Why the Detroit Lions Should Draft Figment.

All eyes are on New York City, where the Disney NFL Draft is right around the corner. This four-day sports fan festival will take place July 16–19, 2026, and will feature some of the biggest-name characters being drafted to join pro football teams.

In case you missed it, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Mickey Mouse announced the Disney Fan Draft 2026 last week via video call. The blockbuster event will be held during Fanatics Fest NYC on Thursday, July 16, 2026. During the draft, Goodell and sports journalist Taylor Rooks are set to “reimagine a beloved sports tradition through an unmistakably Disney lens.”

The Disney NFL Draft experience will bring together some of the biggest names in sports for a can’t-miss celebration of fandom. Fanatics Fest NYC will also play host to the Disney Fan Zone, featuring exclusive merchandise, immersive experiences, plus surprise-and-delight moments.

While very little is known about the 2026 Disney NFL Draft, if we give it the seriousness it deserves, it is safe to assume that the event will mirror the actual 91st NFL Draft held in Pittsburgh in April 2026. It would only be fair if the Disney Draft followed the same order as the real one.

During the actual NFL Draft, the Las Vegas Raiders held the first overall pick and, as widely expected, selected Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. For those who are unfamiliar with football but have opted to read this post for some reason, Mendoza is the clean-cut, humble and hungry Hoosier (non-derogatory). He’s the archetype pocket passer, drawing favorable comparisons to Detroit Lions QB Jared Goff.

With the first pick in the Disney NFL Draft, the Raiders will stick to that playbook and pick Mickey Mouse. He checks all of the same boxes, and gives them a quarterback with many of the same strengths. Even if the Raiders didn’t need help in the passing department, Mickey Mouse is the type of team leader and locker room presence that you just can’t pass up. He’s very obviously the consensus #1 pick.

There are a lot of other picks before we get to the Detroit Lions at #17, but who cares about those.

Most of the picks further up the board are straightforward, anyway. Goofy, Pluto, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Oswald are all gone. And you better believe the Browns are grabbing Jar Jar Binks at #9. Meanwhile, we’re hearing rumors that the Jets have interest in trading up to snatch Forky. Although some conflicting reports suggest they’ll try to draft Dino-Rama, which isn’t a character at all and no longer exists, but hey, it’s the Jets! (Word is that they’ll try to use their second rounder on Fast & Furious Supercharged.)

Teams with competent front offices will also pick earlier, so it’s safe to say that a lot of the top talent they’d be targeting is gone by the 17th selection. Detroit mostly needs help on the o-line and secondary, but the Lions aren’t getting Beast, Genie, Chernabog, Baymax, or Hercules in that spot. Jack Jack might still be on the board, but I’m not sure that he’s a good culture fit. (There are character concerns…I’ll just leave it at that.)

Accordingly, here’s my pitch for the Detroit Lions reaching a bit and making a bold pick: Figment.

Figment doesn’t have the name cachet as some of the big name players. He doesn’t have a film franchise, streaming show, or even a high-quality theme park attraction. Despite all of this, he’s a high-ceiling player with potential to be the sleeper of the draft even as the 17th selection.

I’ll admit that none of the mock drafts have Figment coming off the board this early. But that’s only because there inexplicably aren’t any mock drafts for the Disney NFL Draft. (You’re slipping, Mel Kiper.)

If the analysts at ESPN or WalterFootball or whatever were not asleep on the job…and if they knew who Figment was in the first place…I am confident that they’d have him at the top of their rankings.

Figment is the prototypical two-way talent. The obvious comparison is Travis Hunter, the wide receiver and cornerback who the Jacksonville Jaguars traded up to select second in last year’s NFL draft. The Jags sent a ton of draft capital to the Browns to get their guy, making Figment at #17 look like a comparative steal.

Frankly, comparing Figment to Travis Hunter is a failure of imagination. No offense to Hunter, who has tremendous upside, but Figment is more like the Shohei Ohtani of football. Even that is an understatement.

As is evident from the end of his attraction(s), Figment has worn a lot of hats. He’s highly adaptable to any situation and adept at everything; he’s fueled by imagination and powered by the idea bag.

Figment is perhaps best compared to a QB with the accuracy of Drew Brees, arm strength of Josh Allen, and mobility of Randall Cunningham. He also has the wide receiving talent of Calvin “Megatron” Johnson, and moves of Barry Sanders.

That’s just on the offensive side of the ball, which isn’t really where the Lions need help in the first place. (Although some of us skeptics wouldn’t mind having depth behind Goff.) At the same time, the number of injuries the Lions have suffered in the last couple of years would make a plug-and-play athlete like Figment invaluable.

Admittedly, Figment won’t help shore up the offensive line, so the Lions will have to address that elsewhere in the draft. I’m fairly confident Winnie the Pooh will still be there in the second, and he has deceptive athleticism. If not, Pete or Stinky Pete should both be there, and are good fits despite their ages. (Which is fine. The Lions are in win-now mode!)

Figment will be immensely valuable on defense since he can, uh, fly.

Good luck with the air attack with Figment floating around back there as safety. Detroit’s secondary is in an even worse position than it was back in April, thanks to the whole Terrion Arnold, ahem, incident. Even before that, I’m not convinced the Lions did enough this off-season to address deficiencies in their defense.

This brings us to another important point, which is that Figment is a great fit for the Lions.

Dan Campbell often stresses culture guys and grit, and Figment has both in spades. His sense of childlike-wonder and innocence would make him a great addition to the locker room, especially since one of their now ex-players is likely guilty of kidnapping and robbery. Drafting Figment would be a good course correction on that whole debacle.

There’s also the unassailable fact that Figment is the type of pick that’s catnip for Brad Holmes. While I respect him playing it a bit safer in this year’s actual NFL draft, if you ask me, Holmes was a little too conservative, overcorrecting from his previous aggressive approach to go with several safe picks that probably would’ve been available later.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Blake “The Tank” Miller (not his actual nickname, but it should be) and appreciate that he’s the exact opposite of injury-prone. At the same time, we didn’t see much boldness from Brad this year. Picking Figment would fix that, as a quintessential “let him cook” pick.

If all of that isn’t enough to convince the Detroit Lions that Figment is their clear-cut choice with the 17th selection, how about this: merchandising potential.

Figment fans are fervent. Most NFL executives would salivate at the prospect of a player who could move as many jerseys as Messi or MJ or Mahomes. Those are rookie numbers.

Figment commanded an 8-hour line for a popcorn bucket, and recently sold out a bunch of $45 bubble wands. Has any NFL player, past or present, ever accomplished that?! Didn’t think so.

Suffice to say, Figment is a generational talent who is a day-one starter with transformational power (literal and figurative) for whichever team selects him. Most teams will overlook him due to the lack of studio synergy and underwhelming attraction, but the sky’s the limit on his future prospects.

The final wildcard here that Figment brings with him is his fans. Just like the Lions faithful who have stuck around since the dark days of Rod Marinelli, Matt Millen, a revolving door of quarterbacks and an 0-16 season, we Figment fans are a different breed. A rabid breed. We will go to the ends of the earth to support wherever Figment calls home, whether it be one of the worst-rated attractions at EPCOT or Ford Field.

Never has there been something more obvious than the Detroit Lions drafting Figment with the 17th pick at the Disney NFL Draft. Well, there has been one thing: Josh D’Amaro and Neil Patrick Harris announcing a new Journey Into Imagination with Figment and Dreamfinder at the 2026 D23 Expo.

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YOUR THOUGHTS

Where do you think Figment will go in the Disney NFL Draft? Is he a steal for the Lions at #17? Should he go earlier, or fall later given the current state of his attraction? If Figment isn’t a first-rounder, is this another sign that Disney needs to reimagine Journey Into Imagination? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions? Hearing from you is half the fun, so please share your thoughts in the comments!