General manager Brad Holmes was a busy man during last month’s NFL Draft as he worked to take the necessary steps to ensure the Detroit Lions could return to a contending status sooner rather than later.
In the first place, he remained pat in the opening round of the Draft despite multiple rumors, selecting Clemson offensive tackle Blake Miller with the 17th overall selection.
Holmes swapped the 50th and 128th overall selections to the New York Jets in exchange for the 44th overall selection, and used it to take a notable local product in edge rusher Derrick Moore of the Michigan Wolverines. Later on, Holmes selected cornerback Keith Abney II in the fifth round (157th overall).
Additional Draft selections for the Lions included 4th-round pick Jimmy Rolder, 5th-round pick Kendrick Law, and 7th-round pick Tyre West
And now, Holmes has secured the short-term futures of all but one of the rookies that they welcomed into the fold in the Draft.
The Detroit Lions Have Signed Several Of Their 2026 NFL Draft Picks
Holmes has been busy of late, signing multiple players that he selected for the Lions in the 2026 NFL Draft.
As reported by NFL Insider Aaron Wilson, the following players have all received new contracts from the Lions:
- “Lions sign second-round pick Derrrick Moore to a four-year, $11.426 million deal that includes 100 percent fully guaranteed money with a $4.038 million signing bonus, per a league source.”
- “Lions sign fourth-round pick Jimmy Rolder to four-year, $5.532 million deal that includes $1.152 million signing bonus.”
- “Lions sign fifth-round pick Keith Abney to four-year, $4.878 million deal that includes $498,900 signing bonus.”
- “Lions sign fifth-round pick Kendrick Law to four-year, $4.83 million deal that includes $450,132 signing bonus.”
- “Lions sign sixth-round pick Skyler Gill-Howard to four-year $4.643 million deal that includes $263,292 signing bonus.”
- “Lions sign seventh-round pick Tyre West to four-year, $4.547 million deal that includes $167,292 signing bonus.”
This means that out of the seven players that the Lions selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, only first-round pick Blake Miller has yet to affix his signature to the dotted line.
The Lions Have Signed Six Of The Seven Players They Selected In The 2026 NFL Draft
After missing the postseason for the first time since 2023, Holmes admitted that there was more intensity on his part in the recently-completed NFL Draft.
When you miss the playoffs, that might be the kick in the rear that you need at times,” Holmes said. “…Not saying that I don’t have fire in other drafts, but it was just a little bit more — the urgency just needed to be pushed up on everything. It was just a little bit more fire to the intensity on this one.”
Additionally, the Lions are the only team in the NFL this year to not run a rookie mini-camp.
“I told you guys at the end of the season, me and (Lions Head Coach) Dan (Campbell) were going to take a long, hard look at everything single thing, from top to bottom, and that’s what we did,” Holmes said of the decision to not hold a minicamp. “Those kind of involvements or efficiencies, those came about from that. We’re not doing things just to do it, just because you feel like you have to do it. You can’t be scared when you want to try something new that you think is going to be better for the football team, and so that’s what we did and that’s why some things are, from a calendar standpoint, look like they’re removed.”
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