nfl draft – Page 8 – Lions Lowdown

Detroit Lions GM Brad Holmes: Season was no fluke, it’s only going to get better

ALLEN PARK — Brad Holmes is tired of the Detroit Lions successful season being described as a “cute story.’’

That is because, in the mind of the Detroit Lions vice president and general manager, it was none of that. It was not a Cinderella, magical season. It was much more.

Yes, the Lions won their first playoff game in 30 years — and they won a pair of them — but it was not an accident. There was no magic dust involved and fans can expect more in the future.

“I want to tell our fans, look, it’s only going to get better. We’re only going to get better. … This is exactly what was supposed to happen,’’ Holmes said in his post-season press conference on Monday,

He understands the long-suffering fans’ line of thought, but would like them to shake that off and look at what has happened in the last three years since he and coach Dan Campbell arrived.

“Every move that me and Dan make has been made to sustain what we are building. Every single move we make and every single move we do not make, is to sustain what we have been building,” Holmes said. “It’s real. Look, it’s all to normalize what we’re doing.’’

The Lions finished 12-5 in the regular season, winning the NFC North along the way. They beat the Los Angeles Rams in the wildcard game and the Tampa Bay Bucs in the divisional round. They were one half away from earning a trip to the Super Bowl against the 49ers when they collapsed in the second half of the NFC Championship game and lost.

The Lions have improved from 3-13-1 in the first year of the Campbell-Holmes regime, to 9-8 and just missing the playoffs, to making a splash in 2023.

“We love where we’re at, this is supposed to be expected, it’s the standard. We love the window that we’re in, we just got finished with Year 3,’’ Holmes said. “We’re still building, we’ll stick to our plan, we’ll continue to put all our effort into improve each year which we’ve done, in my opinion.’’

Holmes, who came out quite fiery, also had a warning for fans as free agency (March 13) and the NFL Draft (April 25-27) approach.

He hasn’t always gotten good immediate feedback from the media on his draft picks. He can live with the criticism, but he wants fans to be patient and wait until December to judge, not in the spring.

“I want them to know that over the next few months, don’t get spooked this spring by speculation or negative talk or the entertainment news feed — don’t get spooked by that to not think we can’t build and sustain what we’ve been building,’’ Holmes said.

“… The next few months there’s a lot of speculation and a lot of opinions, people don’t know what’s going to happen. I just hope that they know every year that we’ve been upfront and straight with everybody,’’ Holmes said. “Every move we make is intentional and, again, every move we do not make is intentional.’’

This was a point he hammered over and over during his nearly 40 minutes behind the podium.

“I want to make sure the fans know what we always said, we draft, develop, sign our own and build through the draft,’’ Holmes said.

Also he made clear that not everyone can play for the Detroit Lions who base their roster decisions not just on talent but on personal characteristics. “That’s just reality, the standard that has been set,’’ Holmes said.

“Look, I think we all know adversity will always come, but that’s why we’re built on grit,” he said. “We’ll be ready for adversity. It will come regardless. That’s why we’re always preaching grit, grit, grit.”

Lions GM Brad Holmes can’t hide emotions – he’s thrilled with draft

ALLEN PARK — When the cameras focus in on the NFL war rooms on draft weekend, many of the reactions include big smiles, a little hand-shaking, not much else. Ho-hum.

Not so for the Lions with GM Brad Holmes. At all. He’s punching tables, high-fiving and bear-hugging colleagues after making his picks.

He’s also thrown some inadvertent elbows to whoever might be too close. It’s still legend how Rod Wood, team president, was on the wrong end of Holmes’ celebration when Penei Sewell was drafted.

So this year Holmes told himself and others in the room he was going to try to be more disciplined.

It didn’t work.

“I guess I just can’t state it or emphasize it enough that we draft players that we love,’’ Holmes said when the three-day draft was complete on Saturday.

“When you’re able to get them sometimes you can’t control the emotion. It’s genuine. It’s authentic. You find that guy you love and that’s a fit for what we’re about and what our culture is and what we want our football team to look like, you just really can’t control your emotions.

Most of the time the object in front of me is a table, that’s what gets the beating all the time,’’ he added.

It’s all an indication that Holmes was “thrilled” with the eight players he drafted.

In the first round he nabbed running back Jahmyr Gibbs and linebacker Jack Campbell. He sees both as immediate impact players.

He was criticized for maybe taking Gibbs too early with the 12th pick, but he made no apologies. He was the player they wanted at that spot.

Ultimately what he’s trying to accomplish is to win more games. The end of last season was good but not good enough because they didn’t get to the playoffs.

“I know a lot will be said that ‘you acquired a running back in the first round.’ We didn’t acquire a running back in the first round. We acquired an elite weapon to keep our offense explosive in the first round,’’ Holmes said.

“We didn’t acquire an inside linebacker in the first round, we acquired a legit anchor to elevate our defense in the first round. That’s what the ultimate goal is, that’s what our vision is. We couldn’t be more excited about how the weekend went,’’ said Holmes who was wearing a black sweatshirt featuring a large photo of coach Dan Campbell on the front.

“I told you all this is my brother, this is my guy,’’ Holmes said. “I love this sweatshirt.”

Holmes, who just finished his third draft with the Lions, also made a big move on Saturday, trading running back D’Andre Swift who he called a “dynamic, electric football player.” Swift was sent to the Eagles — Philadelphia is his hometown — for an earlier seventh-round pick on Saturday and a fourth-round pick in 2025.

“It’s my job to keep laser-focused on the present, but probably even more to keep laser-focused on the future. That’s what went into a lot of decisions with having to make the trade of D’Andre Swift to Philly,’’ Holmes said. “He was in the last year of his contract. Going back to last year I felt good about bringing back Jamaal Williams, it didn’t happen. You have to be prepared for those things.

“We don’t draft scared, we don’t kind of play scared. The thing with Jahmyr Gibbs, that’s the guy we loved. Again, having to keep that laser focus for the future and we wanted to do the right thing for the player,’’ Holmes said.

2023 Lions draft

RB Jahmyr Gibbs, Alabama, first round (12th overall)

LB Jack Campbell, Iowa, first round (18th overall)

TE Sam LaPorta, Iowa, second round (34th overall)

DB Brian Branch, Alabama, second round (45th overall)

QB Hendon Hooker, Tennessee, third round (68th overall)

DL Brodric Martin, Western Kentucky, third round (96th overall)

OL Colby Sorsdal, William & Mary, fifth round (152nd overall)

Lions add WR Antoine Green with final draft pick

ALLEN PARK — Wide receiver Antoine Green, who played at North Carolina, was drafted in the seventh round by the Lions on Saturday. He was the eighth and final pick for Detroit and the first wide receiver drafted by the Lions.

He’s a vertical specialist averaging 18.6 yards per catch. He’s explosive with a background in sprinting and long-jump/triple-jump.

“My strengths as a player I’m good at stretching the field, I can read a defense pretty well, find the zone, do whatever I have to do to get open, I’ve got a big body and good hands and my playmaking ability is what’s special about me,’’ Green said in a Zoom interview.

He will join the Lions’ wide receiver group which includes Amon-Ra St. Brown, veteran Marvin Jones Jr., Jameson Williams and Kalif Raymond.

“Joining an established offense with Jared Goff and the rest of the guys, it’s definitely exciting for me because I want to contribute to that and put on a show what I can do and ultimately win games,’’ Green said.

For the Tar Heels he played as a true freshman but didn’t take over a full-time role until 2021. Last season he was a third-team All-ACC selection (43 catches for 798 yards and seven TDs).

He was limited to nine games with a collarbone injury.

His NFL.com pre-draft notes included: “Green’s size and deep-ball success make him a more intriguing Day 3 prospect than the overall production and skill set might suggest. Like most vertical specialists, he’s not going to shake man coverage on intermediate routes, but he has decent hands and consistently finds himself overtaking deep coverage with his build-up speed. He might find himself fighting for a spot on a practice squad or the back end of a roster.’’

Green played at Florida’s Rockledge High School.

2023 Lions draft