How DL Tyre West will impact the Detroit Lions

Tennessee defensive lineman Tyre West (42) sacks Mississippi State quarterback Blake Shapen (2) during a college football game between Tennessee and Mississippi State at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Miss. , on Sept. 27, 2025.

| Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images The Detroit Lions closed out their 2026 NFL Draft by selecting their fourth trench player, Tennessee defensive lineman Tyre West in the seventh round. While the Lions drafted three defensive linemen, each will play a different position along the Lions front, with West likely competing for a role that the Lions struggled to fill last season. Let’s take a look at West’s background and traits and discuss how his addition will impact the Lions’ roster in 2026 and beyond.

Round 7, Pick 222 : Tyre West West has an unusual profile for a drafted player because, despite being a four-year contributor at Tennessee, he has only five official starts in 48 games. Even though he was just a rotational player, West elected to stick it out at Tennessee instead of jumping into the transfer portal, and he discussed why with the Detroit media after being selected by the Lions: “Loyalty. It runs very deep in me, and just what we had at Tennessee with our D-line and everything – everything I started with, I just want to finish.

” While remaining loyal and staying in a rotational role likely negatively impacted his draft profile, he worked hard in the offseason to increase his marketability. West was not initially invited to the Senior Bowl, but when he got a late call about joining, he jumped at the opportunity and performed well enough to be rewarded with the start in the bowl game. It didn’t take long for him to make his mark: Tyre is already making an impression at the @seniorbowl !