Lions general manager Brad Holmes held his annual media briefing at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday. It was an interesting 15-minute question-and-answer period at the podium, with Holmes covering a wide swath of offseason and team-building topics.
But it was one of the first things Holmes said that is perhaps the biggest takeaway from the entire podium time.
“We’re not a needs-based drafting team,” Holmes stated.
He said it in relation to a question about doubling up on cornerbacks in the first and second round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Taking Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw was the culmination of a long-term strategy, not a reflection on the team necessarily loading up on a widely perceived need.
“We just get the best football player for us,” Holmes continued. “We don’t really get too fixated on positions. But I will say that one–it just kind of lined up perfectly because of what we went through during that previous season where we got so low on secondary depth.”
Back to the start of his answer.
“We’re not a needs-based drafting team.”
That’s been a consistent point throughout the Holmes/Campbell regime. Of course, in the first couple of drafts, the Lions effectively needed everything. They needed talent, period, no matter where it lined up on the field.
Last year, Holmes used the selections after the two CBs on largely long-term developmental players like OL Giovanni Manu, DL Mekhi Wingo and RB Sione Vaki, a college safety. The 2023 draft saw Holmes and his Lions take a running back, an off-ball LB, a tight end and a safety in the first 45 picks of the draft instead of the biggest perceived needs (at the time) of defensive tackle, cornerback and wide receiver. An upgrade at No. 2 QB, which was a massive need at the time, came with the next selection in Hendon Hooker.
The lesson: listen to Holmes when he talks about drafting players, not positions. He’s proven talent trumps need in every draft. Expect 2025 to be the same.