Detroit Lions · 2026 Draft · Pick #17 · (9-8)

Actual Pick: Blake Miller (OT, Clemson) SOLID Buy Jersey

Solid. Detroit takes Clemson's Blake Miller at 17, and while it's not the Kadyn Proctor thunderbolt we projected, it's the same philosophical bet — protect Jared Goff and feed the NFL's best run identity. Miller started 42 games in the ACC at right tackle, posted a sub-2% pressure rate as a junior, and gives Dan Campbell a plug-and-play bookend opposite Penei Sewell. Brad Holmes refuses to compromise his trench DNA, and this pick screams continuity. Fit is pristine despite OL not being the screaming priority some expected given Penei Sewell and Taylor Decker's anchor status — Decker is 32, his cap number balloons in 2027, and Miller is the heir apparent at left tackle with a kick-inside insurance card. Detroit's zone-gap hybrid under Hank Fraley rewards Miller's lateral quickness and hand reset, and the cap sheet (roughly $31M projected 2026 space) absorbs this without flinching. The Edge and safety holes linger, but Miller's floor is a decade of starts. No trade — Detroit sat at 17 and took their guy. Rookie-slot value here is roughly $17M over four years with a fifth-year option, and for a 300-start projection that's a bargain. The opportunity cost stings slightly: Mike Green (Edge, Marshall) and Malaki Starks (S, Georgia) were both on the board, and either would've hit a louder positional need. But Holmes has shown he'd rather fortify strength than patch weakness, and history says he's earned that rope. Our board had Miller at OT3 behind Proctor and Will Campbell, slotted as a late-first/early-second value — call it pick 24-28 range. Going 17 is a mild reach of 7-10 slots, roughly half a round over consensus (Jeremiah had him 22, PFF 26, Kiper 29). It's not egregious, but Detroit could have traded back with a QB-desperate team, grabbed Miller in the 20s, and recouped a third. Market-rate generous, reach if you're picky. This pick screams identity over optimization — Holmes is telling the league Detroit wins by bludgeoning, not by chasing splash. The next move should be pouncing on an Edge (Landon Jackson, Bradyn Swinson) on Day 2 and double-dipping safety, because the back seven is where January exits happen. The front office has earned trust with four straight hit first-rounders (Sewell, Gibbs, Campbell, Arnold), so even a mild reach gets benefit of the doubt. Trenches first, always.

Why different: We had Kadyn Proctor as the pure mauler fit, but Detroit preferred Miller's positional versatility and cleaner pass-pro tape to future-proof the Decker spot rather than double down on interior power.

Traded Away: This slot now belongs to New York Jets, who drafted D'Angelo Ponds.

Actual Pick: Derrick Moore (EDGE, Michigan) SOLID Buy Jersey

Solid. Detroit lands a top-three positional need at exactly the slot Moore was forecast to go, and Brad Holmes refuses to overthink it. Moore brings 9.5-sack production from Michigan, a polished bull-rush, and the kind of motor Dan Campbell openly worships. Pairing him opposite Aidan Hutchinson immediately upgrades a rotation that leaned on Marcus Davenport's brittle hamstrings last fall. No flash, no reach — just a clean checkbox on the priority list. Moore profiles as a strong-side base end with the heft to set edges against Minnesota and Green Bay's run games — exactly the body type Kelvin Sheppard's defense was bleeding production from. He won't replicate Hutchinson's bend, but his hand work and Big Ten reps against NFL-caliber tackles translate cleanly. Cap-wise, slot 44 buys four cheap years on a position that just paid Hutchinson the bag. Edge depth was the clearest defensive hole behind OL — they got it without overspending. Detroit acquired this slot via Dallas through the Jets, meaning Holmes paid to climb into a tight Edge run before Cleveland and Pittsburgh struck. Without the precise compensation public, the principle holds: trading future capital for a 24-year-old Edge starter on a roster need is the exact bet contenders make. The Lions could have stood pat and grabbed Princely Umanmielen or Landon Jackson later, but Moore's run-defense floor and three-down readiness justify the climb up the board. Our board had Peter Woods penciled at 44; Moore was sitting squarely in our R2-R3 bucket, making 44 dead-center of his projection rather than a stretch. Consensus boards from Daniel Jeremiah and Mel Kiper had Moore in the 38-55 range, so Detroit didn't reach. He's roughly EDGE7 in this class — fair given the early run on Mike Green, Mykel Williams, and Shemar Stewart already off the board. Market-rate selection, zero surplus value, zero panic, zero embarrassment. This screams Holmes 101: identify the trench need, climb when the cliff approaches, take the Big Ten guy with tape against Ohio State and Penn State. Detroit still needs interior OL behind Frank Ragnow's exit and a true free safety, so Day 2 must deliver Tate Ratledge or a Malaki Starks-tier ball-hawk before the run dries up. The front office earned trust — they didn't fall in love with a flashy name when the roster screamed for a known commodity.

Actual Pick: Jimmy Rolder (, ) SURPRISE Buy Jersey

Meh. Jimmy Rolder (?, —) wasn't on our top-145 big board, which means the Detroit Lions are betting on something specific that didn't show up in the consensus film grades. Day-3 picks are won and lost on traits-and-fit calls like this — if the team's scouting department saw a special-teams role, a developmental skill, or an injury-discount, that's defensible. We don't have a board grade to anchor a verdict so we're rating this neutral and waiting for training-camp tape.

Actual Pick: Keith Abney II (CB, Arizona State) STEAL Buy Jersey

Steal. Keith Abney II (CB, Arizona State) was on our top-145 board in the R2-R3 range — and the Detroit Lions got him in Round 5. On Day 3 that's how you build a roster: value compounds quietly across the back half of the draft, and this is the kind of selection that becomes a starter in two years because the team didn't reach for him in Round 2.

Actual Pick: Kendrick Law (, ) SURPRISE Buy Jersey

Meh. Kendrick Law (?, —) wasn't on our top-145 big board, which means the Detroit Lions are betting on something specific that didn't show up in the consensus film grades. The Detroit Lions acquired this pick via trade (From BUF). Day-3 picks are won and lost on traits-and-fit calls like this — if the team's scouting department saw a special-teams role, a developmental skill, or an injury-discount, that's defensible. We don't have a board grade to anchor a verdict so we're rating this neutral and waiting for training-camp tape.

Actual Pick: Skyler Gill-Howard (, ) SURPRISE Buy Jersey

Meh. Skyler Gill-Howard (?, —) wasn't on our top-145 big board, which means the Detroit Lions are betting on something specific that didn't show up in the consensus film grades. The Detroit Lions acquired this pick via trade (From JAX). Day-3 picks are won and lost on traits-and-fit calls like this — if the team's scouting department saw a special-teams role, a developmental skill, or an injury-discount, that's defensible. We don't have a board grade to anchor a verdict so we're rating this neutral and waiting for training-camp tape.

Actual Pick: Tyre West (, ) SURPRISE Buy Jersey

Meh. Tyre West (?, —) wasn't on our top-145 big board, which means the Detroit Lions are betting on something specific that didn't show up in the consensus film grades. The Detroit Lions acquired this pick via trade (From CLE). Day-3 picks are won and lost on traits-and-fit calls like this — if the team's scouting department saw a special-teams role, a developmental skill, or an injury-discount, that's defensible. We don't have a board grade to anchor a verdict so we're rating this neutral and waiting for training-camp tape.