The Detroit Lions have made a habit of finding rookies who matter right away. Under general manager Brad Holmes, that has often meant first-rounders stepping in fast, but the team has also squeezed real production out of later picks.
Amon-Ra St. Brown, Kerby Joseph, Sam LaPorta, Brian Branch and Tate Ratledge all arrived as rookies and ended up becoming important pieces before their first seasons were over.
That raises the obvious question for this year’s class: how many of these rookies will be starting by the end of 2026?
My answer: two, Blake Miller and Keith Abney.
Miller feels like the cleanest bet on the board. As the first-round pick, he is the clear favorite to open at right tackle, possibly as soon as Week 1.
Larry Borom is still in the mix, though, and nothing is being handed out. If Borom has the better camp and preseason, he could absolutely take the job.
The spot has to be earned.
Abney is the other name because the path is there. He was the fourth Lion taken, but he brings cornerback versatility and can work both inside and outside.
That gives him a real shot to climb into a starting role. With Terrion Arnold released, the corners ahead of him are D.J.
Reed, Rock Ya-Sin, Ennis Rakestraw and Roger McCreary. Reed starts if he is healthy.
After that, the picture gets much murkier.
Ya-Sin held up well in relief last season, but he has not been a full-time starter since 2022. Expecting him to play at his best for an entire season may be asking a lot from a 30-year-old.
Rakestraw has youth on his side, but the injuries have piled up. He has dealt with two significant injuries in his first two seasons and has basically no defensive experience to lean on. The former second-round pick has the talent to win a job, but he has not done enough yet to deserve the benefit of the doubt.
McCreary looks like the obvious nickel answer, but the contract says something too. The Lions signed him to a one-year deal worth just $1.2 million.
That looked like a bargain, but it also suggests the team may not be treating him like a locked-in starter. Borom, by comparison, got a one-year, $5 million deal as tackle insurance.
So Abney has plenty of competition, but he also has a real opening.
The rest of the class has a tougher road. Skyler Gill-Howard and Tyre West are battling just to make the roster, much less crack a starting lineup.
Of the players selected before Abney, Derrick Moore has the best chance to start by season’s end, but even that comes with a caveat. The Lions may not have the kind of defense where “starter” is always easy to define.
A rotation along the defensive line could leave Moore playing meaningful snaps without ever clearly beating out someone like DJ Wonnum for a starting label.
Jimmy Rolder faces an even steeper climb. He would first have to pass Malcolm Rodriguez as the third linebacker, and then prove he deserves to be on the field in that role at all.
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