The 2026 NFL Draft Is Here: Who Are The Detroit Lions Taking?

The 2026 NFL draft is finally here! The draft is an important part of every teams offseason, but especially for the 2026-2027 Detroit Lions. Detroit is coming off of a disappointing season where they failed to make the playoffs, and the expectation is that they will return back to contention this fall. 

There seems to be a strong consensus that the Lions will be taking an offensive tackle in the first round with pick 17, but if there is one thing that GM Brad Holmes is not, it’s predictable in the draft. Since he took over GM duties he has been aggressive, especially in the first round, in drafting the best possible player available and not directly team need. Here I break down some possibilities for the Lions in the first round tomorrow night on the offensive and defensive side of the ball.

Offense:

Monroe Freeling, OT Georgia: The 6’7 315 pound junior tackle from Georgia has been tied to Detroit at 17 by many insiders. Freeling is a physical freak, but not as experienced as other tackles in this draft. He was second team all-SEC last fall but only has 18 starts under his belt from his time at Georgia. Another note with Freeling is he was teammates with current guard for the Lions, Tate Ratledge.

Spencer Fano, OT Utah: Fano is a much different tackle prospect than Freeling. Fano was a freshmen All-American in 2023, second team All-American in 2024, first team All-American, Big12 OL of the year, Outland trophy winner for best IOL in college football. Not as much of a physical specimen as Freeling, but Fano is a proven tackle with a lot of experience, 12 starts as a freshmen, 12 starts as a sophomore, 12 starts as a junior this past year. 

Kadyn Proctor, OT Alabama: Kadyn Proctor is no stranger to being in the spotlight. Proctor is a former 5-star in high school, all-freshmen SEC at Alabama, and a second team All-American this past season at Alabama. It is well known that Brad Holmes loves drafting Alabama players ( Jahmyr Gibbs, Brian Branch, Jamo Williams, Terrion Arnold) Proctor is a day 1 starting tackle that could join the Detroit Crimson Tide.

Defense: 

Akheem Mesidor, EDGE Miami: This is a personal wish for me. The Lions have gotten little to no edge rush production outside of Aidan Hutchinson the past few seasons. Mesidor is an experienced player at DE, a first team all-ACC player this past fall on a Miami team that made a run to the national championship. Mesidor was tied for 3rd in the country with 12.5 sacks and added 17.5 tackles for loss.

Jerome McCoy, CB Tennessee: McCoy is coming off an ACL that forced him to miss the 2025 season. In 2024 at Tennessee McCoy was a 2nd team All-American, and 2nd team all-SEC. Starting all 13 games tallying 9 pass breakups and 4 interceptions. The Lions secondary has been one of the more injured rooms in all of football the past few seasons with multiple guys having season ending injuries. McCoy is a guy who, if healthy in 2025, could be going top 10 in this draft.

Colton Hood, CB Tennessee: Third team- All-SEC corner at Tennessee this past season. I have to mention the Lions potentially drafting Hood at 17, due to his time at Tennessee he played a very high % of press man coverage, which the Lions also love to do.

To summarize, I believe the Lions will go with a tackle if they stay at 17, which tackle will be interesting to watch. As always, keep an eye out for Brad Holmes to maybe trade up and go get a player who could be slipping as well.