2026 NFL and Lions Combine Primer

The 2026 NFL Combine is upon us, which unofficially kick starts the two-month window for Draft Season that will culminate with the Detroit Lions (as of now) picking a future player at no. 17 overall in Pittsburgh in late April. The Combine will open Tuesday, and the NFL put out a release a few weeks ago detailing the 319 Prospects that were invited to attend. Almost all will show up, although many will forego any on-field testing or workouts for a variety of reasons, including injury, waiting for their Pro-Day and familiar surroundings or because their agency of records may prefer that they don't test at all. The Grey Manes have prepared a bit of a draft p[riomer, including schedules for what and when the players, coaches and GMs will be participating, who the Lions may have elevated interest in and where you can catch TV or Radio broadcasts of the events.

When are Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell Expected to Speak to the Media?

• As of now, and subject to change, Holmes is expected to be on Podium 4 at 1pm CST Tuesday afternoon and will be followed at the same location by Dan Campbell at 2pm CST. The Lions will likely push these interviews to the Detroit Lions YouTube or deteroitlions.com.

What does the schedule look like for positional testing?

• Players arrive in their positional groups throughout the week with the DL, LB and K/P first up, DB and TEs next, RB QB and WR Third and OL at the end of the week.

• The schedule is similar for each group with Team Interviews, Medicals and pre-Exams, a NFLPA Meeting and culminating with their last two days in Indy being the measurements, On Field Workout and Bench Press.

• Check out the full schedule and Itinerary by Group below.

How many players at each position were invited?

• QB - 16

• RB - 21

• WR - 46

• TE - 27

• OL - 56

• DL - 63

• LB - 29

• DB - 54

• K/P - 3/4

What positions will the Lions likely be taking a long look at?

• The Lions will likely be looking heavily at OL, DL, LB, TE and DB per our positional analysis series we ran over the last few weeks.

• Players of note at each position invited to the combine that could interest the Lions (and Current Projected Round)

  • OL:

    • C: Jake Slaughter (2nd), Connor Lew (2nd), Pat Coogan (5th), Jager Burton (UDFA)

    • IOL: Olaivavega Ioane (1st), Gennings Dunker (2nd), Jaeden Roberts (4th), DJ Campbell (5th), Micah Morris (UDFA)

    • OT: Francis Mauigoa (1st-Top 10), Spencer Fano (1st Mid), Kaden Proctor (1st-Mid), Caleb Tiernan (2nd), Max Iheanachor (2nd-3rd), JC Davis (4th), Kage Casey (4th), Aamil Wagner (5th), Fernando Carmona (7th), Alex Harkey (UDFA)

  • DL:

    • IDL: Kayden McDonald (1st-Mid), Lee Hunter (2nd), Darrell Jackson Jr (3rd), Chris McClellan (4th), Albert Regis (5th), Zxavian Harris (6th), Zane Durant (6th), Rayshaun Benny (6th)

    • EDGE: Reuban Bain (Top 5), David Bailey (Top 10), Cashius Howell (1st-mid), Ahkeem Mesidor (1st-2nd), Derrick Moore (2nd), Gabe Jacas (3rd), Dani Dennis-Sutton (3rd) Caden Curry (4th), Tyreak Sapp (4th), Max Llewellyn (5th), Patrick Payton (6th)

  • LB:

    • Sonny Styles (1st-Mid), CJ Allen (1st-Late), Jake Golday (2nd-Late), Deontae Lawson (2nd-Late), Taurean York (3rd), Jacob Rodriguez (3rd), Harold Perkins Jr (3rd), Jaishawn Barham (4th), Kaleb Elarms-Orr (5th), Raylen Wilson (6th), Jimmy Rolder (6th), Eric Gentry (UDFA)

  • TE:

    • Eli Stowers (2nd), Max Klare (3rd), Joe Royer (4th), Oscar Delp (5th), Sam Roush (6th), Will Kacmarek (7th)

  • DB:

    • CB: Mansoor Delane (1st-Top 10), Avieon Terrell (1st-Mid), Brandon Cisse (2nd-Early), D’Angelo Ponds (2nd-Late/Nickle), Keionte Scott (2nd-Late/Nickle), Daylen Everette (3rd), Domani Jackson (5th), Davison Igbinosun (5th), Ephsians Prysock (6th), Toriano Pride Jr (6th), Jadan Cannady (6th), Andre Fuller (7th), Jaylon Guilbeau (UDFA)

    • S: Caleb Downs (1st-Top 10), Dillon Thieneman (2nd-Early), Emmanuel McNeil-Warren (2nd-Early), Michael Taaffe (2nd-Mid), AJ Haulcy (2nd-Late), Zakee Wheatley (3rd), Bishop Fitzgerald (4th), Jalon Kilgore (4th), Xavier Nwankpa (5th), Louis Moore (5th), Deshon Singleton (UDFA)

When can I watch or Listen to the Combine?

• The NFL Network will pick up when the Live coverage when the first groups on-field workouts begin on Thursday and have 40+ hours through Sunday's conclusion of the OL.

• Check out the schedule below:

• The folks over at Sirius XM will also be broadcasting live on SiriusXM NFL Radio starting on Tuesday at 9am EST

  • You can catch interviews with Coaches, GMs and prospects all week.