NFC North

Detroit Lions NFL Draft Profile

How the Lions draft: the front office running the board, the needs shaping the next class, and every draft class we cover.

Compiled by the NFL Mock Draft Simulator research desk · Front office: Brad Holmes (GM), Dan Campbell (HC)

Front office and philosophy

General manager: Brad Holmes  ·  Head coach: Dan Campbell

Toughness, physicality, and relentless competition. Campbell demands physically dominant players who thrive in the trenches. Holmes sources high-character, high-production players who fit the culture. Premium on OT and EDGE, with an emphasis on a dominant run game.

Brad Holmes came from the Rams and has an excellent track record drafting high-value players in the middle rounds. Dan Campbell's culture demands menacing, physical players who embrace contact. The Lions have drafted OT early in multiple consecutive drafts and will continue prioritizing the trenches. Running back is an unusually high priority given their power-running identity.

These tendencies are encoded directly into the simulator: when you run a mock and the Lions are on the clock, the engine applies this regime's positional biases and its balance between best-player-available and need-based drafting. See how the simulator works for the full methodology.

Inside the simulator, this regime leans toward the best player available, at roughly 60 to 40 against need, and is more likely to trade back and collect picks than to move up (30 against 20). Its clearest positional preferences are offensive tackle, edge rusher, running back, which the engine applies on top of the needs list above.

Current draft needs

Our needs assessment for the Lions entering the 2027 draft cycle, ordered by priority. These weightings are what the simulator uses when it evaluates this team's board.

Team needs were researched for this class from current rosters. They predate free agency and will be revised after March 2027.

A needs list is a judgement, not a fact, so it is worth saying how this one is built. We read the current depth chart rather than last season's production: a position counts as a need when the projected starter is a stopgap, is out of contract, or is the reason a unit underperformed, and it stops counting when the roster has an answer even if that answer is unspectacular. Contract structure matters as much as talent, which is why a position can appear here a full year before it looks like a problem on the field.

The 2027 class

The 2027 draft has not been held. On the projected order the Lions hold 8 picks, opening at No. 24. 1 came from other teams. The needs shaping that class are interior offensive line, cornerback, defensive tackle.

The full 2027 Detroit Lions outlook breaks down every projected pick, the weighting behind each need, and which prospects are currently projected into the range where they pick.

Draft classes

Division rivals

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