Dan Campbell Has No Room for 'Turds' on Lions Roster
New Lions head coach Dan Campbell doesn't want any "turds" on his football team.
He wants hard-working guys that are going to give a full degree of effort on every play.
He expressed as much during a segment on "The Hang Zone" on 96.7 The Ticket in Dallas earlier this week.
"Look, we’re no different than anybody else. Even if you’re a great player, we don’t want turds here, man," Campbell told The Hang Zone. "We don’t want lazy guys. We don’t want guys that are up and down, and we don’t want flash players. If you’re a flash guy, where it’s like, 'My god, did you see that play?' And the next play, he’s in the tank, we don’t know where he’s at, we don’t know what he’s going to do, I got nothing for those guys. It’s the ones that are consistent, and you see it all the time."
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Presumably, Campbell doesn't think any of the players that have been added by the franchise this offseason are turds, either.
Players that have been acquired include former New Orleans Saints tight end Josh Hill, ex-Saints linebacker Alex Anzalone, former L.A. Rams franchise quarterback Jared Goff, ex-Rams defensive lineman Michael Brockers and former L.A. Chargers wide receiver Tyrell Williams.
Interestingly enough, each of the aforementioned individuals had a prior relationship with a member of the Lions' coaching staff/front office (Hill and Anzalone with Campbell in New Orleans, Goff and Brockers with Detroit GM Brad Holmes while with the Rams and Williams with Lions offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn with the Chargers).
During a video conference with Detroit media in early March, Campbell talked about how big of a component player familiarity would be in the personnel acquisition process.
"If I’m being completely transparent with you, I think, yeah, that’s a pretty accurate assessment or something I would say would be pretty much in line. But, that doesn’t mean that we’re going to have all players from New Orleans here," Campbell told reporters. "Now, does that mean that if there’s some players from New Orleans, yeah, because I know who they are."
He went on to talk about how the familiarity would impact Holmes and him when deciding whether to bring in a player or not.
"Brad (Holmes) and I talk about this all the time. It’s not even so much what you think they can do, it’s you know what their downside is. That’s different than anything else, in free agency, you don’t always know what all the warts are," Campbell explained. "You do when you’ve been with these guys. And, sometimes, you’re harder on your own guys when you’re around them longer."
As for evaluating prospects leading up to the NFL Draft, Campbell isn't sweating the lack of an NFL combine, which was eliminated from the offseason calendar of events due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I'm actually comfortable with it. I know Brad’s comfortable with it. It’s pretty fun, man, just (to) grade the football player. And then, the numbers, how much do they skew you? And they shouldn’t, really," Campbell said during his appearance on The Hang Zone. "Now, here’s the difference. You see a cornerback you love, and then he runs a 4.9. Well, that’s a problem. And yet, man, there’s something to be said for scouting the football player before you even get to the numbers. So, I’m enjoying it. I think it’s a good way to go."
Day 1 of the 2021 NFL Draft kicks off April 29 from Cleveland, Ohio, with the Lions set to pick at No. 7 overall.
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