Grading Lions’ Round 5 pick WR Kendrick Law

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - NOVEMBER 29: Kendrick Law #1 of the Kentucky Wildcats runs on a kick return in the first half against the Louisville Cardinals at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium on November 29, 2025 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Caleb Bowlin/Getty Images) | Getty Images In the first surprise of the 2026 NFL Draft for the Detroit Lions, the team traded up in the fifth round and took wide receiver Kendrick Law from Kentucky. The Lions didn’t give up much, trading away one of their sixth-round picks (213) to move up from 181 to 168.

This is the first time of the draft where the Lions did an audible and took something that nobody expected. The focus so far has been on the defense with their last three picks, and when it came to the offensive side of the ball, wide receiver wasn’t on anybody’s radar at this point in the draft. I would’ve thought tight end would have had a bigger need than wide receiver, but we know that the Lions like to do best player available sometimes.

Was this trade-up worth it, or did general manager Brad Holmes take another risk on a pick the team could’ve used better? Roster impact The Lions have some interesting competition outside of the top three wide receivers. The team signed Greg Dortch in free agency to be the replacement for Kalif Raymond, and they have a seventh-round pick from 2025, Dominic Lovett, looking to get a chance to hit the field in 2026.

Law comes to compete with Dortch and Lovett to be the WR4 on this team. He’s not likely to wrangle the punt returner job from Dortch, but he has experience returning kicks. So if he can’t win a job on offense, that could be his role on the team.