Recap the game in 2 sentences

[CMafia]

It was a typical pre-season game. What stood out is Ennis Rakestraw sucked and almost got injured again.

[NYLion59]

@HiFidelity

Despite what Davicus implied, I do think Williams is a good pick. But the lack of depth from those two years will cripple the team

You can draw a line at the Branch pick in ‘23 until the end of ‘25 and count on one hand the number of useful players the team got. This is a really bad outcome. Those are guys who should be contributing all over the depth chart by now.

It seems that Holmes completely changed strategies after the Branch pick and took flier after flier - and compounded that with bad evals. I am not writing off TeSlaa but he isn’t looking like the 2nd round value that was invested into that pick. If he was the only questionable pick then I would just chalk it up to one of those things, but this is a pretty concerning pattern now

What do you mean? These guys just finished their rookie seasons, I think your expectations are way too high if you expected immediate impact from a late 1st round DT and 2nd/3rd round picks. The NFL is a hard league, it usually takes guys more than one year to establish themselves. The Teslaa pick is the only one that I’d consider a reach at the time and he showed some good stuff in his rookie season. I just don’t know how you can call the 2025 draft a bad strategic draft or put it in the really bad outcome category.

[Mongoose]

Two sentences? That’s all we get, that’s tough

1. We have depth everywhere except CB & SAF, we even have Oline depth
2. We might have found something with this Altmyer QB

[Thats2]

@Jman

He does love pissing away mid round picks to go get his guy though

If the Inside the Dens have told us anything, it’s that this FO will always be a ‘go-get-your-guy’ organization. It’s clearly an operational belief. And it has been from day one, it’s just we’re dealing with very small sample sizes here, so he isn’t always able to pull it off.

[Jman]

@Thats2

@Jman

He does love pissing away mid round picks to go get his guy though

If the Inside the Dens have told us anything, it’s that this FO will always be a ‘go-get-your-guy’ organization. It’s clearly an operational belief. And it has been from day one, it’s just we’re dealing with very small sample sizes here, so he isn’t always able to pull it off.

Oh trust me I’m aware… it’s not a small sample size anymore. Dude has made it crystal clear ■■■■ them 3/4 round picks

Go get your guy

The best one he made was for Branch and that only cost us a 5 …

[Gitche]

@Davicus

Also, can we also stop acting like a rocky start to TeSlaa’s camp and a bad first half of the first pre-season game is some sort of lasting indication of his ability? I think some people, who didn’t like the pick to begin with, are making way too much of a slow start and taking the opportunity to rehash their grievances against Brad, as if this 3-week period is the definition of TeSlaa’s career.

I remember lots (okay, maybe not lots, but a few) of people around here doing the same thing to Brad regarding Jamo well into year two as well.

Play Teslaa as a 1 or a 2 and he will not get open. Put him on the field with ARSB, Jamo, and LaPorta he is going to be wide open.

[Thats2]

@Jman

Oh trust me I’m aware… it’s not a small sample size anymore. Dude has made it crystal clear ■■■■ them 3/4 round picks

Go get your guy

The best one he made was for Branch and that only cost us a 5 …

He would have done it with Gibbs too, I find that fascinating. Like if that draft had gone like we planned and we got Spoon at 6 then traded up from 18 for Gibbs - which he would have gotten KILLED for - what would we think about it?

To me, even though I’m a draft guy, the compensation is essentially moot. Once the picks are traded away they basically becomes Schrodinger’s picks, and there’s no way to ever ‘open the box.’ The only thing that really matters is ‘does the guy turn out to be good?’ If the answer is no then it was a bad trade, if the answer is yes than it was a good one. I think that’s the way Brad views it too.

[CMafia]

I’d like to chime in the draft talk because i love that kind of talk.

2024 was one of the worst ever. It rivals Millen. But to be fair only in hindsight. Because Arnold was a legit 1st round prospect, and was arguably the best CB prospect. He fit this team like a glove. I still think he can be a great player, and maybe he will be with the Seahawks, but i support the Lions on cutting him for the off-the field issues.

I also loved Rakestraw, and he was a legit 1st/2nd round prospect, but it doesn’t seem like it’s going to work out with him.

It’s hard to blame Brad, but he does have to take responsibility.

The Manu trade was terrible.

2025, i’m happy people see the potential in Tyleik, but I don’t. And he might have weight problems. It also tells me he might have work ethic concerns. I hope more than anything he becomes great because I value DT’s so highly.

Ratledge has been ok. Not great. I don’t think he will have the versatility to play C like they hoped. He could be solid.

To be fair, the jury is still out on TeSlaa but he doesn’t look like he was worth the trade ATM.

2026 I think the best thing Brad has done for the team and for himself was drafting OT and DE in the 1st 2 rounds. I respect him also because after last season it seems like he humbled himself.

[Mongoose]

@CMafia

But to be fair only in hindsight. Because Arnold was a legit 1st round prospect, and was arguably the best CB prospect. He fit this team like a glove. I still think he can be a great player, and maybe he will be with the Seahawks, but i support the Lions on cutting him for the off-the field issues.

The correct move was to draft Cooper DeJean in round one, before the draft, during the draft, and definitely after the draft.

I don’t want to hear “he’s an inside” guy either. His skillset is built for both inside & outside

[CMafia]

I don’t agree. We needed/need an outside CB. DeJean is a NB/S and we had Branch.

[Mongoose]

He could 100% play outside & change games there as well

[CMafia]

@Mongoose

He could 100% play outside & change games there as well

I mean maybe you’re right. But again that’s hindsight. We needed a outside CB. He was not an outside CB prospect. I did like him.

[StormGuyNovi]

It was the best of times.
It was the worst of times.

[Thats2]

@Mongoose

I don’t want to hear “he’s an inside” guy either. His skillset is built for both inside & outside

Whether you want to hear it or not, I’m going to say it. Well, not that he couldn’t play outside, just that his skill set was better suited for inside or safety. And that’s still true today. I admit he is better outside than he thought he would be, but we’re still talking above average player. Inside he’s the league’s best.

[CuriousHusker]

Most folks with OL backgrounds seem pretty impressed with Blake’s debut.

https://x.com/geoffschwartz/status/2088256965306671195?s=46

That and figuring out the interior OL to me are the most important developments if we are to return to our prior peak. We’ve proven that we can be really good while mitigating some defensive holes if we have the whole package on the offensive side of the ball.

Sadly CM looked pretty rough IMO. Though it felt like some of that was fitness level related. Hopefully he just needs to play himself into shape.. Seth? That probably depends on what kind of expectations you came in with.

[HiFidelity]

@NYLion59

What do you mean? These guys just finished their rookie seasons, I think your expectations are way too high if you expected immediate impact from a late 1st round DT and 2nd/3rd round picks.

Re-read my first paragraph

@HiFidelity

I do think Williams is a good pick. But the lack of depth from those two years will cripple the team

The only picks I think have proven to be solid are Williams and Ratledge, but the lack of depth from those two drafts will cripple the team

TeSlaa can turn out to be a solid #3. Maybe. And the italicized component doesn’t change. The lack of quality depth starting from the 3rd round of ‘23 and carrying through ‘25 is a big deal - the lack of actual starters beyond the above two an even bigger deal. Williams can become an All Pro and the lack of quality depth will still cripple the team

[Jah26]

A haiku instead:

Training camp decamp
A bungle in the jungle
Jungle kings queen city

[Mongoose]

@Thats2

Whether you want to hear it or not, I’m going to say it. Well, not that he couldn’t play outside, just that his skill set was better suited for inside or safety. And that’s still true today. I admit he is better outside than he thought he would be, but we’re still talking above average player. Inside he’s the league’s best.

Good to see that you’re finally starting to shift your opinion, I appreciate that

[Thats2]

Oh I will always admit to being wrong. Happens all the time and there’s all sorts of evidence on here of it. Couldn’t lie about it if I wanted to.

And while with DeJean I leaned toward the side that said he probably wouldn’t be able to thrive outside pre-draft, I knew even then I could be wrong. My main belief was that he would be best used inside, and I still feel that way. He’s just prove to be better outside than I thought he’d be.

But I also didn’t know at the time we’d be shifting Branch to deep safety. He had spent his rookie season thriving at the exact spot I thought DeJean should play. Had I know that I might have been more interested, but even if we’d taken him we’d still have an issue at outside CB today.

[barreb101]

@HiFidelity

The lack of quality depth starting from the 3rd round of ‘23 and carrying through ‘25 is a big deal

1. The hit rate on players after the 2nd drops significantly but i also wish we hit better in that time frame. Holmes also had an insane hit rate prior to that
2. Players with stories still to be written shouldnt consistently be thrown at Holmes as if they are failed picks

Starters today: ratledge, williams, miller, mahogany

Rotational today: teslaa

Reserves today: frazier, hassassin

Too early: everyone else in 26

It is absolutely a hit light and not what we had come to expect from the small draft sample size Holmes had to that point.

Doesnt really mean anything though when you consider the availability of vet min guys and udfas that every other team uses to supplement depth issues created by the draft misses that EVERY team has.