Lions General Manager Brad Holmes traded up in the first round in 2024 to draft cornerback Terrion Arnold and traded up in the first round in 2022 to draft wide receiver Jameson Williams. He’ll trade up again this year, if the right player is available.
The Lions own the 17th overall pick, and Holmes was asked whether he’d use some of his other eight picks to trade up in the first round for a player he expected to make a significant impact. Holmes told reporters that if the player is good enough, he wouldn’t hesitate.
“Absolutely. Yeah, if it’s the right guy. You guys know me. I feel like you guys get mad at me sometimes, I do it too much sometimes. But, no, if we have that kind of conviction for a player, absolutely. We’re going to go and get him,” Holmes said.
Holmes also made clear that he targets the players he thinks are the best, not the positions he thinks the Lions need the most.
“It’s hard to sleep at night when you don’t get the player you really, really wanted because you reached for a need,” Holmes said.
And Holmes may not wait patiently at No. 17 for the player he really, really wants.
Former Vanderbilt tight end Eli Stowers is meeting with the Broncos before the window for pre-draft visits closes this week.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Stowers is visiting Denver on Tuesday. Stowers also visited with the Rams, Titans and Cowboys recently.
Stowers is a converted quarterback who made stops at Texas A&M and New Mexico — where he was beaten out at quarterback by future Vandy teammate Diego Pavia — before heading to Nashville. He won the Mackey Award in 2025 after posting 62 catches for 769 yards and four touchdowns.
Stowers has acknowledged the need to continue improving as a blocker given his late shift to his current position, but his receiving prowess and upside have many projecting him to get selected in the first couple of days of the draft next week.
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman says Jeremiyah Love isn’t only the best running back in the 2026 NFL draft, but also one of the most talented football players anywhere.
Freeman told Colin Cowherd that Notre Dame’s backup running back last year, Jadarian Price, is the best running back prospect in this draft aside from Love, whom Freeman views as a prospect who transcends the position he plays.
“Great players like Jeremiyah Love make coaches look really good,” Freeman said. “He is a unicorn. He is as talented and gifted an athlete as I’ve ever been around. I think he could be an elite wide receiver. He could be an elite DB. He’s just gifted with a unique skill set, the balance, the ability to jump over you, the ability to run through you. Some of his most impressive runs aren’t the ones you’re going to see on TV. They’re the ones you see on film that he made a four-yard gain that should have been a two-yard loss. . . . Jeremiyah Love might be as good as any player I’ve ever been around.”
Love is expected to be the first running back drafted in the Top 5 since Saquon Barkley went No. 2 overall in 2018.
Cornerback Mansoor Delane has a handful of pre-draft visits planned for the coming days.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Delane is slated to meet with the Bengals, Ravens and Commanders before the window to visit teams closes this week. Delane also spent time with the Dolphins and Giants recently.
Delane is bidding to be the top cornerback selected this year. He spent the 2025 season at LSU after playing at Virginia Tech and was an All-American during his lone season in Baton Rouge. He had 45 tackles and two interceptions for the Tigers.
Avieon Terrell and Jermod McCoy are also at the top of the list of cornerback prospects this year.
The Steelers expect to get word from Aaron Rodgers about his plans for the 2026 season before the draft, but they’ll still need to think about the future of the quarterback position if Rodgers does return for a second year in Pittsburgh.
A player who could be part of that future is spending some time with the team on Monday. Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that Taylen Green is visiting the team.
Green spent the last two seasons as the starter at Arkansas and threw for 5,868 yards and 34 touchdowns while completing over 60 percent of his passes. Green also ran for 1,379 yards and 16 touchdowns, but threw 20 interceptions to mitigate the big plays he made through the air and on the ground.
The physical tools that Green flashed in game action were also on display when he set a record for vertical leap by quarterbacks at this year’s Scouting Combine. He also ran the 40 in 4.36 seconds and we’ll find out next week if the Steelers take a chance on seeing if his athletic ability translates into professional success.
The one certainty in the 2026 NFL Draft is that Fernando Mendoza will be selected first overall by the Raiders and most people think Ty Simpson will be the second quarterback off the board, but a lot is up in the air at the position from there.
Colt Payton is one of the quarterbacks vying for a shot in the league and Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that he is visiting the Colts on Monday.
Payton was only a one-year starter at North Dakota State, but saw action as a runner throughout his time in college and ran for 13 scores during the 2023 season. He was 161-of-224 for 2,719 yards, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions in 2025 and also ran for 777 and 13 more touchdowns.
Daniel Jones is back as the starter for the Colts with Riley Leonard and Anthony Richardson also on the roster. The Colts have been trying to trade Richardson and doing so would open a spot for a third quarterback in Indianapolis.
The Jets have a pair of first-round picks in next week’s draft and they’re spending some time on Monday with a player who could be in the mix for one of them.
Jordan Reid of ESPN.com reports that wide receiver Omar Cooper is on a visit with the team. The Commanders, Panthers, Saints and Cowboys are among the other teams that Cooper has met with recently.
Cooper had 69 catches for 937 yards and 13 touchdowns at Indiana last season.
The Jets earned the second pick with their play in 2025 and they also have No. 16 as a result of the Sauce Gardner trade. They’ve been linked with defensive players like David Bailey and Arvell Reese at No. 2, but a wideout to go with Garrett Wilson could be the path they take with the second pick.
Wide receiver Chris Brazzell is wrapping up the pre-draft visit window with a busy week.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Brazzell is set to visit with the Packers, Commanders and 49ers ahead of next week’s draft. Brazzell also spent time with the Panthers, Colts and Cardinals last week.
Brazzell spent two years at Tulane before wrapping up his time in college with two seasons at Tennessee. He had 74 catches over his first three seasons and then posted 62 catches for 1,017 yards and nine touchdowns with the Volunteers last season.
That production has put him in play as an early-round pick and he’ll find out just where he’ll be starting his NFL career in a little over a week.
Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton is not viewed as an elite draft prospect, but plenty of teams are keeping tabs on him as a potential late-round pick with long-term upside.
Morton says that between in-person visits and Zoom meetings, he’s had an opportunity to speak with most NFL teams.
“It’s been a fun, busy process,” Morton told SI.com. “It’s a good problem to have. I had a formal interview with the entire New York Jets staff before my Pro Day. We did some install to learn the offense. We did the install with their GM, head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach. That was super cool to do. I went to dinner with the Dallas Cowboys that same night [of Pro Day]. I’ve also completed more than 15 Zoom meetings since the NFL Combine ended. The Las Vegas Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts, and Cowboys have been some of the recent Zoom meetings. I also recently got back from a bunch of Top 30 visits. I visited the Green Bay Packers, Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots, and the Jets as well. It’s been a fun process. I saw some incredible facilities and met some incredible coaches.”
Morton spent five years at Texas Tech and started 36 games, finishing his career with a 62.8 percent completion rate, 71 touchdowns and 28 interceptions.
College football players change positions often, but few start off as wide receivers and end up as edge rushers, and even fewer show the promise that Florida edge rusher George Gumbs has shown.
Gumbs went from a walk-on wide receiver at Northern Illinois, to a scholarship tight end, to a defensive end, then transferred to Florida and held his own against elite competition in the SEC.
Injuries cut Gumbs’ final season at Florida short, but he’s still generating some draft buzz after his 41-inch vertical was the second-best of all-time for a defensive lineman at the Combine. New England is among the teams showing interest; Mike Reiss of ESPN reports that Gumbs will be one of the Patriots’ 30 pre-draft visitors.
Gumbs doesn’t project as a high pick, but he has the kind of talent, and room to continue growing, that will make some team take a flier on him, in the hopes that an athlete of his caliber can contribute on special teams right now, and eventually develop into a top-notch pass rusher.
