2026 Detroit Lions draft: GM Brad Holmes breaks down each pick

The 2026 NFL Draft is over, and now has come the time when everyone picks apart every team’s draft. Who won? What grade did they get? Why did that team reach, or how did that general manager get another steal?

All of this is speculation, and all of it is extremely premature. But we indulge, because it’s fun, and we are a culture of instant gratification.

So, why bother with all the speculation and analysis when we’ve got three nights of Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes explaining every decision he made? In this post, you will have no outside opinions, no grades, no analysis—just straight Brad Holmes talking about each Lions draft pick.

First-round pick: OT Blake Miller, Clemson

On what he likes about Miller: “Really high-floor player. What’s really intriguing—obviously, he’s big, he’s tough, he’s smart, he’s a finisher. He has unbelievable football character, work ethic. Everything from a culture standpoint, he fits that. That’s the easy part.

“But his ability is the stuff. He’s athletic. He’s a good athlete. It’s hard to find guys that can move like that that are finishers. That’s what he is. And what’s been interesting on him—he probably has no idea—we’ve probably been watching Blake for three years now, and he has gotten better every single year. So, that’s what makes you really excited about a player like that—that has a high floor but he’s gotten better every year. So coming to this level with our offensive line coach and our ecosystem, I don’t see any reason why he won’t continue to get better.”

What makes him such a culture fit: “His approach, how he was raised, how he was brought up, his morals. I mean, it’s all about grit, earning it, battling through adversity. He just kept checking hte boxes and he kept rising and rising.”

On his high floor AND high ceiling: “He’s going to be a good starting tackle already. You’ve got high conviction of that, but there’s no telling where this could go. Because, again, I can’t say it enough—me and our assistant GM Ray Agnew were talking about how much we’ve been watching him and how much better he’s gotten. He’s gotten stronger, his technique has gotten better, his hands have gotten better. It’s run game, pass game. All of that. I think there’s a lot of growth left in him.”

On Miller’s run blocking: “It wasn’t too long ago where—just looking at all the tackles again and just refreshing and looking at all the run blocking snaps of all of them, and Blake was right up there among the top in terms of his sheer run block. I mean, this guy is a physical, gritty finisher. He’s a finisher. He’s trying to finish all of the time. When yo uget into the interview process with him, he talks about that—how he prides himself on that. A lot of tackles will say that because it sounds good to say in an interview, but his tape actually says that.”

On his first impressions of Miller when he started watching his 2023 tape: “His urgency and athleticism. That was the first thing that really caught my eye. I thought he had some things that he needed to work on from a strength, development standpoint, but—so this is off of 2023 tape. I was like, ‘Man, if this guy gets stronger—this guy’s a football player, here.‘ And, sure enough, ‘24 came, he got better. ‘25 it was at a point where—yeah, no. There’s no issues here. It’s a testament to him and his work ethic.”

Second-round pick: EDGE Derrick Moore, Michigan

On what set Moore apart from the other defensive ends: “We’ve been pretty clear about what the requirements are at that position for us, and he fits that. He’s a physical player that can set hard edges. His pass-rush greatly improved. When I look at Derrick—it’s much similar like Blake Miller, that we took yesterday—in terms of (we’ve) been watching him for a long time. We’ve always felt the length and the physicality and the power in the pass, but didn’t really feel like his rush was quite there yet. But this year, he really got better.”

What role Moore may play: “Just to have another body that literally can spell (Aidan) Hutch(inson) in that rush rotation. When you line up in nickel and sub-defense, a guy that can line up on the opposite, a guy that can line up inside. (Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard) Shepp is going to put the guys in the best positions to do what they do best, and that’s what he showed on tape–he can set edges in the run game, he can rush outside, he can rush inside. I’m quite sure that’s how Shepp’s going to utilize him.”

How he complements DJ Wonnum: “I think they are good complements because they’re both physical players. They’re a little bit different, a little bit different body types. But again, that’s why they’re here. They fit the requirements of what we look for at that position. They both set good edges, they both can rush outside, they both can rush inside, and they’re also both good teammates, too. I’m quite sure that DJ being the veteran of the group, I’m sure that he’s going to help Derrick a lot. But it’s a good question because I do think that there are some similarities.”

On Moore’s run-game skills: “You’ve got to earn the right to rush the passer, and the dirty work, he doesn’t mind to do. It’s also a testament to his instincts as well. When you start talking about guys that have good floors or higher floors coming in, usually those guys are instinctive players, and that’s what he is. He’s very instinctive in the run game and it matters because – you talk about edge rusher, ‘Rush, rush, rush.’ Well yeah, we want to get to the quarterback, but you can’t just get gashed all the way downfield either. I think that’s a good component to his game that he’s going to bring.”

Fourth-round pick: LB Jimmy Rolder, Michigan

On what he liked about Rolder: “First time I looked at Rolder I was just like—I just kept saying, ‘Football player. This guy is a football player.’ I thought he was highly instinctive. Again, he was the one guy on that Michigan defense–like I said, (Lions EDGE) Derrick Moore we were watching for a long time and there are other players on that defense or that team period–he was one I hadn’t seen in previous years. That was just kind of a fresh like very encouraging view of him but thought he was very instinctive, was a really good tackler. He doesn’t really miss hardly any tackles. He just plays with his hair on fire. He’s stronger than you think. He could actually set edges if you put him on the edge. If you don’t know where you’re going and you don’t have high level processing and instincts, it can be tough for you I don’t care how big, strong, explosive you are as an inside linebacker.”

Fifth-round pick: CB Keith Abney, Arizona State

On how he views Keith Abney at the next level: “We evaluated Abney multiple times throughout this process dating back to last fall, and every single time I always enjoyed (it). I think he might tilt a little bit more to nickel at this level, but I think he could play outside for sure. He’s another instinctive guy that he could find the football, he could trigger, he can tackle, he’s pretty sticky. I was just—he was just a simple one because we had him ranked a couple rounds higher than where he was, so that was a no-brainer for us.”

Why Abney may be a nickel cornerback going forward: “Yeah, you really want to see the instincts and really the toughness. You’ve got to do a lot of things at that nickel spot. You want speed to be able to match vertically, but you want a guy who has a little more short-area suddenness just to handle the two-way goes and be able to get off the spot. There’s a lot of run-action coming at you too at that spot. So, he’s going to be just fine.”

Fifth-round pick: WR Kendrick Law, Kentucky

On his first exposure to Law when he was at Alabama: “What was very interesting with Law was that the first time I saw him, that was 2024 when he was at Alabama. Me and (assistant general manager) Ray (Agnew) were at the Georgia-Alabama game. I saw him out there on the field and I was just impressed about his build and how explosive he was. I had no idea who the player was. I just told Ray, ‘Who’s that number one out there?’ I was calling (director of college scouting Brian) Hudspeth, our college rep, and I was like, ‘Man, is this guy an underclassman?

On what role Law could play: I was (initially) fired up about just what he did offensively. I had no idea about his special teams ability. That’s what really elevated him even more, and not just a return like a [Kalif Raymond] Leaf, but this guy can play gunner. He’s four-phase special teams player. He’s another one, he’s a dog, man. He’s a football player.”

Sixth-round pick: DL Skyler Gill-Howard, Texas A&M

What he likes about Gill-Howard: “Came from Northern Illinois and then when he came here (Tennessee), he showed pretty consistent tape in terms of his motor. He’s 100 miles per hour. He’s not the biggest guy, but he’s quick, he’s relentless, he’s instinctive, and he can win quick.”

Seventh-round pick: DL Tyre West, Tennessee

What he likes about West: “He was kind of part of a rotation with a lot of defensive linemen that were NFL-caliber players. It wasn’t really a knock that he wasn’t really getting all of the snaps, it was just they had a lot of guys. But, when he would come in, he would take advantage of the opportunities that he got in terms of being able to apply pressure and get to the quarterback. He was one that we brought him in for a visit, enjoyed the time that we spent with him, and felt really good about it.”

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