The Detroit Lions spent their first two picks in the 2026 NFL Draft building up the offensive and defensive line, then went back to the trenches near the end of Day 3, selecting Texas Tech defensive lineman Skyler Gill-Howard in the sixth round. Gill-Howard was the highest-ranked defensive lineman in this year’s Grit Index (9.42), finishing as the 8th-highest player overall.
Let’s take a look at Gill-Howard’s background and traits and discuss how his addition will impact the Lions roster in 2026 and beyond.
Round 6, Pick 205: Skyler Gill-Howard
The oldest of 10 children, Gill-Howard was a running back and linebacker in high school, while also joining the wrestling team to help his recruitment (he was JV State Champion as a sophomore, and finished as the runner-up in the championship match as a junior and senior). Unfortunately, Gill-Howard’s football recruitment took a tumble during COVID, when his senior season was delayed, leading him to walk on at Division II Upper Iowa University.
After just one season and longing for a better opportunity, Gill-Howard entered the transfer portal:
“I entered the portal in 2021 after one season at Upper Iowa. Didn’t get any offers in the first wave. I got the job at FedEx, started coaching track at my old high school, and I was just going with the flow. I didn’t get any offers in the first wave; in the second wave, I didn’t get the NIU (Northern Illinois) offer until the last day. I almost threw in the towel playing football completely […], but I just knew how I was meant for more and meant for this moment.”
While Gill-Howard finally landed at a Division I school, he didn’t receive a scholarship and continued to work at FedEx (for 2 more years) while also attending classes and football practices/activities. On top of the extra work and schedule changes, NIU also asked Gill-Howard to put on weight and switch positions, transitioning from a 230-pound linebacker to a 280-pound defensive lineman in a matter of four months.
Despite only starting his career as a defensive lineman in 2022, Gill-Howard rapidly ascended up the depth chart, and by 2024, he had earned his scholarship and was named team captain.
Heading into his redshirt senior season, Gill-Howard once again felt he needed to gamble on himself to secure a better future and entered the transfer portal again. This time, over 25 teams battled to get him to attend their school, and while returning home to Wisconsin was tempting, he ended up at Texas Tech, where he became the first member of his family to earn a college degree.
Fit with the Lions
At 6-foot-1, 280 pounds with just four years of experience playing on the defensive line, Gill-Howard still has room to grow, but has maintained his linebacker twitch despite putting on extra weight. His first step allows him to shoot gaps, and his wrestling background shows up in his hand usage and physicality. As an undersized player, Gill-Howard has honed his technique, and his grinder mentality keeps him aggressive and in pursuit every play.
The next step in his development will be to add more power elements to his game and learn to stay under control, but he has natural athleticism and aggressiveness you can’t teach, giving him a large developmental ceiling—or an unlimited ceiling, according to Gill-Howard:
“I feel like I am a great player with no ceiling, meaning that I can improve each and every year in whatever aspect that I need to. I think that I can go out there and make an impact immediately or do what the team needs me to do, it doesn’t matter, but there’s still a long way to go. But I feel like as I’ve been playing for about four, three years now, I came a long way as a D-lineman.”
Lions general manager Brad Holmes, after selecting Gill-Howard:
“[Gill-Howard has] showed pretty consistent tape in terms of his motor. He’s 100 miles per hour. He’s not the biggest guy, but he’s quick, he’s relentless, he’s instinctive, and he can win quick.”
Quote from Dane Brugler’s The Beast:
“Overall, Gill-Howard competes with the right mindset and energy, which helps him compensate for any shortcomings. He will need the right fit to find a permanent spot but projects as a rotational three-technique.”
Excerpt from Lance Zierlein’s draft profile of Gill-Howard:
“Gill-Howard is an undersized one-gapper using suddenness and leverage to elude the clenches of bigger players. He plays with a non-stop motor and palpable sense of urgency, creating wins off the snap against the run and pass. He gives blockers no reps off. His secondary effort and block counters keeps him in the play longer.”
Roster impact
The Lions appeared to make a concerted effort to improve their pass rush this offseason, and the addition of Gill-Howard could help them achieve this goal.
While Alim McNeill and Tyleik Williams have established themselves as starters, the depth chart behind them is undecided. Levi Onwuzurike would likely be the next man up, but it’s unclear how quickly he will be able to return to form after a year off for knee surgery. Mekhi Wingo played just 59 defensive snaps in 2025, while Chris Smith and Myles Adams returned to Detroit after not finding the field at all last season.
Gill-Howard will likely be in direct competition with the Wingo-Smith-Adams trio for a DT4 role, but based on the returners usage last season, this looks very much like an open competition. For now, I would tentatively slot Gill-Howard behind Wingo on the depth chart, but that’s written in pencil and could change quickly in training camp.
