2026 NFL Draft coverage and mock roundup, plus taking 4 draft simulators for a spin
Allen Park — Mercifully, the 2026 NFL draft has arrived.
After weeks of speculation — the debating and dissection of hundreds of prospects as potential fits — the Detroit Lions will leave the weekend with more than a dozen new additions to the roster. That’s assuming you factor in pending agreements with undrafted free agents.
Detroit will enter the draft holding nine selections, including seven on Day 3. As a handy refresher, here are those scheduled picks:
Round 1, No. 17
Round 2, No. 50
Round 4, No. 118
Round 4, No. 128 (from Houston, David Montgomery trade)
Round 5, No. 155
Round 5, No. 181 (compensatory)
Round 6, No. 205 (from Jacksonville, Tim Patrick trade)
Round 6, No. 213 (from Jacksonville, Isaac TeSlaa trade)
Round 7 (from Cleveland, Za’Darius Smith trade)
Of course, there’s next-to-no guarantee Detroit will remain in those slots. Notably, general manager Brad Holmes has executed at least one pick swap each of the past five drafts, including 13 deals the past three years.
So, yeah, expect some movement. The bigger question is whether Holmes will follow his longstanding trend of more frequently using assets to move up the board, as opposed to moving down to secure additional bites at the apple.
In terms of our draft coverage, here are some links to peruse if you’re looking to kill some time before Round 1 kicks off at 8 p.m. Thursday night.
Positional previews
Additional coverage
Digging for dirt, looking for grit: A deep dive on Detroit’s scouting process
Contract extension projections: Jack Campbell and Jahmyr Gibbs
Late projections
Obviously, the arrival of the draft means a final wave of mock drafts. Let’s take a glance at where some of the top analysts have landed with Detroit’s first-round pick.
Spoiler: There’s a theme.
Monroe Freeling, OT, Georgia
Kadyn Proctor, OT, Alabama
Blake Miller, OT, Clemson
Max Iheanachor, OT, Arizona State
Spencer Fano, OT, Utah
Olaivavega Ioane, G, Penn State
Taking some simulators for a spin
I skipped doing a mock draft this year. I figured, there are enough of them in the world, no one needs my opinions about what the Titans might do with the fourth pick or the Cowboys at 12.
Still, with a little more depth of knowledge built through studying these prospects the past several weeks, it couldn't hurt to pull some levers on a few of the popular draft simulators, just to see what kind of classes I could cobble together for the Lions.
For brevity — and sanity — we’re going to limit these four projections to four rounds and avoid trades, offering some analysis of the different approaches.