Lions 2026 draft preview: Which safeties can change Detroit's defense?

The Lions’ departures at the position include Daniel Thomas, a special-teams ace who played well in a reserve defensive role, and Jalen Mills, a late-season signing who played 65 defensive snaps for Detroit but is still on the market.

Holmes has done his best to supply depth to the room without breaking the bank.

Thomas Harper, 25 with some intriguing upside and who played well in nine starts last season, is entering his second year with the Lions. The team also re-signed veteran Swiss Army Knife Avonte Maddox, who played 342 defensive snaps last season, on a one-year deal. Detroit added some competition for the reserve jobs by signing Christian Izien from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chuck Clark from the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Dan Jackson, a seventh-round pick in 2025, will be hoping to find a way to contribute after suffering a season-ending broken leg in training camp during his rookie season. The Lions also brought back Loren Strickland, a 2024 undrafted free agent with nine career appearances.

Level of need: Medium. When the Lions’ safety room is healthy, it has a strong argument to be considered the best in the league. But while there seems to be a belief Branch will make a full recovery and be the same player he was before, nobody in the building has given the same vote of confidence for Joseph’s future. Plus, there’s still room to get a third safety on the field, even if both are healthy.

Caleb Downs #2 of the Ohio State Buckeyes looks on prior to the game against the Indiana Hoosiers in the 2025 Big Ten Football Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 06, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

First-round safety prospects

This year’s safety class has a three-headed monster at the top, with Caleb Downs (Ohio State, No. 8 prospect overall via NFL Mock Draft Database) serving as the blue-chipper of the group. He was a five-star recruit out of high school and played his first college season for Nick Saban at Alabama. He transferred to Ohio State in 2024, after Saban’s retirement.

For most of his college career, Downs was one of the best safeties in college football. He was a Second Team All-American as a freshman (2023) and a unanimous All-American in 2024 and 2025. He uses his elite instincts to make plays in every phase of the game and is deployed like the game-changing player he is: 241 snaps last season came in the box, 240 came at free safety, and 146 were at slot corner. In his two seasons at Ohio State, he allowed an opposing passer rating under 54 when targeted. He made 257 tackles with 96 run stops across three college seasons.

Behind Downs, it’s believed that Dillon Thieneman (Oregon, No. 18) is the front-runner to be the second safety off the board. He was a three-star recruit who developed into a polished college safety rather quickly. He was also an Associated Press All-American as a freshman for Purdue in 2023, but on the Third Team, after racking up six interceptions and 106 tackles — both single-season career highs. He can play in the box and is lethal at free safety. He has great field vision and triggers down to reach the ball carrier in the blink of an eye. He made 96 tackles last season, including 3½ for loss, with two interceptions, en route to being named Second Team All-American by the AP.

Rounding out the potential first-round safety prospects is Emmanuel McNeil-Warren (Toledo, No. 23). McNeil-Warren loves getting his hands on the football and is known for his peanut punch, which yielded nine forced fumbles over his four years at Toledo. He had five career interceptions and 13 pass breakups. He makes quarterbacks regret targeting receivers over the middle, be it because he’ll be waiting there to get his hands on the football or his penchant for bone-crushing hits. He needs to work on his tackling but would be a great attitude addition to Detroit’s defense.

Down the board

After McNeil-Warren, there’s a significant drop-off on the consensus board. The next highest-rated safeties are A.J. Haulcy (LSU, No. 60) and Bud Clark (TCU, No. 89).

Haulcy transferred twice in his college career, moving up in competition each time, before finishing as a starter at LSU, where he was First Team All-SEC. He had eight interceptions over his last two seasons and made 88 tackles in 2025. But the multi-time-transfer aspect, plus the fact that he opted out of his bowl game, feels like a pair of circumstances that could take him off Detroit’s board.

Clark is a lean safety with blazing speed (4.41-second 40-yard dash) with great range over the middle of the field and the ability to compete at slot corner. He had at least three interceptions in each of his last four college seasons, with 15 total in that stretch. He was Second Team All-Big 12 in consecutive years and was a team captain beginning in 2023. One big knock against him is that he turns 25 next month, but that’s not as big of a concern in later rounds as it is in Round 1.

Depending on who you ask, cornerbacks Keionte Scott (Miami, No. 64) and Treydan Stukes (Arizona, No. 57) might be better suited as a safety at the next level, so we’ll include them here. Scott played in the slot during his one and only season in Miami, where he was ultra-effective (64 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, five sacks, two forced fumbles, seven pass breakups and two interceptions). The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, who projects Scott as a safety, says he “plays like a linebacker in a cornerback’s body.” He’s also an older prospect and will turn 25 during training camp.

Stukes ran a 4.33 in the 40-yard dash with a 38-inch vertical and is as versatile as they come. He played his entire career at Arizona, sure to be an attractive trait for Detroit. He had a career-high four interceptions last season to go with 52 tackles and six pass breakups. “Stukes can play nickel, dime, free safety or strong safety because he is smart, instinctive and an alpha competitor who loves to hit,” says ESPN’s Louis Riddick, who projects Stukes as a safety. “Additionally, he is a good blitzer.”

A selection of Zakee Wheatley (Penn State, No. 94) could provide good value after he had a lackluster senior season. He’s 6-3, 203 pounds, but didn’t have the best showing at his physical testing, particularly in the 40-yard dash (4.62 seconds at his Pro Day) and vertical leap (32½ inches). The 40 time would have ranked last among safeties at the combine, and the vertical was last for safeties at the event. Again, that could work out in someone’s favor: He has a good frame and intercepted four passes over his last two seasons with 170 tackles in that span. He opted out of Penn State’s bowl game this past season.

As for later-round prospects to watch, there are two potential Day 3 prospects who graded in the top five of qualified safeties by Pro Football Focus last season: Michael Taaffe (Texas, No. 154) and Bishop Fitzgerland (USC, No. 207). Both players are considered undersized (Taaffe is 5-11⅞, 190 pounds, and Fitzgerald is 5-11, 201 pounds) with average athleticism. But they also carry desirable intangibles and were reliable contributors on special teams, which means they should be able to find a role in Detroit early on while the defensive part of their game develops.

nbianchi@detroitnews.com

@nolanbianchi

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Lions 2026 draft preview: Elite safeties bring intrigue at top