2026 NFL Draft Thread

[1984Echoes]

PS: I want NO part of Proctor. ZERO. ZILCH. ZIPPO. NONE. NUNCA. NYET.

[Jason_R]

All I’ll say is if they pick Proctor they need to make him hire a personal chef and they need to make him weigh in daily. 

[RatkoVarda]

2 hours ago, Stanley70 said:

Each of the OT's that may or may not be there at 17 have a wart or two. Fano has short arms, Freeling can get pushed around, Iheanachor is raw, etc. At least if Proctor fails at OT he can move inside,

i think this is it; no sure bets in 2026 pool; if all 5-7 first round OTs come close to their ceiling, Proctor will be at the top. if he has to move inside and play LG between Sewell and Mays, that would be a good consolation prize. 

[1984Echoes]

2 hours ago, Jason_R said:

All I’ll say is if they pick Proctor they need to make him hire a personal chef and they need to make him weigh in daily. 

This would need to be an ABSOLUTE REQUIREMENT.

Contractual.

[1984Echoes]

2 hours ago, RatkoVarda said:

... if he has to move inside and play LG between Sewell and Mays, that would be a good consolation prize. 

My only question with this would be...

Who plays RT?

[Mr.TaterSalad]

3 hours ago, 1984Echoes said:

My only question with this would be...

Who plays RT?

I think they like Larry Borom and there is a real chance they already view him as their starter at RT.

[1984Echoes]

I'd prefer him as a backup.

Draft Freeling please Brad.

[Mr.TaterSalad]

I'm going to ask this question here since Tim Twentyman profiled the position on the Lions website. Could the Lions draft Oregon Tight End Kenyon Sadiq in the first round? If they did, how would you feel?

[Mr.TaterSalad]

If they drafted ANOTHER first round TE I would be very pissed at Brad Holmes and company. It's the kind of move, with all the needs we have, that would truly cause me to start losing faith in this regime. It would either represent this regime getting too cute and trying to be the smartest guys in the room. Otherwise, taking a first round TE would signify to me that there's a longer term problem with Sam LaPorta.

This would be the absolute wrong pick for this team. We need an offensive tackle and need to get this offensive line back to being a strength. We need all sorts of help on the defense. We need defensive line help and someone who can set the edge opposite Aiden and get after the QB. We need a WLB who can replace Anzalone. We potentially have needs in the defensive backfield as well.

[4hzglory]

4 hours ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

I'm going to ask this question here since Tim Twentyman profiled the position on the Lions website. Could the Lions draft Oregon Tight End Kenyon Sadiq in the first round? If they did, how would you feel?

Definitely a no on 1st round, but I could see them drafting Riardon in the 4th or 5th if he’s there.  

[1984Echoes]

Looks like quite a few mid-round TE's that could be useful to the Lions.

Hard no on 1st round TE.

[Mr.TaterSalad]

The general consensus among many fans seems to be that they will draft either a OT or DE/Edge in the first round. I don't necessarily agree with that take. I don't because Brad Holmes has shown us that time and again, he is drafting for talent over need and looking at talent + need when making selection. He wants to draft the best player available, with the most talent, who is a culture fit, and also fills some need on this team. But filling the need comes behind the other trains. Now, he's going to be realistic when drafting talent over need, so he's not going to take Ty Simpson at QB just because he may be the BPA on his board when he's picking at #17. But I think that also means he's not just automatically draft an OT or DE/Edge because fans or the media think it is such a big need they must draft only one of those two positions groups.

So based on my theory of the case about Brad Holmes, I did a mock draft where he took neither a OT or a DE/Edge in the first round. In this case, I went with a safety in McNeill-Warren from Toledo. My reasoning here for taking a safety in the first is because there are long term concerns about the health and ability of Kirby Joseph and Brian Branch may not be back until mid-season. I still ended up taking a DE/Edge in the second round and an OT in the third. This is what I came up with using the ESPN Mock Draft Simulator..

1st: Emmanuel McNeil-Warren: S/Toledo

2nd: Gabe Jacas: Edge/Illinois

3rd: Drew Shelton: OT/Penn State

4th: Kaytron Allen: RB/Penn State

5th: Will Kacmarek: TE/Ohio State

7th: Owen Heinecke: LB/Oklahoma

7th: Harrison Wallace III: WR/Ole Miss

Edited 6 hours ago by Mr.TaterSalad

[Stanley70]

The way free agency has unfolded i think the Lions are pretty much forced into taking an OT early. If they don't take one at 17 i would bet they trade up from 50 to get one. The tackles that are rumored to be there at 50 do not look like plug and play types and they must have a playable option coming out of the draft. They could make a trade, but that seems unlikely.

It's probably more likely that they move up from 17 to get one than to wait until 50 to select one. When they needed a corner, they moved up to get Arnold. I think that is what they will be thinking here.

[MichiganCardinal]

11 minutes ago, Stanley70 said:

The way free agency has unfolded i think the Lions are pretty much forced into taking an OT early. If they don't take one at 17 i would bet they trade up from 50 to get one. The tackles that are rumored to be there at 50 do not look like plug and play types and they must have a playable option coming out of the draft. They could make a trade, but that seems unlikely.

It's probably more likely that they move up from 17 to get one than to wait until 50 to select one. When they needed a corner, they moved up to get Arnold. I think that is what they will be thinking here.

I think it's extremely likely they take an OT at #17 (or whenever they first pick). I've seen a couple mocks with Mauigoa falling to the Bengals at #10 or Dolphins at #11. If that happens, I wouldn't be super shocked to see us ship off next year's 3rd and some later round picks to move up... But I think they value Borom more than we do, for better or worse. I think they see him as an available stopgap if they don't go OT early.

Holmes has quantified his number of "day one talents" before. Talked about Jameson Williams was one of their last day one talents, which is why they traded up. Talked about how both Gibbs and Campbell were day one talents on their board.

If someone like Sonny Styles, Mansoor Delane, Caleb Downs, or maybe even Jeremiyah Love inexplicably fell into their laps, I think they pull the trigger on that pick, trust Borom can get it done, and maybe go get Cam Robinson or Jonah Williams on a one-year deal as an insurance policy or to at least add some competition to the room.

[Hongbit]

1 hour ago, Stanley70 said:

The way free agency has unfolded i think the Lions are pretty much forced into taking an OT early. If they don't take one at 17 i would bet they trade up from 50 to get one. The tackles that are rumored to be there at 50 do not look like plug and play types and they must have a playable option coming out of the draft. They could make a trade, but that seems unlikely.

It's probably more likely that they move up from 17 to get one than to wait until 50 to select one. When they needed a corner, they moved up to get Arnold. I think that is what they will be thinking here.

Borom can start at RT next season.  He’s very capable of being at least league average at the position.  

I’m more concerned about Mahogany at LG.  He had a few nice games 2 years ago.  He was not good last year.   He’s always going to be an injury concern too.    I’m not sure I feel any better with Frazier or Bartch in that spot either.  

That’s why Ioane is intriguing.   I’d have far less concerns fitting him in at RG next to Sewell at day 1 than I would a new rookie RT.   That would create a very strong line with solid depth everywhere except RT which they can address later in the draft.  

Edited 4 hours ago by Hongbit

[Mr.TaterSalad]

1 hour ago, MichiganCardinal said:

I think it's extremely likely they take an OT at #17 (or whenever they first pick). I've seen a couple mocks with Mauigoa falling to the Bengals at #10 or Dolphins at #11. If that happens, I wouldn't be super shocked to see us ship off next year's 3rd and some later round picks to move up... But I think they value Borom more than we do, for better or worse. I think they see him as an available stopgap if they don't go OT early.

I think it is extremely likely that they take the best player on their board, who they believe is the most talent, is a cultural fit with this team, and still fits a position of need. I think anyone of OT, G, DE/Edge, DT, LB, and S are options for them with their first round pick. I do tend to lean towards the idea that they will take an offensive lineman, either a OT or G. But I don't think it is a slam dunk. I think they will have a wide open board. With Larry Borom on the roster, I think they genuinely view him as a starting RT for this coming season.

[sagnam]

 

1 hour ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

I think it is extremely likely that they take the best player on their board, who they believe is the most talent, is a cultural fit with this team, and still fits a position of need. I think anyone of OT, G, DE/Edge, DT, LB, and S are options for them with their first round pick. I do tend to lean towards the idea that they will take an offensive lineman, either a OT or G. But I don't think it is a slam dunk. I think they will have a wide open board. With Larry Borom on the roster, I think they genuinely view him as a starting RT for this coming season.

With all those caveats every pick is BPA! I highly doubt a team decides to draft a position and then also decides to take the second highest rated player remaining at that position who doesn’t fit the culture.

i would rather take the best player (with character and work ethic included in the rankings) and then trade a vet if a position is crowded rather than take a less talented player. I strongly feel that draft is where you get the best players you can while free agency and trades are where you target a position.

 

Edited 2 hours ago by sagnam

[1984Echoes]

3 hours ago, Stanley70 said:

The way free agency has unfolded i think the Lions are pretty much forced into taking an OT early. If they don't take one at 17 ...

Not only that...

But there are about five immediate starting quality tackles that could possibly be there at #17. Mauigoa... no chance, IMO.

Fano, Lomu, Freeling, Miller, Proctor (please NO!), and I'll even toss in Vega Ioane at LG who is definitely a Holmes/DC type of player...

Maybe 1 or 2 on that list goes prior to #17... Brad can:

A) Move up to target the OT (or Ioane) that he loves best.

or...

B) Sit tight, stay at 17 and have his favorite O-Line player (by luck) fall right into his lap.

or...

C) Trade down to the low 20's because he has calculated that "his guy" will also be available there.

[1984Echoes]

2 hours ago, Hongbit said:

Borom can start at RT next season.  ... at least league average at the position.  

I’m more concerned about Mahogany at LG.  ...  I’m not sure I feel any better with Frazier or Bartch in that spot either.

That’s why Ioane is intriguing.   I’d have far less concerns fitting him in at RG next to ...

Based on this, some comments/ questions:

Ratledge is RG, I believe Ioane can play both RG and LG without any issues... which means I think he will slot in at LG, Ratledge stays at RG.

You forgot the team seems adamant about moving Sewell to LT... or at least it seems that way to me... So drafting Ioane would STILL mean having him next to Sewell... just on the left side IMO, not on the right.

My questions would be: Can Miles Frazier play RT? Can Manu? I think Borom is better as a backup tackle... but yes, he'd be an average RT if he was chosen to be the starter for 2026.

But I think Frazier (possibly), Manu (yes, even him), or a drafted RT would be better as the starter than Borom.

IMO.