Holmes -
Fantastic job. I was worried he would be in over his head or that Snead was the magic behind the Rams great drafts. No way! The Lions killed it and the Rams flopped. Holmes looks like he has a plan and is executing it with confidence.
Holes -
Holmes and company need to get 2 starters at each and every position on the field. No way you can do that with only 6 draft picks. It’s hardest to get late round huge men that aren’t 3 year projects. It’s expensive to get proven lineman. Drafting early in the trenches in definitely the way to go in my opinion. Lots of DBs and WRs in the later rounds UDFA, or Free Agency.
We’re seeing all the guys he brought in before the draft. We see the draft editions. Some very exciting UDFA have already signed. I expect many of these guys to compete to start and some will become cherished backups.
Now the players and coaches have some time to figure out who will work out and who needs to move on. After that, Holmes has some capital to go $$ a few FAs before the season starts and fill in any final holes.
New Homes -
Lot of guys from the Pac-12. Holmes joked about it and said it wasn’t intentional. I like this a lot. As someone that followed the Pac-12 for a long time, there is a TON of talent but the SEC always seemed to get the higher draft pics. Green Bay and the Patriots are teams that always got better P12 players in later rounds of the draft. Good to see the Lions identifying talent from the west coast because I think it’s undervalued by all the east coast draftniks that go to bed before a lot of their games.
These guys are going to be uprooting and moving to Detroit where they will hopefully fall in love with the city and program and play their hearts out for the team.
Thanks! It’s been a blast to watch all the changes for the Lions and I’m feeling the fans and energy that is building.
One of the storylines I am most excited about is Holmes becoming a GM. What are his tendencies versus what I saw at the Rams over the last 5 years?
Snead vs Holmes styles were clearly on display despite having very different jobs to do. Snead needs to fill roles on what he thinks is a super bowl roster. Holmes needs to upgrade talent at many positions starting with the trenches.
Snead did his usual trading back to get more picks and took a lot of fliers or boom/bust guys.
Holmes was aggressive forward and actually looked to trade up a bunch to get the guys he wanted.
UDFA will be the next place I expect Holmes to make his mark. There are a ton of WRs/LBs/DBs they just signed. If a few of those can become starters/significant contributors, that is where Holmes will really make his mark.
I had no idea who Brad Holmes was. When the process of hiring a GM started I was hoping for someone with experience. I am pleasantly surprised with the hire. I think the Lions definitely hit a home run when they hired him. You can feel the positive energy he puts out along with Campbell. It’s refreshing to say the least. Holmes I believe has risen to the occasion and is shining. I can’t wait to see how these players develop and I’m sure he’s gonna find some gems in UDFA.
I agree. Alot of teams tend to overrate SEC players and underrate some of the other conferences.
Its going to be a tough transition for some of the guys. Detroit is a shithole city compared to where some of the west coast kids come from. I’m glad we have Dan Campbell (Texas kid) who remembers what he was thinking when he came to Detroit, and has said he will help the kids understand what makes Detroit a nice place to play. One thing is for sure, we have a super passionate fanbase. And if you can win in Detroit you will be a god. Hell, people still talk about Erik Kramer because he won a single playoff game back in 1991. The guy was literally here and couldn’t win the starting job in 1992 and 1993, but none of that matters. All fans remember is that playoff win.