What You Need to Know About 2026 Detroit Lions Draft Needs

The Detroit Lions currently possess nine selections in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft.

General manager Brad Holmes is tasked with continuing to bolster an offensive line unit that did not live up to expectations last season.

Sports Illustrated recently revealed the draft needs for every team. For Detroit, the needs in the trenches reveal a compelling theme.

As NFL insider Albert Breer shared, "The Lions’ identity through the first half-decade of the Brad Holmes/Dan Campbell era has run right through the offensive line, and they’re finally at the point now where it’s time to reinvest following the departures over the last year of Frank Ragnow and Taylor Decker."

Detroit added Cade Mays, Juice Scruggs, Larry Borom and Ben Bartch this offseason in free agency.

Holmes revealed on the latest episode of "Inside The Den" why the team was fond of Mays.

“His past couple years at center, he’s really kept getting better and better at the position. Talk about the ability to pass protect, we have an excellent quarterback," said Holmes. "If he’s protected, he’s deadly. So you take a look at Mays here, to be able to anchor, pick up the stunt in the game with ease. The instinctual part of the offensive line play, these are the things that don’t really show up in the highlights. Being able to move laterally, stay in front. There’s an element of angles, and then you see the finish right there."

With Decker making the decision to ask for his release, there is a strong belief Penei Sewell will move over and play left tackle this upcoming season and for the foreseeable future.

Borom can play right tackle if needed, but a rookie coming in should have an opportunity to compete for a starting job to start the season.

"Campbell said at the owners’ meetings that the plan is to flip Penei Sewell to left tackle, which gives the team some flexibility," writes Breer. "That would make Georgia T Monroe Freeling and Alabama T Kadyn Proctor, if they’re still on the board (and assuming Mauigoa and Fano are long gone), prime candidates and good values for where the Lions are picking."

It is expected that Detroit will continue to add depth and competition at key defensive spots, including linebacker, defensive tackle and defensive end.

Nose tackle Roy Lopez departed in free agency, leaving a void the team should look to fill in the draft. DJ Reader is not likely to return in 2026 after a two-year stint in Motown.

It will be interesting to monitor if any of the top defensive ends slide and are available at No. 17, when it is time for Detroit to hand in their draft card.

"If Detroit gets a tackle at that point, my guess would be that much of the focus with their second-rounder and seven Day 3 picks would shift over to Kelvin Sheppard’s defense," writes Breer. "And if they don’t find a tackle they like at 17, my suspicion is that drafting an edge rusher such as (Akheem) Mesidor to play opposite Aidan Hutchinson would be the play."

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