We’ve finally reached the starters when it comes to our countdown of every player on the 2026 Detroit Lions roster. A good way to see if the Lions improved or got worse is to compare the following 10 players to the players we ranked from 20-11 in our 2025 edition of these rankings.
This range of 10 players includes three newcomers, six draft picks, and six linemen.
Here are the players we ranked from 20 to 11.
Previously:
- Players ranked 90-81
- Players ranked 80-71
- Players ranked 70-61
- Players ranked 60-51
- Players ranked 50-41
- Players ranked 40-31
- Players ranked 30-21
20. CB Rock Ya-Sin (Highest: 19 Lowest: 22)
Ya-Sin has one of the biggest jumps on this year’s list.
While some of that is certainly due to him way outperforming expectations last year, I think he likely would’ve been somewhat lower on the list if Terrion Arnold was still on the team. Instead, Ya-Sin is now facing a starting role on the defense, and our staff clearly believes he’s capable of assuming that job.
19. WR Isaac TeSlaa (Highest 17; Lowest: 25)
While the Lions have been very careful not to hype up their players too early, second-year receiver Isaac TeSlaa has a fair amount of buzz heading into 2026.
“I mean, he is just consistent, and where we expected him to be at this point this time for year two is exactly where we want him, and I would say probably even a little bit more,” Dan Campbell said this spring. “You are impressed. He feels like a veteran right now.”
He still needs to prove he can live up to that hype, but it’s safe to say expectations are relatively high for Detroit’s WR3.
18. EDGE DJ Wonnum (Highest: 17; Lowest: 26)
Last year’s ranking: N/A
Wonnum comes to Detroit with 30.0 career sacks in 86 games—a welcome, productive career to the Lions’ defensive end room. But Wonnum will have to share time with rookie Derrick Moore opposite Aidan Hutchinson, so it’s unclear how much opportunity he’ll have to match a career high 8.0 sacks.
17. iOL Christian Mahogany (Highest: 16; Lowest: 25)
Mahogany actually climbs this year’s rankings despite a frustrating 2025 season. Injuries and uneven play plagued his second year, but there is certainly some hope the 2024 draft pick can rebound with a healthier season and a better fit under new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing.
16. C Cade Mays (Highest: 13; Lowest: 19)
Last year’s ranking: N/A
Detroit’s only true aggressive free agency move came at center, where they handed Cade Mays a three-year, $25 million contract. Mays’ career at center is just 1.5 years deep, and he’s still just 27 years old. So Detroit is hoping Mays is just starting to tap into his potential, and if he does, Detroit will have a budget-friendly pivot for the next few years.
15. OT Blake Miller (Highest: 12; Lowest: 17)
Last year’s ranking: N/A
The third consecutive projected starting offensive lineman on our rankings, Blake Miller certainly has the highest expectations in the long term. But how much can we expect from the Lions’ first-round pick in his rookie season? It certainly looks like he’ll win the starting right tackle job over Larry Borom, but rookies often take a while to find their footing.
14. DT Tyleik Williams (Highest: 11; Lowest: 19)
We go from this year’s first-round pick to last year’s. Tyleik Williams has high, high expectations for 2026 after Detroit opted to move on from DJ Reader and Roy Lopez. Paired with a healthy Alim McNeill, the expectation is for Williams to build on his strong run defending from 2025, but also expand to a bit of a pass-rushing role.
13. G Tate Ratledge (Highest: 9; Lowest: 14)
With the way Ratledge finished his rookie season, there’s plenty of warranted optimism that Detroit’s starting right guard can make the jump to a good/great/outstanding player. He won’t have the benefit of Penei Sewell to his right, and he’ll be dealing with a new center, too, but Ratledge showed enough growth last year to be confident he’ll hold his own in 2026.
12. CB D.J. Reed (Highest: 11; Lowest: 15)
Reed was last year’s crown of free agency, but a hamstring injury cost him a month, and he didn’t look like the same player when he returned. He now believes he’s fully back with his explosion intact. If true, Detroit may have themselves a legit No. 1 cornerback, but he still needs to go out there and prove it.
11. S Kerby Joseph (Highest: 8; Lowest: 16)
I don’t think there’s any doubt that Kerby Joseph is a top-10 player on the Lions when healthy. Unfortunately, the knee injury that cost him most of 2025 is still threatening his football career, and that likely dropped him out of this year’s top-10. Still, if he can somehow navigate the injury this year, here’s an important reminder: no one in the NFL has more interceptions since 2022 than Kerby Joseph (20).
