How Detroit Lions GM Brad Holmes Can Learn From Trajan Langdon

The Detroit Lions have one of the top core group of players in the National Football League.

Built largely through the draft, Detroit's front office has struggled to support talented young players with enough experienced veterans.

General manager Brad Holmes has added quality players to the roster, including running back David Montgomery and cornerback Carlton Davis in the past.

Unfortunately, there have been far too many misses, especially at the cornerback position.

Detroit Pistons general manager Trajan Langdon made the decision to take a couple of seasons to observe what his roster could accomplish. He has now started to tear it down, with the hopes of adding quality free agents to compete in the Eastern Conference and to push towards an NBA Title.

Older players are not being retained and players like John Collins are being added to complement Cade Cunningham, who has emerged as one of the top young players in the league.

While the two leagues are completely different, the point is Holmes must slightly adapt the team's player acquisition strategy, both in free agency and at the trade deadline.

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The Lions have largely turned to players other team's no longer want around, hoping to continuously find diamonds in the rough.

A major constraint is the salary cap, forcing the team to make calculated decisions regarding who can be added in free agency.

Holmes has committed to retaining and paying the team's draft picks, which has given off the optics, whether correct or incorrect, the team simply wants to be good and not great.

With a core that talented, it is not difficult to understand why supporters and pundits want the team to take a swing on a couple more high-priced, high-impact players.

The Pistons have been publicly linked to Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. It is not clear what level of involvement the Lions have had with high-priced free agents, as the team likes to keep their plans close to the vest, but many across the league believe Holmes has the capability to be quite aggressive in landing coveted players.

Nobody is clamoring for Holmes to be irresponsible, but relying on the draft too heavily has proven to be increasingly risky.

The team just cut first-round pick Terrion Arnold and the past couple of drafts have not produced enough impact to keep the positive momentum moving forward. For two straight years, the team has failed to win a playoff game.

Looking back, many would now say Holmes should have seriously considered trading a 2024 first round pick to land pass rusher Danielle Hunter back in 2023.

With a slight adjustment in their roster building strategy, the Lions can bounce back after a disastrous 2025 season.

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