When Brad Holmes was hired as general manager of the Detroit Lions in 2021, he was tasked with rebuilding the roster from the ashes of the “Quinntricia” era. He also had a veteran quarterback who didn’t want to be a part of another rebuild, which is understandable, and Holmes granted him his want to be traded.
Holmes has done things in largely his own way, and that was no more evident than with the immediate reactions to the Lions’ 2023 draft class. Taking a running back and an off-ball linebacker in the top-20 overall was blasphemy to evaluators and positional value wonks, but it worked out well. In the first two rounds of last year’s draft, the Lions selected four immediate contributors to last year’s run to the NFC title game.
During his season-ending press conference, Holmes stated that he had retained some of the draft criticism receipts dating back to his first pick as Lions general manager. Only Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam LaPorta from the 2023 draft class were first-year Pro Bowl players.
Brad Holmes has outshined his peers in the draft
ESPN’s Eric Woodyard revealed this information when reflecting on last year’s selection class and looking ahead to this year’s draft, where the Lions have three of the top 73 picks.
Holmes and Campbell have earned the benefit of the doubt. In his three years in Detroit, Holmes has drafted five Pro Bowlers (Penei Sewell, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Aidan Hutchinson, Gibbs and LaPorta). That’s three more than any other team during that span, according to ESPN Stats & Information.”
That the Lions have drafted five Pro Bowlers in Holmes’ three drafts, at least one in each, is not breaking news. That it’s three more Pro Bowlers than any other team has drafted over that span is more telling, and a year from now one more could very well be added to the list (Alim McNeill).
Holmes has been clear about using the draft to add talent, without being married to the idea of strictly filling needs. What he’s doing is obviously working, and it’s working better than any of his peers in terms of selecting Pro Bowlers over his three completed drafts.
