With the 2026 NFL Draft in the books, the grades are starting to pour in from all around the internet. And while it’s malpractice to grade a draft class without so much as seeing the players take the field for their respective teams, there is room to assess how well a team did in addressing their short-term and long-term needs with their selections.

And it’s hard to argue about the Lions filling their needs with their first two selections being an offensive tackle and an edge defender, respectively. Detroit was also able to add a replacement for Alex Anzalone’s vacated spot at WILL linebacker, and add more youth and flexibility in the secondary with their fourth selection in the fifth round.

Here’s a look at how national analysts graded the early returns of the Detroit Lions’ 2026 draft class.

GM Brad Holmes was in the unique position of reloading for a contender instead of trying for a overhaul. Miller should take over at left tackle for Taylor Decker while Moore is the right Michigan man to put opposite Aidan Hutchinson. Abney was their later steal to ensure another solid haul.

Miller came out of Clemson as a solid, experienced tackle — then showed above-average athleticism at the NFL Scouting Combine, likely clinching his status as a top-25 pick. He meets Detroit’s need for a tackle after Taylor Decker‘s exit. The Lions sent a fourth-round pick to the Jets so they could pair bullish pass rusher Moore with fellow former Wolverine Aidan Hutchinson. Also included in the Lions’ draft grade is the trade of two third-round picks this year to select receiver Isaac TeSlaa in last year’s third round. Detroit needed a linebacker and Rolder’s aggressive style will endear him to Lions fans. The Lions traded David Montgomery to the Texans for OL Juice Scruggs, a fourth-round pick this year and a 2027 sixth-rounder. They used the fourth to move up for Moore and replaced Montgomery with Isiah Pacheco in free agency. Law is a receiver in a running back’s body and should get a look as a returner during training camp. Gill-Howard is undersized but stood out on Texas Tech’s star-studded defense before an ankle injury ended his season.

OT Blake Miller (17) fills a major need. Edge Derrick Moore (44) stays in Michigan and gives the Lions another pass rusher with energy. LB Jimmy Rolder (118) is another Michigan player staying close to home. CB Keith Abney II (157) and WR Kendrick Law (168) are solid value.

First-round OT Blake Miller and second-round DE Derrick Moore, a Michigan alum whom the Lion traded up to get, project as Week 1 starters at crucial positions of need. Moore may be a long-term wingman off the edge opposite fellow ex-Wolverine Aidan Hutchinson. This year’s third-rounder was invested in a 2025 trade that netted promising WR3 Isaac TeSlaa. In totality, it might be enough to get a team that will benefit from a last-place schedule in 2026 back to the postseason.

It will be interesting to see whether the Lions move Penei Sewell to left tackle to accommodate Miller, who primarily played right tackle at Clemson. Selecting Miller and possibly tinkering with the lineup needs to pay off for this team because this star-studded roster struggled last year without a stout offensive line. Later in the draft, Detroit continued its never-ending search for a No. 2 edge rusher opposite Aidan Hutchinson. Playing second fiddle shouldn’t be an issue for Moore, a player with a high floor and low ceiling. Moore is ready to contribute now with 10 sacks last season at Michigan.

If mock draft season taught us anything about the Lions, it was that it would be a shock to see them take anything besides an offensive lineman in the first round. Blake Miller emerged as the guy at No. 17, and it’s hard not to love the pick. Not only does Detroit fill a glaring need at one of the tackle spots, but it can now move forward with its plan to shift Penei Sewell from the right side to the left. Miller exclusively played right tackle at Clemson and can now hit the ground running at that same position in the NFL. Renner, however, does not love prioritizing fit over taking the best player available and gave the Lions a “C” as a result.

The Lions rebounded in the second round by trading up for Derrick Moore. There is now a real hometown feel on Detroit’s defensive front with a pair of Michigan products in Moore and Aidan Hutchinson holding down the edge and Jimmy Rolder operating behind them at linebacker.

This was a classic meat-and-potatoes draft for the Lions. GM Brad Holmes and HC Dan Campbell rightly targeted the offensive line in the first round, adding a tough and durable right tackle in Blake Miller. With 54 career starts under his belt, Miller’s extremely battle-tested and the type of hard-nosed player you’d expect Detroit to gravitate to. He should start right away on the right side as Penei Sewell moves to the left tackle spot. In the second round, the Lions added a tough and tenacious power rusher in Derrick Moore. Moore would rather go through offensive tackles than try to get around them, and more often than not he seems to succeed with this plan. He might need to expand his repertoire in the pros, but he offers upside to develop into a starter opposite Aidan Hutchinson. I liked the Keith Abney pick in the fifth round, too: A former competitive inline roller skating champion, he’s an instinctive and savvy defender with a knack for getting his hands on the football. It’s another rough-and-tumble draft class for Detroit.

Taylor Decker requesting his release threw a small wrench into the Lions’ offseason. It was already a critical offseason after Detroit missed the playoffs in 2025, but there was suddenly a huge hole at left tackle, adding to the overall protection issues. The Lions were 31st in pass block win rate last season at 55.5%. As the team sorted through fixes, coach Dan Campbell floated the idea of Penei Sewell sliding over from the right side, but that would still leave one of the tackle spots wide open and would be taking Sewell away from his more natural, dominant position.

It seems Detroit is sticking to that, using the first-round pick on Blake Miller, a 54-game starter at right tackle in college. It’s tough to beat Miller, no matter the pass-rush move. His pressure allowed rate improved every single season, from 4.0% as a rookie to 1.8% last season. That’s key for the Lions; Jared Goff has real problems when he’s seeing constant pressure. And Miller should become Jahmyr Gibbs‘ new best friend in the run game — he can get downfield to spring breakaway runs for his backs.

The other big area of need was the No. 2 edge rusher hole opposite Aidan Hutchinson. This might sound familiar — along with most analysts, I wanted the Lions to address this last year, too. They didn’t take an edge rusher until Round 6 with Ahmed Hassanein. Detroit got 11 sacks out of Al-Quadin Muhammad in a wild 30-year-old breakout season, but he signed with Tampa Bay; the Lions really only signed DJ Wonnum to replace him.

Will a second-round pick in Derrick Moore get the job done? I might have gone with Zion Young, who went one pick later, but I think there’s upside for an eventual all-Michigan edge combo of Hutchinson and Moore (who had 10 sacks last season).

Jimmy Rolder (another Michigan player) and Keith Abney II were solid additions on defense, too. Rolder is versatile and has some burst as a blitzer. But where he really stands out is his ability to diagnose. He’s a smart football player. Abney is undersized at 5-foot-10 and 187 pounds, but he gets his hands on the ball. Abney had 20 pass breakups and five picks over the past two years. He should be a good backup.

Here’s why: Blake Miller was the solidifying force for Clemson’s offensive line and held it down on the right side for over 40 starts in college. While I’m not the biggest fan of bumping Penei Sewell over to the left after how he’s established himself as a premier right tackle, Miller’s combination of size, athleticism and consistency has the Lions’ right tackle spot in good hands for years to come and the Lions got him in the appropriate part of the draft.

The Lions desperately needed edge help on top of a starting tackle, and they filled that need with Derrick Moore. His all-around game complements Aidan Hutchinson’s pass rush-first game very well. Kendrick Law is a twitchy and bendy athlete who can create explosives with the ball in his hands. He can be a replacement for wide receiver/folk hero Kalif Raymond.

Most interesting pick: Keith Abney II, CB, Arizona State

A feisty defender, I’m not shocked that Abney ended up a Lion. He’s a physical player and a willing tackler whom I like playing best from the slot because he lacks the consistent ability to turn and stay in coverage, although he could stick on the outside in a more zone-heavy scheme (the Lions run a lot of man coverage, however). Abney gives the Lions several defenders who can play from there but also opens up keeping Brian Branch as a backend safety. Abney was a player I was comfortable taking at the end of round 3 because of his physicality and smarts, so this felt more than proper in the middle of Day 3.