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 staff makes their picks for their least favorite draft pick from this year. To keep ourselves accountable, you can check out our discussion of this topic from the 2025 Lions draft here.
Previously in this series:
What was your least favorite pick from the Lions’ 2026 NFL Draft?
Erik Schlitt: Tyre West
I hate this category in general, but especially this year, as I don’t think any of the Lions’ picks were necessarily “bad.” I reluctantly went with West because I think his role will be limited, and there were a few other defensive tackles on the board that I liked better during the scouting process.
Ryan Mathews: Jimmy Rolder
Linebacker was a spot the Lions could have stood to improve heading into the draft, but even after drafting Rolder, nothing about that sentiment has changed. He’ll be a special teams contributor this season, and he’ll have every chance to prove himself in training camp, but there’s notable projection required to see him develop into a starting weakside linebacker.
Brandon Knapp: Kendrick Law
The receiver position was not something I expected the Lions to add to in the draft overall. Law is going to be a special teams player from the looks of it, as he can play gunner and kick returner. What I don’t like is that the team doesn’t have any tight ends under contract in 2027, so the need at that position is more dire in my opinion, and the team signed Greg Dortch in free agency to help with punt returns, so I figured he would be the kick returner as well.
Jeremy Reisman: Jimmy Rolder
I’ve already talked about my skepticism with Rolder. I’ll fully admit I expect him to be a good and immediate special teams contributor—which is fine value for a fourth-round pick—but I thought there were players available with more potential for a defensive role to help replace Alex Anzalone. I don’t hate the pick, I’m just not as bullish on Rolder’s upside as some are.
John Whiticar: Derrick Moore
As a whole, I liked this draft class, so my choice is between the two trade-ups: Derrick Moore and Kendrick Law. I don’t necessarily agree with the decision to trade up for Law, but his potential as WR4 and an all-phase special teamer, as well as the low overall cost to trade up, makes the pick justifiable. The trade up for Moore was a bit more costly, sacrificing picks 50 and 128 to move up to 44. While I had advocated for a defensive end, Moore was not my favorite prospect at that time. With Zion Young and Gabe Jacas still on the board, Detroit likely could have gotten any equally promising edge prospect without the trade up—or, alternatively, a player like Avieon Terrell, D’Angelo Ponds, Jake Golday, CJ Allen, or Emmanuel McNeil-Warren.
