Would Lions Draft a Player with Character Issues?
The previous Detroit Lions regime -- led by Bob Quinn as general manager and Matt Patricia as head coach -- largely steered clear of drafting players with character issues.
If Brad Holmes' press conference Monday was any indication, things might be a little different for the new regime, as it gets ready for the 2021 NFL Draft.
"It's always a case-by-case. Character is one of the hardest things when when it comes to -- from an evaluation of the talent aspect -- that's probably the easiest part," Holmes told reporters during his latest media session. "But, when you got human beings evaluating other human beings' intangibles, there's a lot that that goes into it. What you might hear about on the surface or what you might read about may not really be the absolute truth."
He added, "With myself in our personnel department, as we dig into these guys -- sometimes on the surface, it may seem like, 'Man, I don't know.' Then, you start getting deeper and deeper and deeper, and then you kind of see it's not what we initially thought or there was a lot of different moving parts that may have led to that headline. So, it definitely plays a part. But, we just take them all case-by-case."
One first-round target of the Lions that has had a character "red flag" pop up recently is Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons.
It stems from Parsons' involvement in a 2020 hazing lawsuit that a former Penn State player filed against the university and coach James Franklin. However, no charges were filed, and Parsons was not named as a defendant in the civil suit.
He addressed the concerns about his character during his Penn State pro day media session Thursday.
"At the end of the day, I believe that I was a kid," Parsons said. "I was 17-18. We all made mistakes when we were 17-18. I’m not going to let it control or dictate the person I am now. I’m not going to let something that was 3-4 years (ago) dictate who I've become and the father I want to be."
Lions head coach Dan Campbell expressed that he wanted to be "active" in the assessment of players pre-draft, and has even been present during several Zoom meetings with prospects.
"Of course, you take their character into account," he said. "We've done a number of these Zooms. I try to pop on some of these Zooms. I've been involved in the draft meetings with Brad (Holmes) and Ray (Agnew) and John (Dorsey) and Lance (Newmark) and those guys and (Dave) Sears. I'll call people that I know to try to see if I could dig out any extra on the kid's character or what he is. I would say I'm certainly active in regards to that. I want to be involved in it, and I want to hear the input."
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