Mock Draft: Lions Keep Building the Trenches
One day of the 2026 NFL Draft is done, and here we are again. The Lions are about to do what they do best: build this thing from the ground up, the Detroit way.
According to this mock draft breakdown, the Lions are going trenches, trenches, and more trenches over the next two days of the 2026 NFL Draft. And honestly? Good.
We’ve watched this front office operate long enough to know they understand something fundamental about football that eluded us for decades: you win in the trenches or you don’t win at all. No more skill position players drafted in the first round while our lines get pushed around like turnstiles.
The mock has Detroit landing what could be one of the biggest steals of the draft in the second round. Now, we’ve heard that song before, haven’t we? But this regime has earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to identifying talent that other teams miss.
Day two of the draft has become Brad Holmes’ playground. This is where he’s found gems that other front offices passed on, the kind of players who show up ready to work in Allen Park and don’t need three years to figure out what professional football looks like.
The focus on the trenches makes perfect sense for where this team is right now. You can have all the flashy skill players you want, but if your offensive line can’t protect and your defensive line can’t get home, you’re just putting lipstick on a pig.
We’ll see how day two actually plays out, but if the Lions keep stacking the trenches with quality players, this foundation they’re building gets that much stronger. And after watching this franchise try to build from the outside in for way too long, watching them do it the right way never gets old.
Think the Lions are making the right call focusing on the trenches again, or should they be chasing more playmakers? Let me know what you’re hoping to see on day two.
