The Detroit Lions traded up with the New York Jets to take Derrick Moore at pick No. 44 in the 2026 NFL Draft, adding a second-round pass rusher as their offseason program moves toward the next stage. Moore, a Baltimore native, arrives as the Lions work through voluntary offseason workouts and prepare for organized team activities at the end of May and into the first weeks of June.
included Moore among its best rookie team fits and perfect landing spots, with Matt Bowen calling him the best speed-to-power rusher in the 2026 class. Bowen pointed to Moore's 10 sacks at Michigan in 2025, along with 10.5 tackles for loss, 30 total tackles, three pass breakups, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery, and said the 6-foot-3, 255-pound defender can be used on third downs as a designated rusher out of sub-sets.
The fit makes sense because Detroit needed a physical rusher opposite Aidan Hutchinson, and Bowen said Moore could find early success in one-on-one chances while Hutchinson draws protection slides and chips. That gives the Lions a reason to spend pick No. 44 on a player built to pressure quarterbacks now, not later, as the team moves from workouts into mandatory minicamp on June 16-17.
The trade also shows how aggressively the Lions are trying to shape the pass rush before camp opens from the Meijer Performance Center in late July. Moore's role is not hard to see: a young edge defender who can enter obvious passing situations immediately and grow into more if the pressure plan holds.
