Of the 14 players acquired during free agency, four were offensive linemen.\u00a0 <\/span>Acknowledging afterwards that the Lions\u2019 salary cap restrictions prevented the team from acquiring premier high-cost talents at any position, Holmes focused on adding players who could be signed to minimal one-year contracts. The only player signed to a multi-year agreement was center Cade Mays<\/span><\/a>, who inked a three-year $25 million contract ($8.3 million per year). After acquiring Juice Scruggs<\/span><\/a> from the Houston Texans<\/span><\/a> in the David Montgomery trade, <\/span><\/a>Holmes further stabilized the offensive line with the signing of Larry Borom<\/span><\/a> and Ben Bartch.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n However, the Lions still need a left tackle to replace 10-year veteran Taylor Decker. Dan Campbell said that the option to shift All-Pro tackle Penei Sewell<\/span><\/a> to cover that spot is a possibility, \u201cIf you\u2019re asking me, I\u2019d like to move him. I would. I\u2019d like to move him to the left.\u201d Instead, the team could improve options at left tackle by drafting either Kadyn Proctor<\/span><\/a> or Blake Miller<\/span><\/a>\u00a0with the Lions’ first-round pick at 17. Selecting either would help provide a sustainable long-term solution at the position.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n Even if the best short-term option is playing Sewell at the start of the season, drafting a strong left tackle provides the option of moving Sewell back to right tackle later in the season.<\/p>\r\n Holmes next move was to secure the secondary<\/span><\/a>. The triple-threat loss of starters Brian Branch, Kerby Joseph,<\/span><\/a> and Terrion Arnold, for all or part of the season, makes improving the injury-depleted secondary <\/span><\/a>an absolute priority. \u00a0<\/b><\/b><\/p>\r\n Holmes made a great find<\/a><\/span> with Tampa Bay Buccaneers\u2019<\/span><\/a> safety Christian Izien.<\/span><\/a> He strengthened the secondary depth by acquiring cornerback Roger McCreary and 10-year NFL veteran safety Chuck Clark.<\/p>\r\n Although Clark is most closely associated with the Ravens, he spent last year with the Pittsburgh Steelers. His career record of 504 tackles (280 solo), 4.5 sacks, 37 PDFs, five interceptions, seven forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries provides veteran strength and stability.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n These veteran players elevate the level of competition at training camp. Campbell and Holmes have previously stated their desire for increased competition, wanting players to fight for a starting position. At the NFL owners meeting this week, Campbell reiterated, \u201cWe need competition in a lot of areas, man, cause that brings out the best in players, whether it\u2019s with some of the guys that were here or the guys that we bring in. That\u2019s how you elevate the roster.\u201d<\/p>\r\n However, Izien, McCreary, and Clark were signed to one-year contracts. Looking ahead, drafting an elite first-round talent such as Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman <\/span><\/a>provides an immediate starter to cover for Branch or Joseph while securing the position in the future.<\/p>\r\n For years, Lions fans were clamoring for a talented EDGE to play alongside Hutchinson. Last year, Al-Quadin Muhammad<\/span><\/a> seemed to fill that role. However, the Lions anticipated that his price would be too high. As it turned out, Holmes’ acquisition of\u00a0D.J. Wonnum<\/span><\/a> cost the same as the Buccaneers paid to acquire Muhammad. Nonetheless, Wonnum is projected to be a better fit for the team because of his run-stopping prowess. In addition, the acquisition of EDGE Payton Turner and linebacker Damone Clark further strengthens the defense. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n This year’s EDGE Draft class is the deepest it’s been in years. With a stabilizing veteran presence in Wonnum and the additional depth provided by Turner, drafting a first-round EDGE prospect is no longer necessary. Holmes will find plenty of talented EDGE prospects in the Draft’s second-round.<\/span><\/a> Illinois EDGE Gabe Jacas, <\/a>Clemson’s T.J. Parker<\/a>, or Michigan\u2019s Derrick Moore <\/a>would be top choices.<\/span><\/p>\r\n The added advantage of waiting until the second round to draft an EDGE is that it will allow Holmes to shift his draft priorities to select either a starting left tackle or an elite secondary talent. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" While Brad Holmes avoided big swings in free agency, he added depth. How do these free agency acquisitions shift the Lions’ draft priorities?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5208,"featured_media":272069,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1647,6431],"tags":[33533,34324,33883,33029,34277,6563,32903,33865,34389,33944,33930],"class_list":["post-271066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lions","category-nfl-draft","category-nfl-teams","tag-2026-nfl-draft","tag-2026-nfl-draft-combine","tag-2026-nfl-free-agency","tag-blake-miller","tag-cade-mays","tag-d-j-wonnum","tag-derrick-moore","tag-dillon-thieneman","tag-gabe-jacus","tag-kadyn-proctor","tag-t-j-parker"],"modified_by":"Sue Levine","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5208"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271066"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271066\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":272195,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271066\/revisions\/272195"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/272069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Kudos to Holmes; the signing of the former Carolina Panthers<\/span><\/a> center looks like a steal. Especially when compared to the high cost of acquiring former Baltimore Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum, <\/span><\/a>whose bidding war led to a record-shattering three-year, $81 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\r\nStarting Offensive Left Tackle Draft Options<\/b><\/h3>\r\n
While Campbell may be comfortable moving Sewell to a position that he played sporadically in college, is that the best option for establishing sustained offensive line strength? Furthermore, would a move like this enhance or disrupt Sewell\u2019s All-Pro career?<\/p>\r\nLions Secondary Strengthened Through Free Agency<\/b><\/h3>\r\n
Lions Secondary Draft Priorities<\/b><\/h3>\r\n
![\"Carolina](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/03\/USATSI_27138554.webp\")
<\/p>\r\nLions Add Free Agency EDGE and Defensive Strength<\/b><\/h3>\r\n
Lions EDGE Draft Priorities<\/b><\/h3>\r\n