The NFL Scouting Combine is, let's face it, a little bland.
If you can sit down and watch players participate in back, to back, to back 40-yard dashes, vertical jumps, drills, and bench presses, then kudos to you. But, it can get a bit monotonous. That's why analysts are on the ground typically scrounging for information from team sources directly as opposed to sitting around, watching these drills all day, and just writing about that.
One huge piece of information that could be of interest to Detroit Lions fans that's come out from this year's combine has to do with a potential target at the edge. Keldric Faulk, one of the draft's top pass rushers, had really great measurements. And, according to Walter Football's Charlie Campbell, sources have expressed that the Lions are keying in on Faulk with their 17th overall pick.
"The Lions look for specific kinds of players from a talent perspective, but also players that fit their culture. One 2026 NFL Draft prospect that fits their culture and what they want on the field is Auburn defensive end Keldric Faulk. In speaking to team sources, the Lions really like Faulk, and he is in play for their first-round pick at 17th overall."
Lions allegedly zeroing in on top pass rusher in 1st round
Faulk would make a ton of sense for Detroit in the first round after Taylor Decker's announcement that he'd be returning for his 11th season in the NFL. Decker is presumably going to be the Lions' starting left tackle in 2026, which means Detroit can take a slightly less refined lineman in the 2nd or 4th round.
They've struggled mightily to land a perfect co-star to Aidan Hutchinson at the edge, and Faulk could solve that problem. He's also got a great pro-comp provided by NFL.com's Lance Zierlein: Former Cincinnati Bengals edge and Super Bowl champion Carlos Dunlap. Zierlein wrote of the prospect:
"He’s a culture player with high character who earns a grade bump based on his age (turns 21 in September), traits and advanced foundation. A fluid athlete with good movement skills, he works around blocks with finesse but needs more assertive initial strikes to set firmer edges in gap control. His toughness and mentality suggest he’ll play through blocks more consistently in an NFL environment. Faulk’s rush is diverse."
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Faulk is projected in a few mock drafts to the Lions at 17, but there's always a chance he ends up going earlier thanks to the strangely short measurements attributed to both Rueben Bain Jr. and Cashius Howell ahead of combine drills.
With Decker returning and the Lions' biggest needs remaining at the edge and at center, it makes perfect sense for them to go after a "high character" pass rusher like Faulk, who can develop next to Hutchinson and, ideally, behind Al-Quadin Muhammad (if the Lions can re-sign him).