PORT CHARLOTTE, Florida December 28, 2025 – One of the greatest Centers to ever play the game for the Detroit Lions made a valiant effort to be the calvary the Lions needed to save the 2025 season. After retiring last year, Second Team All Pro Frank Ragnow attempted a comeback just days before Thanksgiving. A roar could be heard all the way in Florida from the sounds of the cheering Honolulu Blue. 

Then it was discovered Frank was suffering from a grade 3 hamstring strain. This resulted in a failed physical, dashing the hopes of millions. 

Graham Glasgow, traditionally a guard, was the original attempt at an answer for the Lions. Albeit rookie Tate Ratledge did take some snaps in camp before settling in at RG. His backup was Trystan Colon who had a combined 15 starts over 51 games for the Ravens and Cardinals before arriving in Detroit.

Before week 18 arrives, the Lions will have also started undrafted second year player Kingsley Eguakun and rookie Miles Frazier, who had never snapped the ball prior, will have seen game time. Needless to say, this is the Lions biggest hole to fill for 2026.

If you're more than just a casual NFL fan, you probably know the name Tyler Linderbaum. Tyler is coming off his rookie contract with the Ravens, a team who did not pick up his 5th year option. This isn't due to performance as his 95.5% pass protection win rate is top 10 in the NFL and a 70% run win rate placed him 16th. Instead, its his asking price. 

Likewise, this will be what keeps him away from the Detroit Lions. The Lions are considerably over the projected salary cap for 2026. Currently, they're expected to be dead last in salary cap space. Restructuring contracts with players like Jared Goff, whose previously restructured contract made this coming season's bill $69 million, might get the team out of the red. Yet, with only 38 players on contract there is no money for big name free agents and Tyler will be at the top of that list.

That means the only place Detroit can go for a real solution is the draft. Initially, the long term solution was clear. Oregon's Iapani "Poncho" Laloulu was projected to be the undisputed champion of college center rankings. Some even had him a step ahead of Vega from Penn State as the top rated interior line prospect for 2026.

Poncho altered the entire draft landscape by announcing he would be returning to the Ducks next season. That means the Lions should have all eyes on one target, Parker Brailsford. 

Brailsford anchored the Crimson Tide's line in 2025 and had done the same all the way back in 2023 when he stated 15 games for the Huskies and earned second team All Pac 12 honors. Ironically, he only finished 3rd team All SEC in 2025, but his consistency over 3 years shows you its no fluke.

The only real knock on him is his size. At 6'2 and 290 pounds he's considered undersized on the NFL level. A single inch and 10 pounds would make him the prototype as centers are usually desired to be more compact to aid in the quarterback's vision. This actually mirrors Tyler Linderbaum who is also only 6'2 and just now over 300 pounds after 4 years in the league. 

Why not Connor Lew?! Oh, so you know college football? Good question. Easier answer. Connor Lew tore his ACL against Missouri. The last thing Detroit needs next year is to draft more injury prone players. Period. Is he a great prospect? Yes. Do we need to start drafting for the sake of making sure players are on the field? Yes. 

Which brings me to the only other center in the 2026 draft I like. Also, one many people do rank higher thank Parker, Jake Slaughter. Man, he has a cool name. At 6'4 and 300 pounds he has the size. As a 2x All SEC and All American, he has the pedigree. 

Why not Jake? This comes down to draft boards. The Lions will be in the middle of the draft, around the 16th selection at the time of writing this (week 17). None of the centers are projected to go in the first round. This means the Lions focus should be on OT as Decker may be eyeing retirement and has regressed a bit this season. They also have a clear shot at the best OG, who should fall just below them, between 20-26. This might open the door for a small move down to pickup more draft picks.

Jake is most likely a late 2nd round pick who could fall into the third. But the Lions don't have a 3rd round pick. Parker is all over the board, with some analyst sites like PFN having him the first center drafted. Center hungry teams are going to have to make a move. Either Iowa's Logan Jones or Parker could find themselves drafted in the 40-50 area. Which is exactly where the Lions 2nd round pick should fall.

This is exactly why the Lions should be targeting Parker. Someone is going to jump the gun and most likely will lean in the direction of Rimington Trophy award winner Logan Jones. Although Brad Holmes and company like to say they're a "best guy available" regardless of need team, they just learned the hard way what not having a real center means. Unless they pick up a 3rd through trade, hoping Jake or Parker is there in the 4th would be foolish. It's Parker early or Jake early and we've seen how Brad reacts to the thoughts of someone potentially going after their guy. 

When all is said and done, Parker and Jake make for great prospects who could start right out the gate. Connor is a risk due to injury and Logan will most likely be the player drafted who sets the Lions in motion to acquire their guy. 

If you like these articles and would like to see more, don't worry about donating. Just sign up for The B Stream, the best streaming service in the world for "B" movies, horror gems, and cult favorites. After all, this might be the only streaming service ran by a true Lions fan. 

Operating as a subscription streaming service, The B Stream releases movies and TV series in the uncensored manner they receive each title. It never interrupts its viewers movie watching with advertisements and even features a social media element it calls The Hive (the community feature on its apps). Here subscribers can interact with each other, post their own videos and photos, and even request movies to be licensed. Subscriptions are available as low as $5.99 a month when purchased annually or no commitment required for only $7.99 a month. It can be found at thebstream.com and through your Apple and Google Play App stores.