Brad Holmes and the Lions may have found their new Alabama or Georgia in the Big Ten

If there's been one thing that's been pretty noticeable about the way Detroit Lions GM Brad Holmes drafts, it's that he tends to find a school he really likes and then goes all in on that school. For a while, that was Alabama. The Lions drafted Jameson Williams, Brian Branch, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Terrion Arnold out of Tuscaloosa. Last year, it was Georgia with Tate Ratledge, Dan Jackson, Dominic Lovett, and Jackson Meeks, who was at Georgia before transferring to Syracuse.

Holmes' team that he might be super into going into the 2026 NFL Draft might be figured out right now, and that team is in the Big Ten. It's not the local team. Sorry, Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State fans.

Brad Holmes and the Lions have been paying a lot of attention to Oregon

The Lions had multiple scouts at the Oregon vs Indiana game on Saturday. This is not the first time they've been there this year. The Lions were watching Oregon in Week 2 as well. This makes a lot of sense. The Ducks have a good handful of players who are expected to go in he first two days of this draft. Look at this list of players:

Oregon players the Detroit Lions could have their eyes on

• QB Dante Moore
• TE Kenyon Sadiq
• Edge Matayo Uiagalelei
• DL A'Mauri Washington
• S Dillon Thineneman
• T Isaiah World
• C Iapani Laloulu
• DL Bear Alexander
• G Emmanuel Pregnon

For my money, I would think World and Uiagalelei are the two guys that are catching the Lions' eyes. Moore could make some sense, too, if he sees a fall. Speaking of quarterbacks, there's also reason to believe that the Lions could have had their eyes on Indiana's Fernando Mendoza at this game, too.

The Lions have reportedly visited one more team twice, and that's Clemson. There's reason to believe that they like players there, too, but it feels notable that the Lions saw Oregon play once and then went back with multiple scouts a second time. The draft is a long way away; we'll see what happens going forward this season.