NFC North · 2027 Draft Class
Detroit Lions 2027 NFL Draft Needs and Projected Picks
What the Lions are working with in the 2027 draft: the needs we have researched for this cycle, the capital the projected order gives them, and which prospects are projected into their range.
Where the Lions stand
The 2027 draft has not been held, so there are no picks to report and nothing here is a result. This page is the pre-draft picture: what this roster is missing, what the projected order hands them, and who is likely to be there when they are on the clock.
As the projected order stands, the Lions hold 8 selections in 2027: 1 on Day 1, 2 across Day 2 and 5 on Day 3, with 3 inside the top 100. 1 of those slots is one they acquired rather than earned, which is capital the standings alone would not have given them.
Projected draft capital
| Round | Overall | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | Own pick |
| 2 | 56 | Own pick |
| 3 | 88 | Own pick |
| 4 | 120 | Own pick |
| 5 | 152 | Own pick |
| 6 | 184 | Own pick |
| 7 | 214 | via Texans |
| 7 | 216 | Own pick |
Projected order. The 2027 draft order is set by the 2026 regular season and is not known until January.
Roster needs entering the 2027 cycle
Our needs assessment for the Lions, ordered by priority. These are not decorative: the number beside each one is the multiplier the simulator applies to a prospect at that position when this team is on the clock, so a interior offensive line prospect is genuinely harder for this team to pass on than his board rank alone implies.
Team needs were researched for this class from current rosters. They predate free agency and will be revised after March 2027.
Position rankings for their top needs: Interior Offensive Line, Cornerback, Defensive Tackle.
Who is projected into their range
Prospects currently projected inside the 15 picks either side of No. 24, where the Lions pick first. Restricted to positions on their needs list, ordered by how heavily that need is weighted, and capped at 3 per position so one need does not fill the table.
| Board rank | Prospect | Pos | School | Projected range | Need |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Carter Smith | IOL | Indiana | 8-38 | need 1 |
| 28 | Austin Siereveld | IOL | Ohio State | 23-43 | need 1 |
| 39 | Kade Pieper | IOL | Iowa | 29-53 | need 1 |
| 17 | Ellis Robinson IV | CB | Georgia | 10-19 | need 2 |
| 26 | Zabien Brown | CB | Alabama | 13-29 | need 2 |
| 18 | Kelley Jones | CB | Mississippi State | 14-34 | need 2 |
| 16 | David Stone | DT | Oklahoma | 8-18 | need 3 |
| 32 | A'Mauri Washington | DT | Oregon | 11-35 | need 3 |
Rows are selected on the consensus projection. The range beside each one is where public mocks disagree: a prospect listed 20-45 is one whose projections genuinely span that much, and a wide range on a lightly-covered player reflects thin coverage rather than real volatility. Ranges are taken from published mock drafts where we have them and modelled from board position where we do not.
How this front office drafts
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.
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.
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.
What this page is not
It is not a mock draft, and it is not a prediction of what the Lions will do. Two of its three inputs will change before the draft is held: the order is set by a season that has not been played, and the needs list predates free agency, which reliably removes two or three items from every team's list and occasionally adds one. The board itself will move most of all.
We publish it anyway because the order-independent part is real and useful now. A front office's needs, its draft capital and the shape of the class it is drafting from are knowable months before the order is, and they are what actually drive a mock draft. Known gaps in the 2027 data: New York Jets general manager is unconfirmed.
More on the Lions
The Detroit Lions franchise hub carries the current front office and every draft class we cover. The 2027 consensus big board is the full board these projections sit against.
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