When you begin to creep into Day 3 of the draft, the chances of your team actually successfully "hitting" on a pick fall dramatically. For the Detroit Lions, that trend might be bucked for their 2026 draft class.
General manager Brad Holmes clearly wanted to go for hidden gems in this year's class, and that was especially the case on Day 3. Their five picks, all defenders, showed flashes of greatness during their final years in college. That seems to be the case, especially, for their 205th overall pick, Skylar Gill-Howard.
Texas Tech had one of the best defenses in college last season, and Gill-Howard was a part of that prior to going down with an ankle injury halfway through the season. It kept him sidelined for much of their 2025 campaign, so the Lions just had his tape from the first half of the year to go off. Clearly, Detroit liked what they saw.
Adding more weight to the Lions' scouting here, ESPN's Field Yates says that, in his estimation, Gill-Howard was one of the best picks in the sixth round.
"Gill-Howard was overlooked on Texas Tech's defense, as four other players from that unit were picked ahead of him. But he was such a fun study in this predraft process. He had a55-yard pick-six last season, which was one of the best plays I saw all year in college football. Gill-Howard is undersized and missed part of last season with an injury. However, he has the traits to be a pest as a pass rusher for the Lions."
Gill-Howard projected to be a "pest' in latest Field Yates draft evaluation
Gill-Howard, who very quickly endeared himself to Lions fans with his story about how he ended up with only a Lions hat at his celebration on draft day, had 13 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss in just six games played with the Red Raiders in 2025. In 2024, while with Northern Illinois, he had five sacks, eight tackles for loss, and 51 combined tackles.
After losing Roy Lopez and potentially DJ Reader, the Lions had to invest in some firepower at defensive tackle. While we wait and see if they're going to get in on the second wave of free agency at that position, Gill-Howard is a fun developmental piece to consider as a potential backup on the Lions' defensive front. He was, at least for half a season, a part of the best run defense in the country.
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Watching tape of him, the first thing that pops out is his relentlessness against the run. He's a little awkward with his footing and takeoff, but he's very quick to adjust at the line of scrimmage to close gaps up front. He also shows some signs of being a good pass rusher if left on an island with a smaller guard.
Of course, his size makes it so that it probably has to always be a smaller guard taking him on to get the full benefit of his tackling.
Still, he looks to be a very solid pickup for the Lions and their trenches, especially with how many injuries have hit their DT room over the last few seasons. We'll never know just how impactful he is just from watching college tape, but hopefully, we get to see him in a ton of action throughout the preseason.
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