Detroit Lions Mailbag: If the Lions draft this guy in the first, that is your nightmare scenario
Plus, we answer who the Lions might trade up for and what they’d have to give up, and is Brad Holmes blowing smoke right now?
The 2026 NFL Draft is next week, and everyone has questions. Let’s answer some of them.
What is the Lions’ nightmare scenario in the first round?
What is your nightmare scenario for the Lions on the first night of the draft next week?
— Eric Muller (@handsomecheese.bsky.social) April 13, 2026 at 8:52 PM
It doesn’t get any scarier than the Lions seeing Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq sitting there at 17 and going by their true best player available and taking him. I mean, he would be one of the best players available at that time, but the Lions do not need a tight end right now. Even if he is a really good one.
I have no problem with the Lions taking a cornerback, safety, or an interior offensive lineman. If Detroit walks out with Penn State guard Vega Ioane, that would be ultimately the best move for them.
If the Lions do an “F them picks” move and trade up, who is it for?
As much as I wish we could trade down, this draft looks like a buyers market. Supposing we find value in trading up, who is our target and whats the cost?
— hermaphro.bsky.social (@hermaphro.bsky.social) April 13, 2026 at 9:34 PM
I don’t see the Lions moving up far enough to get a shot at David Bailey or Arvel Reese. They don’t really have the capital to move up to the top five. I mean, they do. But it would be a lot, and you’re linking your job to this guy being elite.
But I can see them maybe move up between six and 16 for a shot at Ruben Bain, Mansoor Delane, Vega Ioane, Spencer Fano, or Francis Mauigoa. Doing so would require the Lions to give up the 17th pick, the 50th pick, and something from next year. That is, if they move up to the highest point.
Where are all the top-30 visits?
They’re doing them, but the Lions have been super quiet about everything this year. They’re Fort Knox on everything to the point where players aren’t talking about whether or not they’ve met with the Lions, and agents aren’t either. They’re playing it all close to the chest. I’ve honestly not seen anything like it since I started covering the team. This may be the new normal moving forward.
How much of what Brad Holmes has been saying is smoke?
Not nearly as much as you might think. Holmes is being straight up with you. They are a best player available team, and if they are not moving off of that. This, of course, means that they may not draft some of the positions that are perceived as a need at all unless the best player available also fits the need.
So if you’re thinking he’s saying “we’re not going to draft an edge” to fool another team, that is not what’s happening. He means it. If they don’t like any of the edge rushers, they’re just not taking an edge rusher this year. Simple as that.
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