 15-2 last year.

[1984Echoes]

3 hours ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

When is the last time the Lions have won back to back games, let alone three in a row?

PS: If you're talking this year only...

Between losses at Green Bay and KC...

They won 4 in a row.

Is that too far into the Lions' history that winning the last 3 is now an impossibility?

That seems to be the point you're making...

But I'm just guessing...

[sagnam]

What about this team makes one think they will win all of their remaining games? It’s possible, sure, is equally likely they will lose at least one.

In their wins their opponents are a combined 43-78-1, with only 1 team having a winning record, or 2 not having losing records if you prefer. In their losses the opponents are a combined 41-28-1 (only counting the Packers once), with 2 of those teams having losing records.

 

They still have the only team with a winning record that they’ve beat but also have 1 of the 2 teams with a losing record that already beat them left on the schedule, both on the road. The third opponent has a winning record.

 

I think the odds are against them winning all of the final 3 games given the season thus far. Who knows though, stranger things have happened. Knowing that playoff teams will almost all have winning records, their outlook for a championship even in a tournament where anything can happen seems slim at best.

 

I won’t be getting my hope up is all.

[Mr.TaterSalad]

14 hours ago, 1984Echoes said:

Dude... they were 15-2 last year.

This year's team and last year's team are different animals all together. They haven't won back-to-back games since September of this year and to do it they beat two bad teams in the Bengals and Browns. They also beat a struggling Bears team early in the year. That Bears team and this Bears team are world's apart.

[RatkoVarda]

#1 issue for me is to secure IOL. everything else flows from that. Goff can deal with pressure from the edge better, and Dan loves to run up the middle.

At OG, Ratledge and Mahogany, with Fraizer in the mix is good, with a chance for maybe more than good

At C, assuming no Ragnow, prefer they don't move Ratledge over, so need FA, or Day 1 rookie starter from the draft

[Nate7474]

37 minutes ago, RatkoVarda said:

#1 issue for me is to secure IOL. everything else flows from that. Goff can deal with pressure from the edge better, and Dan loves to run up the middle.

At OG, Ratledge and Mahogany, with Fraizer in the mix is good, with a chance for maybe more than good

At C, assuming no Ragnow, prefer they don't move Ratledge over, so need FA, or Day 1 rookie starter from the draft

I don’t know what their plan is at center but if I can take early season quotes into perspective they don’t like rookie centers. That to me screams either Ratledge moving over or a FA OC. I like a middle of Mahogany Ratledge Frazier, it doesn’t sound awful to me but we need some vet depth to help out and it might not be next season but more for 2028 season. I think if we draft an OL in the 1st it’ll be a tackle to learn for a year behind decker. 
 

As things stand today I could see us going OT, LB, Edge in the first round. Next importance after that to me OC, Saftey, Nickle/CB. A good TE prospect could entice me as well later in the draft. 

[Hongbit]

I don’t think they can go into the offseason counting on Decker.   It’s a toss up whether he plays or retires.  Need to prepare for life without him so as to be not caught off guard 

[Stanley70]

1 hour ago, RatkoVarda said:

#1 issue for me is to secure IOL. everything else flows from that. Goff can deal with pressure from the edge better, and Dan loves to run up the middle.

At OG, Ratledge and Mahogany, with Fraizer in the mix is good, with a chance for maybe more than good

At C, assuming no Ragnow, prefer they don't move Ratledge over, so need FA, or Day 1 rookie starter from the draft

If they move Ratledge to C and start Fraizer that is just too much inexperience again. A first year center and a first year starter at one guard. Not sure how to avoid that happening without a FA signing which seems unlikely.

It would really be nice if Ragnow played 1 more year. 

[Shinzaki]

Best case scenario...OT, Edge Safety and LB in the draft.  Hope Decker and Ragnow play next year.

[number20]

I don't see them finishing the season undefeated without Branch.

Or LaPorta for that matter - they're getting nothing from the TE position now. Including blocking

[MichiganCardinal]

3 hours ago, Hongbit said:

Need to prepare for life without him so as to be not caught off guard 

Don't you mean off tackle?

I'll be here all week.

[Mr.TaterSalad]

As I was saying, this team isn't making the playoffs and that's why I created this thread when I did. Anyways, onward and upward hopefully.

The failings of this offensive line are on Brad Holmes and the Lions front office, full stop. This doesn't mean I hate Brad Holmes. I don't. This doesn't mean I suddenly think Brad sucks. He doesn't. He is still a very good GM and one of the better ones in the league. But the offensive line was once the identity of this team. They had one of the top rated lines in the league, a top 5 line, over the past three season. They controlled the line of scrimmage and imposed their will on other teams. They ran the ball down the throats of others and had no problem giving Goff ample time to setup for play action and look off to multiple read in pass protection.

Now, this season, the offensive line has become a liability at times. One week it looks alright and the next, depending on personnel and who they are playing defensively, it looks like a disaster. Yesterday, against the Steelers, was one of those games where it looked like a disaster.

What makes it worse is that this did not come out of nowhere. For the last two offseasons, fans and media alike openly speculated about Frank Ragnow’s future with the team. The injuries, the wear and tear, the toll of playing through pain, none of this was a secret. We knew Ragnow was bagned up. Yet when Ragnow finally retired, the Lions were completely unprepared. There was no succession plan, no young center waiting in the wings, no real answer other than shuffling a declining veteran in Graham Glasgow in there and hoping for the best. That is a front office failure. That is a Brad Holmes failure.

Ragnow was the glue that held everything together. He set protections, handled communication, and anchored both the run game and pass protection. Once he was gone, everything unraveled this season. Graham Glasgow is not the same Graham Glasgow we remember from two, three, four, five years ago. He's on the wrong side of 30, declining in play, and asked to elevate the play of rookies and career backups alongside him at the Guard spots week after week. It would be one thing is Graham was playing alongside a veteran like Kevin Zeitler or a second year guy who played a full season, were Mahogany fully healthy all season. But he didn't get that and his play has clearly struggled as a result of that and his age. The tape matches the numbers. His grades have fallen, the run blocking isn't as dominate, and QB pressures allowed have increased. This is not an indictment of Glasgow as much as it is an indictment of the front office for asking him to be something he clearly is not at this stage of his career.

We have all watched the communication issues pile up this season, blown assignments, late calls, free rushers straight up the middle and blowing by our rotation of Guards and Glasgow himself. That does not just hurt the offensive line, it wrecks the entire offense. The Lions’ run blocking has fallen off a cliff at times, as it did yesterday against Pittsburgh. The interior pass protection has been among the worst stretches we have seen under this regime. Defenders are living in the backfield and blowing up players before they get started because the middle simply cannot hold up. For an offense that is predicated on timing, rythym, running the ball, dictating pace of play, and dominating in TOP, they did the opposite of this at times this season.

What makes all of this so frustrating is that the Lions had multiple chances to get ahead of this and did not. The 2024 NFL Draft should have been the moment they addressed the interior offensive line and found a replacement for one of Glasgow or Ragnow. Instead, they doubled up at CB and drafted the always injured Ennis Rakestraw. Meanwhile, interior linemen who could have been immediate solutions were right there. The excuse that cornerback had to be addressed by doubling down in the draft does not hold water either. That position could have been supplemented in free agency far more easily than center. Quality veteran corners hit the market every year. Reliable centers do not. You draft and develop those guys, and the Lions chose not to. That choice is now killing them in run blocking, in pass protection, short yardage situations, on 3rd and long, and in overall offensive consistency.

Brad Holmes has shown a penchent for wanting to be aggressive in the draft with his picks and trade up. He was willing to do it multiple times for shiny toys at WR and was almost willing to do it to draft Levi back during his first draft. Why then didn't he do it for the identity and once clear strength of this team, the offensive line? In the 2024 draft he could have tried trading up for someone like Zach Frazier or Jackson Powers Johnson. Maybe he did and we just don't know about it. And if he did, then I'll say I'm wrong, apologize, and move on. It would have been a proactive move to do so. Even standing pat and drafting players like Roger Rosengarten or Cooper Beebe instead of Rakestraw would have shown foresight. Instead, the Lions ignored the warning signs.

None of this is revisionist history either. It isn't like we as fans and the media were caught off guard (pun slightly intended) by the retirement of Ragnow or decline in play from Glasgow or struggles by backup lineman when asked to take on starting roles. And this is just us focusing on the interior issues. This doesn't even begin to address the Taylor Decker problem at Tackle. This is another issue all itself.

Taylor Decker's age, banged up body, and unfortunate decline in play over the course of this season is another uncomfortable truth the Lions have to face. Decker has been a steady presence for years, no doubt. He's been an anchor on this line. I'm no expert by any means. I've gotten lots of things wrong, as have we all. But the tape and the results show a player who is no longer consistently winning at the point of attack or holding up in pass protection against top edge rushers or even league average guys at times. Age and wear are catching up, and that is not a criticism so much as a reality of the NFL.

The Decker situation is exactly where Brad Holmes has to learn from his mistakes on the interior and be proactive instead of reactive. Drafting Ratledge, while a very good pick, was still reactive, instead of proactive. The Lions cannot wait until Decker falls off a cliff or retires to start searching for answers. This offseason needs to include a real plan to identify and develop Decker’s long term replacement, whether that is through the draft or a smart roster move, so they are not caught flat footed yet again. I don't look at Giovani Manu as the long-term replacement either. He hasn't stayed healthy enough to play a full season and wasn't lighting the world on fire when he did play. I mean, I guess he wasn't a complete liability at Tackle when he was in, but they can and should do better IMO.

If Detroit truly wants to rebuild the offensive line into a strength, it has to start with planning ahead at Tackle instead of repeating the same failures we just watched unfold in the middle of the line. I think significant, high round, draft capital has to be used on getting one of a Center or Tackle (or both) in this year's draft. I'm talking a first or second round pick if the players are there to be had. I haven't done enough research yet to know who those guys might be. But that's Brad and the scouting team's job to do, not mine or any fans. I'm sure I'll have names of players I like later on in the offseason.

At the end of the day, the blame belongs with Brad Holmes and the front office for allowing a strength to become a liability at times this season. This is not about one bad game or one bad injury, it is about two straight offseasons of not doing enough, not being proactive enough, to address an obvious long term issue on the roster. The interior offensive line is broken because the front office let it break. If the Lions are serious about fixing this and getting back to their identity on offense, they must address the line in this year's draft and via free agency. I think they need one of a Center or Guard, depnding on where they want to put Ratledge.  They also need a Tackle to address the Decker situation long-term. They just need to get their identity back and build the offensive line into a top unit again. And yeah, I know, much easier said then done. I still like Brad Holmes and trust in him and his staff to be able to do this.

Edited 17 hours ago by Mr.TaterSalad

[Motown Bombers]

I quit reading all of that at around the fourth paragraph, but they did address the line. They have two new guards. There’s going to be growing pains. 

[Mr.TaterSalad]

5 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

I quit reading all of that at around the fourth paragraph, but they did address the line. They have two new guards. There’s going to be growing pains. 

So you're fine going into the next season with an offensive line of Decker, Mahogany, Glasgow, Fraizer, and Sewell? Were you asleep this season by chance?

[Motown Bombers]

12 minutes ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

So you're fine going into the next season with an offensive line of Decker, Mahogany, Glasgow, Fraizer, and Sewell? Were you asleep this season by chance?

Not sure why you left out Ratledge, but yes I would be fine with Ratledge at center and Frazier at RG. Decker is becoming a liability and the Lions can save cap by cutting him. I would consider moving Sewell to LT if you found a good RT. 

[Hongbit]

We jumped the gun a bit on the most important part of a draft thread.

Lions Picks:

1st

2nd

4th

4th Comp (expected from Carlton Davis)

5th

6th from Seattle via Jacksonville

6th from Jacksonville 

7th from Cleveland

They traded their 3rd in the Teslaa deal, 6th for Za’Darius Smith, and 7th in the 2023 deal for Riley Patterson.

They acquired 6th from Jax for Tim Patrick (which Jax acquired from Seattle), 6th from Jax as part of the Teslaa deal, 7th from Cleveland from Smith deal. 

[Motown Bombers]

The Lions 1st will be in the teens. I would consider trading down. For a team against the cap, you need more cheap depth. 

[RatkoVarda]

best case is Ragnow and Decker come back for a year as they give replacements some snaps as well

Decker/(future RT) - Mahogany/Frazier - Ragnow/(future C) - Ratledge/Frazier - Sewell

if Ragnow can see what we see - the SB is still a ways away - then maybe he does not come back

and if you want to see what the OL will look like without Decker, see yesterday's game when Glasgow was out

the reason they wanted to move Ratledge in training camp to C is they could see what was coming, but they did not have time to prepare him; you can always find a G (see: Mahogany, Frazier) but a real C is hard to find

they need to fix this

and carrying Manu for 3 years of ziltch is getting annoying

[Hongbit]

10 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

Not sure why you left out Ratledge, but yes I would be fine with Ratledge at center and Frazier at RG. Decker is becoming a liability and the Lions can save cap by cutting him. I would consider moving Sewell to LT if you found a good RT. 

Good point on moving Sewell.  I think it’s time to make that move.  They will save $18m in the cap by cutting Decker with a post June designation.   Really can’t see him back.  

The future of next years line does is determined on if Frank wants to play again or it that was just a one time thing.  If he is back it changes everything for next year.  Obviously, Frank improves the entire line but  Ratledge can stay at guard and it’s one less body that needs to be filled.  

Edited 16 hours ago by Hongbit

[Motown Bombers]

3 minutes ago, Hongbit said:

Good point on moving Sewell.  I think it’s time to make that move.  They will save $18m in the cap by cutting Decker with a post June hit.   Really can’t see him back.  

The future of next years line does is determined on if Frank wants to play again or it that was just a one time thing.  If he is back it changes everything for next year.  Obviously, Frank improves the entire line but  Ratledge can stay at guard and it’s one less body that needs to be filled.  

It seemed like the thought at the time Sewell was drafted was that he would be Decker’s replacement. The Lions cap situation makes it tough to justify carrying Decker. 

If Ragnow returns, that improves your depth since you can use Frazier as your backup guard. Gives him time to develop to take over the following year. 

[Sports_Freak]

2 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

It seemed like the thought at the time Sewell was drafted was that he would be Decker’s replacement. The Lions cap situation makes it tough to justify carrying Decker. 

If Ragnow returns, that improves your depth since you can use Frazier as your backup guard. Gives him time to develop to take over the following year. 

But Ragnow may not want to return until the middle of the season so he will be available during a stretch run. We cant go into the draft without knowing.

I thought our offense would be fine with John Morton taking over. I was wrong. And calling the plays is too much for Campbell. We need a competent play caller. Easier said than done. And I would say Sheppard is OK as our DC. Too many key injuries to really evaluate him. But we do need another edge rusher to be able to get some consistent pressure on quarterbacks. And when is Branch expected back? Or is his injury career threatening? We may need help at safety if Kirby's knee doesn't hold up. Brad has his work cut out for himself....