2026 Detroit Lions Mock Draft: 7-Round Projection
Draft Capital: 7 picks | Overall Grade: B Last Updated: October 05, 2026Overview
Detroit Lions enter the 2026 NFL Draft with 7 selections. Biggest needs: Cornerback, Edge Rusher, IOL.
Complete Draft Class:---
Complete Pick-by-Pick Analysis
Pick #16 - Detroit Lions: Kelley Jones, Cornerback, Mississippi State
Rank: #20 overall | Grade: A- Why This Pick:Cornerback is Detroit's clear top need, and taking Jones at 16 over his #20 ranking is a four-spot reach, but it's a defensible one given how thin the position is after two corners already came off the board at picks 14 and 15. With Ellis Robinson and Ashton Hampton already gone, Detroit may have felt Jones was the best remaining upside play at a premium need rather than waiting and settling for lesser value later.
The Fit:Jones brings exactly the kind of trait profile a 4-3 defense covets on the outside: 6-foot-4 length, natural ball skills, and the kind of press-man comfort that let him erase SEC receivers to the point offenses stopped targeting him. He's raw by experience, with only one real season of high-level tape and a slender 195-pound frame that will need to add strength to hold up in run support, so Detroit is likely banking on early growing pains before he becomes the long, rangy boundary corner his ceiling suggests.
---
Pick #47 - Detroit Lions: Jesse Perry, IOL, NA
Rank: #47 overall | Grade: B Why This Pick:Detroit already used an earlier pick on cornerback, so with their top two listed needs still technically unresolved but the board thinning out, they pivot to their third priority and get Jesse Perry at the exact spot he's ranked. That's about as clean a value proposition as a draft board offers, no reach, no slide, just a need met at fair price. Interior offensive line depth matters for a team that wants to keep running its offense physically, and this pick keeps that pipeline stocked.
The Fit:There's no scouting profile available on Perry here, so the specifics of his game, his technique, his best fit scheme-wise, aren't spelled out. What is clear is that Detroit identified IOL as a real roster need, sitting third on their priority list, and found a player valued at the same spot they picked him. Without more detail on his traits, the safest read is that he's viewed as a rotational piece or developmental interior lineman who addresses organizational need rather than a guaranteed Day One starter.
---
Pick #78 - Detroit Lions: Suntarine Perkins, Outside Linebacker, Ole Miss
Rank: #83 overall | Grade: C+ Why This Pick:Linebacker sits fifth on Detroit's priority list, and cornerback, edge, interior line, and tight end all remained bigger needs, so taking Perkins five spots ahead of his #83 ranking is a mild reach on paper. But this is clearly a best-player-available call, Detroit already addressed corner and IOL earlier in this draft, and Perkins' explosiveness gives Lions scouts a developmental bet on upside over a roster hole. It's defensible as a value swing late in round three rather than a need-fill.
The Fit:Perkins arrives at 220 pounds with elite coverage instincts, grading in the 94th percentile there, which fits a 4-3 scheme looking for a weakside linebacker who can carry tight ends and backs in man and zone. The concerns are real: only 49 career snaps as a true box linebacker, a 14 percent missed tackle rate, and a tendency to get swallowed once blockers get into his frame mean he's not an immediate every-down starter. Detroit is likely betting on his sideline-to-sideline range and blitz burst (10.5 sacks as a sophomore) translating once he adds mass and logs more off-ball reps.
---
Pick #109: Adam Trick (Edge Rusher, Texas Tech) - Grade C. Day 3 value pick. Depth addition with special teams potential. Pick #140: Lawson Luckie (Tight End, Georgia) - Grade C-. Day 3 value pick. Depth addition with special teams potential. Pick #158: Andrew Sprague (Offensive Tackle, Michigan) - Grade C. Day 3 value pick. Depth addition with special teams potential. Pick #209: Tayon Holloway (Cornerback, Louisville) - Grade C-. Day 3 value pick. Depth addition with special teams potential.---
Draft Class Summary
Overall Grade: B | 6 positions addressed across 7 picks.---