A Detroit Lions blog by Lions fans, for Lions fans.
It’s one thing to know the Detroit Lions are a gritty team, but it’s a whole other to experience it up close and personal. Third-year cornerback Terrion Arnold relived his first Lions training camp in 2024 in an interview on “NFL Spotlight with Ari Meirov.” He said the major thing that jumped out at him—just […]
The NFL developed the compensatory pick system as a way to balance free agency for teams who can’t afford to retain their talented players. In short, the NFL provides extra resources to teams who lose more talent in free agency than they add by giving them extra draft capital in the following year’s draft. The […]
With DJ Reader agreeing to terms with the New York Giants this week, the Detroit Lions’ have now seen 11 of their own free agents sign elsewhere. You can see the full list of the Lions’ free agency losses and gains here with our 2026 Detroit Lions offseason tracker. For a team that really values […]
The 2026 Detroit Lions offseason figures to be a busy one. The team is going through a serious transition on the offensive line; they’ve already agreed to trade away a key skill position player, and with a bunch of pending free agents on the defensive side of the ball, the 2026 roster could look significantly […]
The Detroit Lions’ 2025 season was the first time in 15 years that an undrafted rookie didn’t make the team’s initial 53 50-man roster. Even players who appeared to have strong training camps—like safety Ian Kennelly—didn’t make the team or the practice squad. That said, a couple of those players have hung around a year […]
Former Detroit Lions nose tackle DJ Reader has reportedly agreed to terms to join the New York Giants. Per Ian Rapoport, it’s a two-year, $12.5 million deal for Reader, as the 31-year-old defensive lineman becomes the latest to leave the Lions this offseason via free agency. Reader had spent the last two years in Detroit, […]
The Detroit Lions acquired seven new players in the 2026 NFL Draft, adding a new influx of young, gritty players to the roster. Some players will immediately challenge for starting roles, while others will compete for situational/reserve roles or roster spots in general, but each of them fits the Lions organization in their own way. […]
Performance in the NFL Draft is not always defined by the players a team picks. Sometimes it’s defined by the player they passed up on. Not to bring up a painful example, but Eric Ebron turned out to be an okay player for the Detroit Lions. But when the next three players drafted after Ebron […]
It’s hard to grade individual moves in an NFL offseason without seeing the larger picture. How the Detroit Lions handled offensive tackle this offseason is the perfect example. Releasing Taylor Decker, on its own, seemed like the Lions were potentially going to get worse at tackle. The finances of the decision made sense, but for […]
With the Detroit Lions’ 2026 roster mostly in place following free agency and the NFL Draft, it’s now time to take inventory on their entire personnel. In the past, this team has been defined by their players on offense. They’ve finished top-five in scoring in four consecutive seasons. Typically, that’s been led by strong play […]
The 2026 NFL schedule release is expected sometime in May, but we already know the 17 opponents for the Detroit Lions. Based on a repeating formula, the Lions’ nine home opponents and eight road opponents have already been determined. And based on that, strength of schedule can be calculated before the official schedule even drops. […]
There’s no such thing as “winning” the NFL Draft, but the closest a team can come to it is maximizing the value in each of their picks. Obviously, that simply means drafting the best players available to you, but every draft that challenge is easier for some teams than others. The more and earlier your […]
As Jeremy outlined in his post-2026 NFL Draft Detroit Lions winners and losers article, there are several players on the roster who came out of this draft in a better spot. But a few more stood out—players whose job security feels more stable or whose roles are now better positioned for success based on the […]
It is safe to say that after the letdown that was 2025, the Detroit Lions needed to hit reset in 2026. They did not require a major overhaul, but there was a clear need to add affordable talent. With limited capital in terms of salary and draft picks, it was going to be a difficult […]
With no Detroit Lions rookie minicamp this year, it may be a while before we’re formally introduced to what the 2026 NFL Draft class can do on the field. While the group of seven picks may participate in organized team activities (OTAs) at the end of this month, there will be a lot of other […]
The Detroit Lions traded up from pick 50 to pick 44 in the 2026 NFL Draft and selected edge defender from the University of Michigan, Derrick Moore. They gave up the latter of their two fourth round picks (pick 128) in order to make the deal with the New York Jets happen. Moore is a […]
Over the course of his Detroit Lions tenure, general manager Brad Holmes has done a pretty good job on the final day of the NFL Draft. Through five drafts, he’s found the following talents in Round 4 or later: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Derrick Barnes, Malcolm Rodriguez, James Houston, Chase Lucas, Sione Vaki, Christian Mahogany, and […]
No NFL Draft is perfect, and Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes is not immune to the occasional miss. And while we here at Pride of Detroit are far from professional scouts, there are certainly times in which our outlook doesn’t align with that of Holmes. So in today’s 2026 NFL Draft roundtable discussion, our […]
The Detroit Lions’ 2026 NFL Draft has come and gone, and while there was certainly a level of appreciation for the draft class, the overall sentiment seems to be more of a shoulder shrug. Good on the Lions for addressing their needs and getting players that fit them, but there was nothing particularly shocking or […]
On Friday night, the Detroit Pistons made history. Facing elimination in Game 6 of the opening round of the 2025-26 NBA Playoffs, the Pistons found themselves down 24 points in the second half. But then their defense locked in, Cade Cunningham took over, and the Pistons came all the way back to force a Game […]
As Detroit Lions fans continue to get to know the newest athletes to don the Honolulu bBlue, some analysts are already identifying potential standout rookies. In a recent article, NFL.com’s Gennaro Filice named Keith Abney II a sleeper for Detroit. The Arizona State cornerback was drafted in the fifth round this year at pick No. […]
The Detroit Lions’ 2026 NFL Draft—like any year—is bound to have a profound impact on the overall roster. Some players will see their stock rise with the additions. Others may now have a tougher route to the roster or a starting job. Here are six winners and three losers when it comes to players who […]
Now that the 2026 NFL Draft is in the rearview mirror, it’s time to look ahead to the next big item of the NFL offseason—the 2026 schedule release. Back in the day, prior to social media being the force that it is now, the NFL’s schedule release format was fairly low key. There were no […]
One of the more interesting parts of the post-NFL Draft process is hearing what anonymous NFL insiders are saying about each pick. The media landscape has caught onto the fact that fans absolutely love hearing praise about their team from employees inside the league. So ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler tapped into his resources and penned an […]
With the Detroit Lions’ 2026 draft now nearly a full week in the rear-view mirror, it’s time for the Pride of Detroit staff to take inventory of what transpired. We’ve had time to read the scouting reports, listen to what Lions general manager Brad Holmes had to say about each pick, and do our own […]