While the Detroit Lions and Jahmyr Gibbs continue to figure out an amenable contract extension ahead of the 2026 season, the 2023 draft class overall continues to earn their flowers from analysts during the offseason.
And, that's going to make life fairly hard for general manager Brad Holmes, who is likely already feeling the heat to get a Gibbs deal done following head coach Dan Campbell's "bell cow" comment regarding the star running back.
PFF's Daire Callagher recently put together a ranking of 2023 draft classes, and to likely no one's surprise, the Lions easily top the list.
"The Lions are the undeniable winners of the 2023 NFL Draft, and this group was the catalyst for a Super Bowl window opening up in Detroit for the first time in a long time," wrote Callagher.
Lions' 2023 draft class could run up the teams' cap space
While Gibbs is the obvious next player to get a deal done with, following a fair extension for Jack Campbell, the team also has to worry about what to do with Sam LaPorta and Brian Branch. LaPorta, who is back from a back injury suffered in 2025, seems to be doing well in OTAs. That could portend a deal following Gibbs if Detroit doesn't feel like he should become a trade chip down the line.
As for Branch, things are trickier. The safety's importance has become paramount thanks to a huge question mark floating over the head of Kerby Joseph headed into 2026. If Branch can be as impactful as he'd be in 2023 and 2024 for Detroit once he returns, they have to consider a lucrative deal to keep him on board assuming Joseph can't go for them long-term.
Of course, if Branch looks as shaky as he did in 2025 prior his Achilles tear, he becomes the odd man out of the 2023 draft class equation.
READ MORE: Drew Petzing hypes an even more exciting impact for Jahmyr Gibbs in 2026
The Lions' cap situation isn't as dire as a team like the Cleveland Browns', as they've kicked the can down the road so far that they had to trade Myles Garrett in order to have one less contract to worry about by the end of this decade.
Detroit has the deals of Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Penei Sewell, Jameson Williams, Campbell, Aidan Hutchinson, and Alim McNeill to worry about through 2030, but they've left themselves flexible with these all by not restructuring too many of those deals to open more cap room.
Yes, free agency's been boring as a result, but when you see the caliber of player they might need to pay from this class alone, it becomes obvious that they're trying to remain far away from the red and still within a shot of rostering a Super Bowl-caliber team.
Add us as a preferred source on Google