Detroit Lions draft: Brad Holmes clear-eyed on taking best player available

Entering his 6th draft, GM won’t reach for player of need

Brad Holmes said that while his draft process has evolved in recent years, one thing that has not changed is what he sees on film.

Another – and this is huge – is that the Lions GM drafts the best player available. This is not breaking news, it’s been his process entering his sixth draft in Detroit.

While certainly there appear to be roster needs, that does not sway him or how staff.

“I always think because like I’ve always said the reason we take the best player available approach is because there is only one draft and the roster is going to change every single year. Every single year — new needs, contracts are going to expire , things are going to happen,’’ Holmes said in a pre-draft presser on Monday. “So what may not seem as immediate — I need this right now —  that may not be the case for the next year.

“That’s been our approach on that. There have been times when it lines up maybe the best player is a perceived need and it lines up that way. It’s lined up that way in the past but that’s not always the case,’’ Holmes added.

The Lions have the 17th overall pick along with eight other picks in the NFL draft which runs April 23-25.

While a year ago, drafting an EDGE rusher seemed like a no-brainer but Holmes did not make it happen. He never apologized. A year later, still there’s a perceived need there but that doesn’t mean Holmes will draft one this year either.

He will not reach for a player of a certain position.

“You can’t take a player that you’re not fired up about because he plays a certain position. And the reason you weren’t fired up about him shows that on the field and that’s why you had reservations for him,’’ Holmes said. “So now you have the double-whammy.’’

He will only draft players he is excited about and he won’t tip his hand. It’s the Holmes Way.

After disappointing season, GM Brad Holmes says ‘Lions aren’t that far off’

Despite a disappointing 9-8 season, Lions GM Brad Holmes still believes the Lions are close to  being an NFL contender.

“I don’t think that we’re that far off. I personally don’t,’’ Holmes said at a season-ending press conference on Thursday. “We have a lot of good players, we have a lot of good young ascending players, we have a really good quarterback, we have the right coach. I do think we’re very close.’’

Holmes has already started an introspection top to bottom of why the Lions came up short and failed to make the playoffs.

“We’ll be looking at everything, but I do not think that this is a deep surgery overhaul,’’ Holmes said. “I don’t think that but obviously there needs to be some adjustments.’’

Holmes answered questions for about 40 minutes. He was short on specifics which is his tendency but seems determined to right the ship which finished 2024 with a 15-2 record.

“Bottom line, for our standards, this was a disappointment,’’ Holmes said. “When we set out for this journey for this season it wasn’t to match last year’s record or exceed last year’s record — it doesn’t really matter what the record is — bottom line is if we’re not in the dance and we’re not competing for a championship then it’s a failure.’’

Plain and simple.

Offensive coordinator John Morton has been fired, but no other coaching changes have been announced at this point. The offense came up short of its goals but this disappointing season obviously wasn’t all on Morton. Injuries, again, played a big role in getting them to play consistently good football.

“It’s a lot of things. We’re going to have to take a long, hard look,’’ Holmes said. “Before I look at anything I’ll look at myself.’’

Five reasons the Lions wrapped up the season with a 19-16 win at Chicago

The season finale meant something to coach Dan Campbell and it showed when they came back for a 19-16 win at the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

Campbell’s words all week were not empty. He challenged his guys to play like it mattered and they listened.

“Good win by the guys, proud of them, that’s the way to finish. I didn’t expect anything different out of them just knowing the guys we had, but nonetheless I’m still proud of them,’’ Campbell said. 

“It’s not the easiest thing – you get eliminated, it’s hard for some guys, you’re back out in the elements with a team that’s already clinched. But our guys fought from the beginning, we were up two scores, they came back, our guys didn’t bat an eye and we were able to finish it out. It was one of the best games we played as far as complementary football,’’ the coach added.

While it’s never good to finish the season out of the playoffs, the win gave them a 9-8 record for the season. It was their fourth straight winning season.

“I believe that things happen for a reason, right, wrong or indifferent. When something like this happens I believe it’s going to be for the best. It’s up to Brad (Holmes) and I to make it for the best,’’ Campbell said. 

Five reasons the Lions won:

ONE: The run game made its return after missing in action for a few weeks and, like Campbell said early in the week, that is everything. Jahmyr Gbbs carried 19 times for 80 yards while David Montgomery picked up 42 yards on 8 carries. Gibbs also had 3 catches for 33 yards including a touchdown. Campbell said the offensive line really showed up and they were without RT Penei Sewell.

TWO: The defense played lights out, keeping the Bears off the scoreboard until early in the fourth quarter. This game meant something for Chicago which was aiming for the NFC’s second seed but they appeared to sleepwalk through the first three quarters. They had no answers for the Lions defense until they scored on a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The Bears were held to 69 total yards in the first half and 270 overall.

THREE: Jared Goff had a real rhythm going from the first two drives when they had to settle for field goals. He kept it going throughout. One of his passes was tipped which led to an interception late, but the offense came back and set up a 42-yard game-winning field goal as time expired. Goff was 27 of 42 for 331 yards, one touchdown, one interception and he was sacked twice. WR Amon-Ra St. Brown finished with 11 catches for 1394 yards. 

FOUR: Dan Campbell was at his best on play-calling. He was steady, not too cute and it worked. He knew the strengths of his guys on the field and made it work.

FIVE: While the Lions had nothing to play for, you wouldn’t know it. They were out to win and it showed. It’s never good to end a season out of the playoffs, but it is good to show some real fight and signs of life in the season-ending game.