The Lions took a step backward in 2025, and as they build their roster for 2026, they’re getting back to grit.
That’s the word from Lions General Manager Brad Holmes, who said finding tough, competitive, physical players was the priority in the draft.
“You’re just looking for very gritty football players,” Holmes said. “You have to have a level of grit to you and that was a huge emphasis for both free agency and the draft process.”
Asked another question about what he looked for in this year’s draft, Holmes returned to the theme of grit, which has been a point of emphasis for himself and Lions head coach Dan Campbell.
“Just finding gritty football players,” Holmes said. “I’m not saying we forgot about our identity, but just making sure that was at the top of mind. That’s why every single player we took, when we’re writing notes we write, ‘This guy’s a football player.’ . . . I’ve said that about every one of our guys. Me and Dan are seeing it the same way, they’re football players that fit us.”
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Quarterback Luke Altmyer didn’t get drafted this weekend, but he has found a spot in the NFL.
According to multiple reports, Altmyer has agreed to terms with the Lions.
Altmyer spent two seasons at Ole Miss before transferring to Illinois. He was a three-year starter at Illinois and wrapped up his college career as the school’s all-time completion percentage leader. He completed 67.4 percent of his passes for 3,007 yards, 22 touchdowns and five interceptions during the 2025 season.
Jared Goff remains the starter in Detroit and the Lions brought Teddy Bridgewater back in free agency to serve as their No. 2 quarterback.
The Lions have moved up six positions in the second round to select a player who might be familiar to plenty of their fans.
With the No. 44 overall pick, Detroit has selected Michigan defensive end Derrick Moore.
Moore played 53 games for the Wolverines with 24 starts over the last two seasons. He was a first-team All-Big Ten honoree in 2025, finishing the season with 30 total tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, two forced fumbles, and three passes defended.
He tallied 24.5 tackles for loss and 21 sacks in his collegiate career.
Now he will be able to play opposite fellow Wolverine, Aidan Hutchinson, at the highest level.
Detroit sent No. 50 and No. 128 to the Jets in exchange for the No. 44 overall pick.
When Lions General Manager Brad Holmes made the call to draft Clemson offensive tackle Blake Miller during the first round, it was the culmination of a years-long process of scouting him.
Holmes said after the first round that the Lions have been eyeing Miller for years, saw continued growth in him during his college career and think he’ll keep getting better as a pro.
“He probably has no idea, but we’ve been watching Blake for about three years now and he has gotten better every single year, and that’s what makes you really excited about a player like that who has a high floor but has gotten better every year,” Holmes said. “Coming to this level with our offensive line coach and our ecosystem, I don’t see any reason he won’t continue to get better.”
Miller was a starter at Clemson from 2022 to 2025 and Holmes said that a couple years ago, while watching Miller’s sophomore season, he knew the Lions were going to want him.
“In ’24, watching his ’23 tape,” Holmes said. “The first thing I saw was his urgency and athleticism, that was the first thing that caught my eye. . . . I just wrote down, ‘This kid’s a football player’ and I was definitely hot on the guy.”
Holmes said he would have been willing to trade up to get Miller, but when the Rams took quarterback Ty Simpson 13th overall, Holmes said he thought the first round was playing out in a way that Miller would be there for the Lions at No. 17.
“We definitely explored strongly about trading up, and seeing how it started to fall, probably after L.A. took the quarterback, I felt pretty good that we might be able to just get Blake,” Holmes said. “Right about 14, I felt pretty good that we would be able to keep our assets and still get Blake.”
The first round worked out for the Lions, and if all goes according to plan, Miller will be their starting right tackle in Week One.
The Lions parted ways with longtime starting left tackle Taylor Decker and they moved to refresh their offensive line with the 17th overall pick on Thursday night.
They selected former Clemson tackle Blake Miller with that pick. Miller is the fifth offensive lineman to come off the board so far.
Miller was a four-year starter at right tackle while in school and will likely remain on that side with Penei Sewell flipping to the left to replace Decker. The Lions signed Larry Borom as a free agent, so he may not be jumping right into the first team but the coming weeks will bring a better idea about where Miller will begin his NFL career.
The Lions’ next pick is No. 50 and they have eight more picks in total.
After the Chiefs drafted running back Isiah Pacheco in 2022, they won two straight Super Bowls, and made it to a third. Pacheco wants a lot more than that.
Pacheco said in a video published by the Lions that he signed with Detroit thinking it’s a place where he can get to a Super Bowl again.
“I went to three Super Bowls but I’m unsatisfied,” Pacheco said. “I’m hungry and I’m dying to get back in that environment, especially with this crew here that’s never done it. I want to set history. We’re going to challenge each other, we’re going to compete. Every day we’re going to get better.”
Pacheco signed a relatively low-paying one-year, $1.81 million contract to back up Jahmyr Gibbs in Detroit. If Pacheco can be a significant contributor on a Super Bowl team, he can make himself a lot of money next year.
The Lions will open their offseason program on Monday with a different looking offense from the one that quarterback Jared Goff piloted in Week 18 of the 2025 season.
Drew Petzing is now the offensive coordinator and the team has parted ways with two of their starting offensive linemen. Penei Sewell is expected to move to left tackle to replace Taylor Decker and Cade Mays was signed as the likely starter at center. Larry Borom also joined the team as a free agent and is in line start at right tackle.
Those are significant changes, but Goff said this weekend that he’s not concerned about how the pieces are going to fit together.
“They’ll be just fine,” Goff said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “I’m excited to see Penei step into even more of a role in that room being the longest-tenured guy now.”
The Lions currently have nine picks in this year’s draft and they could use one or more of them to further reshape a line that will be charged with giving Goff time to make the new offense reach its full potential.
The NFL has announced the names of the current and former players that will take part in next week’s draft by announcing second-round picks.
The list includes players associated with all 32 teams, including Cardinals running back James Conner. Conner has strong ties to the Pittsburgh area after playing for the Steelers and attending Pitt, which likely made him an easy choice as the Cardinals’ representative.
Former Bears tackle Jimbo Covert, former Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett, former Chiefs defensive lineman Bill Maas, current Vikings tackle Brian O’Neill, former Jets running back Curtis Martin, and former 49ers punter Andy Lee are other Pitt alums who are set to take part.
The hometown team will be represented by four players. Former Steelers Jerome Bettis and John Stallworth will be joined by Joey Porter Sr. and Jr. next Friday.
The other players taking part and their team affiliations appear below:
Falcons: Michael Turner
Ravens: Mark Ingram
Bills: Shane Conlan
Panthers: Jake Delhomme
Bengals: Ken Anderson
Browns: Phil Dawson
Cowboys: Drew Pearson
Broncos: T.J. Ward
Lions: Calvin Johnson
Packers: John Kuhn
Texans: Billy Miller
Colts: Pat McAfee
Jaguars: Paul Posluszny
Raiders: Matt Millen
Chargers: Shawne Merriman
Rams: Tavon Austin
Dolphins: Dwight Stephenson
Patriots: Deion Branch
Saints: Marques Colston
Giants: Osi Umenyiora
Eagles: Brian Westbrook
Seahawks: Cliff Avril
Buccaneers: Ronde Barber
Titans: Jeffery Simmons
Commanders: Mark Rypien
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.
The Lions parted ways with longtime left tackle Taylor Decker this offseason and that’s led many to suggest that the position will be one they address in the draft, but General Manager Brad Holmes did his best on Monday to downplay any urgency.
Holmes signed Larry Borom as a free agent and he could start at right tackle with Penei Sewell moving over to Decker’s former spot on the line. Holmes noted Borom’s experience and placed him in a group with edge rusher D.J. Wonnum of new additions who make it less necessary for the Lions to force picks at either spot.
“You’re talking about guys that have been starters in the NFL,” Holmes said, via Benjamin Raven of MLive.com. “But just kind of look at where the trend is going, where the arrow is going the last time, they’re still young. But we feel good about both of them, so we don’t feel like it’s, you know, we have to supplement them if it doesn’t work out.”
Offensive tackle and edge rusher are significant enough spots on the roster that the Lions would likely consider addressing them even without the current makeup of both depth charts, but Holmes didn’t paint himself into any corners Monday.
