The Lions were one of only a few teams this season with multiple players reaching double digit sacks as Aidan Hutchinson notched 14.5 and Al-Quadin Muhammad had 11.0. Muhammad is heading toward unrestricted free agency, and that could leave a void opposite Hutchinson the Lions could look to fortify with a young edge rusher in the 2026 NFL Draft.
This might be one of the deepest EDGE draft classes in recent memory with teams being able to find impact players well into Day 2. NFL Draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah had eight edge rushers listed in his initial list of the Top 50 players available.
Top 5 edge rushers to watch at the Combine:
1. Arvell Reese, Ohio State, 6-4, 243
Reese plays both off-ball linebacker and stand-up edge and is still very much growing into his frame at 20 years old. He'll be a chess piece for a creative defensive coordinator, especially on third down, after recording 6.5 sacks and 10.0 tackles for loss this past season.
View photos of the defensive line prospects who were invited to the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine.
Duke DL Vincent Anthony Jr. (7)
Texas Tech EDGE David Bailey (31)
Miami EDGE Rueben Bain Jr. (4)
Arkansas DT Cameron Ball (5)
Florida DT Caleb Banks (88)
Michigan DL Jaishawn Barham (1)
South Carolina DL Nick Barrett (93)
Michigan DL Rayshaun Benny (26)
Clemson DL DeMonte Capehart (19)
NC State DL Brandon Cleveland (44)
Cincinnati DL Dontay Corleone (2)
Auburn DL Keyron Crawford (24)
Ohio State DL Caden Curry (92)
Penn State EDGE Dani Dennis-Sutton (33)
Penn State DL Zane Durant (28)
Tennessee DL Bryson Eason (20)
Minnesota DL Deven Eastern (91)
Utah DL Logan Fano (0)
Auburn EDGE Keldric Faulk (15)
Texas Tech DT Skyler Gill-Howard (0)
Florida DL George Gumbs Jr. (34)
Oklahoma DT Gracen Halton (56)
Mississippi DL Zxavian Harris (51)
Texas Tech DL Romello Height (9)
Texas A&M EDGE Cashius Howell (9)
Northwestern DL Aidan Hubbard (91)
Texas Tech DT Lee Hunter (2)
Boston College DL Quintayvious Hutchins (15)
Illinois DL Gabe Jacas (17)
Florida State DT Darrell Jackson Jr. (6)
Auburn DL Bobby Jamison-Travis (97)
Oklahoma DL Marvin Jones Jr. (97)
Tennessee EDGE Joshua Josephs (19)
Alabama DT Tim Keenan III (96)
UCF DL Nyjalik Kelly (9)
UCF EDGE Malachi Lawrence (51)
Iowa DL Max Llewellyn (48)
USC DL Anthony Lucas (6)
Baylor DL Jackie Marshall (0)
Missouri DL Chris McClellan (7)
Ohio State DT Kayden McDonald (98)
Miami EDGE Akheem Mesidor (3)
Georgia DT Christen Miller (52)
Michigan EDGE Derrick Moore (8)
Texas DL Trey Moore (8)
Texas A&M DL Tyler Onyedim (11)
Iowa State DL Domonique Orange (95)
Alabama EDGE LT Overton (22)
Clemson EDGE T.J. Parker (3)
LSU DL Patrick Payton (6)
Southeastern Louisiana DL Kaleb Proctor (2)
LSU DL Jack Pyburn (44)
Texas A&M DL Albert Regis (17)
Wisconsin DL Mason Reiger (22)
Florida DL Tyreak Sapp (94)
UCLA DL Gary Smith III (58)
Oklahoma EDGE R Mason Thomas (32)
Western Michigan DL Nadame Tucker (11)
Oklahoma DL Damonic Williams (52)
Duke DL Wesley Williams (97)
Clemson DT Peter Woods (11)
Missouri EDGE Zion Young (9)
2. David Bailey, Texas Tech, 6-3, 250
A terrific combination of explosiveness and power made life difficult for opposing blockers trying to stay in front of Bailey in 2025. He might have the quickest first step of any rusher in the draft and is coming off a 14.5 sack, 19.5 tackle for loss season.
3. Rueben Bain Jr., Miami, 6-3, 270
Thick and stout, Bain wins with leverage and power and could have the size and versatility to move inside in certain packages. He'll set a good edge in the run game and is coming off a season in which he recorded 9.5 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss for the Hurricanes.
4. Cashius Howell, Texas A&M, 6-2, 248
Howell has the bend, burst and speed combination that's tough for offensive tackles to deal with on the edge. He might not have the size and length NFL teams ideally look for, but there's no denying Howell's production of 25.0 sacks and 33.0 tackles for loss over the last three seasons.
5. Akheem Mesidor, Miami, 6-3, 265
Mesidor has the pass-rush tool bag and relentless motor NFL teams will love when they sit down and study the tape. He should be a plus player at the position against the run too. He's coming off a 12.5 sack season in 2025 with 17.5 tackles for loss.
Combine sleeper to watch: Keldric Faulk, Auburn, 6-6, 285
Faulk could easily find his way into the top five at the position with a good Combine performance. He's got ideal length and came in at No. 9 on Bruce Feldman's 2025 Freaks List after squatting 700 pounds last offseason and bench pressing 415 pounds. The big question for teams is deciphering why the crazy athleticism and length didn't equate to more production (10.0 sacks in three seasons at Auburn).
View photos of NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah's first ranking of his Top 50 prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft.
No. 1 QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
No. 2 RB Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame
No. 3 EDGE Arvell Reese, Ohio State
No. 4 EDGE David Bailey, Texas Tech
No. 5 LB Sonny Styles, Ohio State
No. 6 EDGE Rueben Bain Jr., Miami
No. 7 WR Makai Lemon, USC
No. 8 CB Mansoor Delane, LSU
No. 9 WR Carnell Tate, Ohio State
No. 10 S Caleb Downs, Ohio State
No. 11 OL Olaivavega Ioane, Penn State
No. 12 OT Spencer Fano, Utah
No. 13 OT Francis Mauigoa, Miami
No. 14 CB Jermod McCoy, Tennessee
No. 15 WR Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State
No. 16 CB Colton Hood, Tennessee
No. 17 EDGE Cashius Howell, Texas A&M
No. 18 EDGE Akheem Mesidor, Miami
No. 19 S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Toledo
No. 20 WR Denzel Boston, Washington
No. 21 TE Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon
No. 22 LB CJ Allen, Georgia
No. 23 OT Blake Miller, Clemson
No. 24 OT Monroe Freeling, Georgia
No. 25 S Dillon Thieneman, Oregon
No. 26 DT Lee Hunter, Texas Tech
No. 27 EDGE Keldric Faulk, Auburn
No. 28 OT Kadyn Proctor, Alabama
No. 29 OT Caleb Lomu, Utah
No. 30 CB Avieon Terrell, Clemson
No. 31 CB Brandon Cisse, South Carolina
No. 32 WR KC Concepcion, Texas A&M
No. 33 DT Kayden McDonald, Ohio State
No. 34 DT Peter Woods, Clemson
No. 35 EDGE R Mason Thomas, Oklahoma
No. 36 WR Antonio Williams, Clemson
No. 37 DT Christen Miller, Georgia
No. 38 EDGE T.J. Parker, Clemson
No. 39 DT Caleb Banks, Florida
No. 40 QB Ty Simpson, Alabama
No. 41 OT Max Iheanachor, Arizona State
No. 42 LB Anthony Hill Jr., Texas
No. 43 RB Jadarian Price, Notre Dame
No. 44 WR Chris Brazzell II, Tennessee
No. 45 WR Malachi Fields, Notre Dame
No. 46 WR Deion Burks, Oklahoma
No. 47 LB Jake Golday, Cincinnati
No. 48 WR Zachariah Branch, Georgia
No. 49 OL Chase Bisontis, Texas A&M
No. 50 WR Chris Bell, Louisville
Lions' need at the position: High.
As mentioned above, Muhammad, 30, is heading towards free agency. Holmes hasn't used a first-round pick on an edge rusher since Hutchinson back in 2022. It might be time to get another young edge rusher in the mix, and this is a great draft to do it, even if it's not with the No. 17 pick in the first round. There are going to be edge rushers taken well into Day 2 of the draft who will be impact players for their teams in 2026 because it's such a stacked class of rushers coming off the edge.
Detroit returns veterans Josh Paschal and Levi Onwuzurike, who both have experience playing on the edge, along with Ahmed Hassanein, who could be in a position to contribute in Year 2.
Still this seems like a great opportunity to find a young, versatile rusher to give Hutchinson a true running mate for years to come.
Key stat: Hutchinson is one of eight defensive linemen in NFL history to tally career totals of at least 40.0 sacks, eight forced fumbles and five interceptions. Hutchinson is entering just Year 5 of his career in 2026.
