The 2024 NFL Draft kicks off in a week, and Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes already appreciates the work his staff has done.
“Just want to start off by thanking everybody that’s been involved in this process up to this point, our entire personnel department,” Holmes said. “Look, when I say personnel, it’s not just scouts. That’s football information, football tech, our ops support, everybody. It’s really been all hands on deck. I want to thank our area scouts. Those guys did a great job. I thought that we had our best April meetings since we’ve been here, that’s kind of when they tie the bow up on all the work that they’ve done throughout the whole year. I thought it was awesome.”
The Lions are ready, and Holmes was on hand Thursday to preview what’s ahead. Here’s a breakdown of the key topics addressed as he and his staff look to add to a roster capable of winning it all.
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Holmes on trading up — or down
With the Lions picking 29th — their lowest position under this regime — they are largely at the mercy of the board.
Unless they take matters into their own hands.
Holmes was asked about the possibility of moving up in the first round. It’s something he’s done before, moving up for wide receiver Jameson Williams two years ago.
“First of all, it’s got to be the right guy,” Holmes said. “You guys have seen how we operate in the past. If this is the player that we want, we’re going to go get him. But there are a lot of boxes that need to be checked. I think we said it at the end of the season, (not everybody) can play here. … There are going to be some talented players … that just may not be good fits, and that’s OK. We’re fine with that. But look, if it’s a guy we really want, we’ll definitely make an effort if it makes sense. It just sometimes might not make sense. You have to look at what you’re giving up.”
The Lions don’t have the same abundance of capital they had in previous years, no longer equipped with extra picks from the Matthew Stafford trade. They traded their third-rounder in this year’s draft to acquire cornerback Carlton Davis III from the Buccaneers and swapped their fourth-rounder for the Vikings’ third-rounder in the T.J. Hockenson trade. That leaves the Lions with just three picks in the top 163. That’s not to say a move can’t be made, but they might have to dip into next year’s capital to pull off a trade up — or be comfortable sacrificing another Day 2 pick to make it happen.
Brad Holmes says the Lions are prepared to disappoint their fans on Night 1 of the draft if trading out of the first round “is the right thing to do.” (David Eulitt / Getty Images)
Additionally, one popular question Holmes was asked Thursday was about the awkward situation that might arise if the Lions trade down. Detroit is hosting the draft, and Lions fans will soon flood the downtown area, hoping to watch the team’s selection in person. They’ll have to wait awhile if the Lions stay at 29. They’ll be waiting even longer if they trade out of the first round entirely, something Holmes has addressed multiple times this offseason.
“Look, it’s a fair question,” Holmes said. “We have to do the right thing for the organization. And if it makes sense and it lines up and it’s the right thing to do, we have to do the right thing. So say that happens where the fans have been waiting there all night for the pick and we get an offer that we really can’t turn down, it makes sense, we’ve got to do the right thing. Hopefully, our fans will forgive us. … We won’t expect immediate forgiveness right then and there, but hopefully when the season starts and that player that we end up selecting, then it’s like, ‘OK, we can kinda get past the …’ But I totally understand that.
“It’s the best thing for the organization, we have to do what’s right, and I’ll just do a PSA apology.”
In short, be prepared to wait. Just in case.
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Holmes on the value of conviction
The Lions have drafted five Pro Bowl talents and three All-Pros since Holmes’ first draft as GM in 2021. It’s the most in the league, leading to a question about how the team has identified those talents.
“I just think we make sure we’re convicted on every single pick,” Holmes said. “You guys have heard me say it, it’s no secret, it’s about the right football player. As long as we’re convicted on the football player, then you sleep good at night. (There’s) a lot of work that goes into being convicted on the right player. We just had 30 visits. We had medical meetings. There is a lot of stuff that’s like, ‘OK, this is the right guy.’ We’re still looking at tape now. It’s a lot that gets to that conviction.”
There are players the Lions fall in love with and they rarely hesitate to strike when they’re available. When you hear Holmes talk about conviction, he lives and breathes it. And he’s tried to emphasize it all offseason.
At the NFL owners’ meetings, Holmes was asked about drafting injured players. His response: “If you’re picking between the two, why would you pick the player you’re less excited about because, oh, you didn’t miss three games last year? You don’t really like the player, you’re not excited (about them), but, oh, he didn’t miss any time? That don’t guarantee that’s not going to happen. That’s how I look at it.”
Holmes recalled being asked about drafting an outside cornerback this offseason, based on perceived need. His response: “If the outside corner was the right football player we’re convicted on, then we would take that player.”
It sounds so simple, having that conviction, but it’s how the Lions operate. It’s almost like they assemble their draft board based on love factor — not entirely based on positional value, positions of need, etc.
“We don’t really get anchored on positions,” he said. “We don’t really get anchored on windows. … There’s a lot of work that goes into it, so that’s our recipe. We just kind of look for guys that we’re convicted on that are right fits for us.”
It’s worked for them to this point. They’ll try to keep it going this year.
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Holmes on specific positions
Holmes wasn’t asked about every position, but he did receive a few direct questions about a few the Lions could be looking at. Here are some of his responses.
Wide receiver: “I think it’s a solid receiver group. There’s some guys that should be able to contribute immediately. In terms of my opinion of strength, that’s always subjective. That’s what makes the draft so fascinating, is what our draft board is, there’s 31 other draft boards and they may think that it’s not as good. We’ll just keep those to ourselves, but I do think there’s some receivers that will be able to contribute pretty early, I would think in this class.”
Cornerback: “It’s a solid group. … I think it’s very normal (compared to) previous drafts in terms of the guys that I think probably are true legit Day 1 guys or Day 2 guys. … In terms of numbers of guys that are in those top rounds, I think it’s very similar.”
Offensive line, more broadly: “We’re firm believers that that’s where the game is won, and I’m sure you’ve heard that before. But that’s the foundation, that’s the core of our team. … That’s always going to be the utmost importance. That’s something that’s hard to overlook. I don’t care who you’ve got at quarterback. I don’t care if you have more of a pocket guy, a scrambler — I don’t care what it is. Offensive line, that’s critical. When you don’t have them, it can make life hard in a lot of different areas.”
Reading between the lines a bit, but one of these things is not like the other.
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The Lone Wolf
On Thursday, Holmes revealed the greatest threat to Detroit’s draft process. It’s groupthink. Allow him to explain.
“People naturally just want to be a part of the tribe,” Holmes said. “They want to get along. People naturally want to agree and be likable. It takes work to go against the grain. It takes a lot of work. That’s why I have always had a lot of respect for the lone wolf. When we’re in there and everybody is saying, ‘Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,’ and it’s some obvious prospect. It’s that one person in that room that’s like, ‘I don’t.’ I’m like, ‘I want to listen to him or I want to listen to her.’ I want to listen to that person because that was the lone wolf. It takes a lot to be that lone wolf. I just have a lot of respect for that person.”
When trying to figure out why the Lions have had so much draft success, hearing insight like this helps paint the picture. You could have a million people say “yes,” but in Holmes’ mind, the “no” is always more revealing. He has respect for those who go against the grain when they truly believe it. Even if the team still picks the player, those conversations ensure they’re being honest throughout the evaluation process, rather than just going with the consensus.
In fact, Holmes shared a story from last year in which he and Dan Campbell disagreed with the consensus. The Lions were on the clock, and the room was eyeing the same position. Holmes and Campbell loved a certain prospect, while the war room wanted another. In the end, Holmes and Campbell got their guy.
“It worked out,” Holmes said.
That’s not to say they’ll always overrule consensus. Holmes said there have been scenarios where he’s the lone wolf and it’s forced him to re-evaluate a prospect, given the added information, and said you have to have the confidence and the humility to do it. It’s all part of the process. He called it an art form.
We’ll see what hits the canvas next Thursday.
(Top photo: Trevor Ruszkowski / USA Today)
