Lions 2026 Draft Day 3: Jimmy Rolder, Keith Abney, Kendrick Law, Skyler Gill-Howard, Tyre West
Medical analysis of all the Lions Day 3 picks
The Detroit Lions were busy on Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft by drafting five players to the roster. Here is their injury history analysis along with their medical concern level. The team also added multiple undrafted free agents who I’ll get to in a future article.
Quick Summary of Lions Day 3 Picks
Jimmy Rolder, LB (22): Multiple unspecified injuries, right elbow brace, mostly reliable final 2 seasons - 3/10 concern
Keith Abney, CB (21): Possible hand injury, otherwise young and clean - 0/10 concern
Kendrick Law, WR (22): Minor lower body injury, unspecified injury, mostly reliable - 1/10 concern
Skyler Gill-Howard, DT (23): Left ankle surgery October 2025 - 4/10 concern
Tyre West, DT/DE (23): Concussion, two unspecified minor injuries, mostly reliable - 2/10 concern
Medical concern level ranges from 0 (no concern) to 5 (might be worth the risk if the reward is high) to 10 (take him off your board, Brad).
(Ages in parentheses are at start of 2026 season and are factored into the concern level. Injury info and ages based on available public information and are unverified - subject to update. Games played data courtesy of sports-reference.com.)
4th Round #118: Jimmy Rolder, LB (22) - Michigan
Matt Miller’s #100 overall player. Suspected Top-30 visit with Lions.
Medical Concern Level 3/10
2025: 12/13 games. Unspecified injury, missed 1 game.
2024: 12/13 games. Multiple minor injuries for “little stuff”
2023: 6/15 games. Unspecified injuries limited him to 6 games.
2022: 13/14 games.
Rolder showed nice flashes of playmaking ability at Michigan in his final season. However, last year he missed time due to an unspecified injury which has been a recurrent theme for him in college. He had missed games in the prior seasons as well due to multiple issues.
He wore a right elbow brace (see image below) during his final season which could explain some of his absences.
The multitude of various injuries needed to be clarified and evaluated by medical, which may have been the main reason for his Lions’ Top-30 visit. Given that the Lions took him in the 4th Round, it implies that there were no major concerns found.
His age is good, and he was mostly reliable in his final two college seasons, which keeps his concern level down. Rolder finished his career with 118 tackles, 9 TFL, 2 sacks, and 1 INT.
5th Round #157: Keith Abney, CB (21) - Arizona State
#43 on Jeff Risdon board Feb 19.
Medical Concern Level 0/10
2025: 12/13 games. Opted out of bowl. Possible hand injury.
2024: 14/14 games
2023: 8/12 games
There is an isolated report of a hand injury, but no corroborating information. Here is the game after the injury, where Abney does appear to have extra padding on the back of his left hand.
Even if the hand injury is true, that’s of minimal to no long-term concern for a CB. He missed no games with the issue.
His availability in his final two seasons has been perfect. Overall, Abney appears to be medically clean and is at an excellent age.
He finished college with 6 INT and 21 PBU.
Lions trade with Bills
Lions give up #181 & #213
Lions receive #168
5th Round #168: Kendrick Law, WR (22) - Kentucky
Medical Concern Level 1/10
2025: 12/12 games. Unspecified minor injury in camp.
2024: 10/13 games. Lower body injury, missed 2 games. Opted out of bowl due to transfer.
2023: 13/14 games
2022: 11/13 games
HS: Ankle injury.
The Lions got aggressive in trading up for Law, even though WR wasn’t a position of much need. The team must have a vision for him, possibly as a returner.
Law appears to have only minor injury issues in his past. There are no specifics for his college injuries, but the concern for anything significant is low. His reliability has been generally good, and his age is young.
He finished with 86 receptions for 883 yards in college.
6th Round #205: Skyler Gill-Howard, DT (23) - Texas Tech
Medical Concern Level 4/10
2025: 6 games. Left ankle surgery October 2025 ended season - possible “leg-whip” mechanism.
2024: 12/13 games. Opted out of bowl due to transfer.
2023: 13/13 games.
Gill-Howard has the highest medical concern level of all the Lions picks, mainly due to the lack of proven game recovery following his ankle surgery. However, there were reports that he had a chance to return late in the season, which suggests the injury wasn’t too major.
If the leg-whip mechanism of the ankle injury is correct, something like a fibula fracture is possible. That’s the injury and mechanism we saw last season with Christian Mahogany, who was able to return in seven weeks. See Mahogany’s injury video below…
Another possible explanation is a tightrope surgery for a high ankle sprain, which can have a return-to-play within a few weeks.
Neither an isolated fibula fracture nor a straightforward high-ankle sprain are significant long-term concerns.
His slightly older age ticks the concern level up a notch but isn’t a major deal for a late-rounder.
He finished with 6.5 sacks and one spectacular INT…
7th Round #222: Tyre West, DT/DE (23) - Tennessee
Medical Concern Level 2/10
2025: 12/13 games. Missed Game 4, unknown reason. Exited Game 9 with possible concussion.
2024: 12/13 games. Missed 1 game, unknown reason.
2023: 13/13 games
2022: 11/13 games
West has shown good reliability in his career, missing just two games in his final two seasons. The possible concussion isn’t a major concern as he doesn’t have a recurrent history. The Lions had him in for a Top-30 visit allowing them to medically review and presumably clear his minor injuries.
His age is a just tick higher than ideal, but overall he is a low-concern for a 7th Round pick.
For the medical reports on the Lions 1st and 2nd Round picks…