Detroit Lions’ 6 draft ‘reaches’ offset by one major ‘steal’

BOULDER, CO - NOVEMBER 22: Keith Abney II #1 of the Arizona State Sun Devils celebrates after a fumble recovery in the second half against the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field on November 22, 2025 in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) | Getty Images It’s almost impossible to judge the true value of a draft pick in real time. People love labeling selections as “reaches” or “steals,” but that kind of talk is more guesswork than anything else at this point.

What actually matters is how a player performs over time on the field and that obviously takes time to find out. We also don’t have access to every team’s draft board, so there’s no way to know exactly how each front office viewed these players. What we can do, though, is stack the Lions’ picks up against the general media consensus to see whether they selected players earlier or later than expected.

It’s not a flawless approach—media rankings can differ quite a bit from team evaluations—but many analysts are well-connected and have spent years sharpening their scouting process. So let’s look at each pick the Lions made, and compare it to the 2026 NFL Draft Consensus Big Board from our close and personal friend Arif Hasan, which ranked 300 players according to averages from over 100 different media big boards this draft cycle. Round 1: OT Blake Miller Consensus big board ranking: 31 Lions draft selection spot: 17 The Lions’ first pick of the 2026 NFL Draft was a reach according to the big board, but Miller was still considered a prospect with a first-round grade.

As the draft’s OT6, Miller was the fourth offensive tackle off the board behind Spencer Fano (OT2), Francis Mauigoa (OT1), and Kadyn Proctor (OT4). He may have been a “reach,” but the “Positional Villains” valued filling a long-term need at a premium position. It’s also fair to wonder how much Miller’s positional rigidity at right tackle caused him to be rated lower than other offensive tackles who primarily played on the blindside like Caleb Lomu (OT5) or Monroe Freeling (OT3).