What time the Lions’ are expected to make their 1st-round pick

TL;DR

The Detroit Lions are expected to make their first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft no later than 10:16 p.m. ET. Due to a recent rule change, teams now have 8 minutes to make their selections.

Key points

The Lions hold the No. 17 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Teams now have 8 minutes to make their first-round selections.
The Lions' pick is expected between 9:59 p.m. and 10:09 p.m. ET.

Detroit LionsNFL

GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN - APRIL 24: A general view of the video board on stage with The Pick Is In with the Detroit Lions 28th pick during the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft on April 24, 2025 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images) | Getty Images The 2026 NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday night, and the Detroit Lions hold the No. 17 overall pick. To help Lions fans gauge what time the Lions might make their selection, we’ve looked at the last few years of data to estimate the anticipated time frame. However, our estimations need to be met with some grace this year, as the NFL has reduced the time allotted for teams to make their selections once “on the clock,” **from 10 to 8 minutes in the first round**. Here’s the full statement from the NFL Football Operations:

“The time between first-round selections has been shortened from 10 minutes to eight minutes. It’s the first timing adjustment since 2008, when the allotment dropped from 15 minutes to 10 minutes. The timing for Rounds 2-7 remains unchanged from last year.” With these new pick times in place, **the Lions should make their pick *no later than 10:16 p.m. ET.*** That being said, not every team uses their entire time allotment, and on average, teams typically take roughly seven minutes to make their selection. We can see that pattern unfold when we examine when pick No. 17 was made in previous drafts: