Film-based fit assessments of 10 EDGE prospects who could be available to Lions in early rounds of 2026 NFL draft
Allen Park — When considering how an NFL team will approach the upcoming draft, you have to look beyond the immediate roster needs. Each selection should be viewed as a four-year investment. Therefore, we must weigh the bigger picture with each possible choice.
Heading into the 2026 NFL draft, we’re going to take a position-by-position look at Detroit’s roster, focusing on areas where the team might add talent in the event. Today, we’ll look at edge defenders.
Current roster: Aidan Hutchinson, DJ Wonnum, Payton Turner, Ahmed Hassanein
Short-term need: 8/10
Long-term need: 10/10
Analysis: You already know the score.
For four seasons, the Lions have tried and failed to find a reliable pairing for superstar pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson. That includes opening each of the last four seasons with a former first-round pick on the opposite end.
In 2022 and 2023, it was Charles Harris. The Lions initially signed the former bust on a low-cost, prove-it deal in 2021, then re-upped after he delivered a career-high 7.5 sacks that season. He’d manage just 2.5 more in 19 games across the next two seasons.
Up next was Marcus Davenport, an undeniable schematic fit as a pocket-crusher, but his long history of durability concerns continued to plague him in Detroit, limiting him to 10 combined games in 2024 and 2025, where he produced a measly 1.5 sacks and 14 quarterback pressures.
Detroit found more patchwork success with trade deadline addition Za’Darius Smith in 2024, plus got a late-career surge from Al-Quadin Muhammad last season, but weren’t willing to pay the asking price to re-sign either player, given both were below average against the run.
General manager Brad Holmes has said he’s hoped to land another reliable edge in the draft, but has missed out on targets over the years. The last one the team drafted in the first two days of the draft was Josh Paschal, a round after taking Hutchinson in 2022, but Paschal never lived up to his second-round billing.
Currently, the Lions are light at the position, but added DJ Wonnum and Payton Turner in free agency to supplement Hutchinson and 2025 sixth-round draft pick Ahmed Hassanein.
Wonnum is an experienced run-stuffer with inconsistent pass-rush production, although he’s twice put up 8.0 sacks in a season, last accomplishing the feat in 2023. He’s currently projected to start opposite Hutchinson.
Turner, meanwhile, is cut from the Davenport cloth. The newcomer is big, athletic and loaded with potential, but has had more injuries than sacks through his first four seasons.
To be fair, let’s acknowledge an important reality: It’s difficult to find elite edge-rushing talent, and few teams are fortunate to have two studs. Arguably, only Houston meets that description.
Detroit’s best bet for finding a disruptive complement to Hutchinson is via the draft, and frankly, the most likely spot to score an impact pass-rusher is early in the event.
Let’s change up our approach for this film-based look at the talent in this draft, exploring how each of the edge prospects projected in the first two rounds might fit what the Lions do schematically.
For the sake of brevity, we’re going to skip over Ohio State’s Arvell Reese, Texas Tech’s David Bailey and Miami’s Rueben Bain, who are all expected to be long gone before the Lions are set to be on the clock with the No. 17 pick in the opening round.
That still leaves us 10 prospects to explore, so strap in for the deep dive.
Evaluating the fits
Akheem Mesidor
Size: 6-foot-3, 259 pounds, 32 1/8-inch arms