What Detroit Lions GM Has 'Antennas Peaked' For During Draft Process

Detroit Lions want to remain steady with their overall draft process.

Detroit Lions executive vice president and general manager Brad Holmes speaks during media availability | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Detroit Lions have not had the most success in the past couple of NFL drafts. General manager Brad Holmes was able to stock the roster full of core talent from 2021-2023.

But the second half of the 2023 draft, along with the past two, have not done enough to give the team enough depth and to avoid significant holes created by injuries.

Among the biggest gripes from supporters is the notion Holmes was too cavalier with draft picks.

There was a willingness to draft players with the right intangibles, but may need a couple of seasons under their belt, to fully meet their potential and help the team win games out on the field.

It is understandable why the front office did not have the exact same level of urgency in the draft as supporters.

The roster has an established core group of players and the right mix of veterans. Unfortunately, when injuries piled up, the lack of depth and not making enough impactful moves in free agency or the trade deadline caught up to the team.

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At his season-ending media session, the former Rams Director or College Scouting indicated he would keep his "antennas peaked" to ensure the personnel department did not stray too far away from core principles.

“As long as they’re made up of the right kind of stuff, that’s really – I think that’s the main thing that matters. If they have the, yeah there’s a baseline of talent that you have to have for this league, but they have to have the right temperament, the right intangible qualities, the right football character, regardless if that’s a higher floor player, if that’s a developmental player," said Holmes. "If someone’s going to be highly competitive to add, whether it’s a young guy then players like that, they can add some discomfort.

"I think that’s necessary from a competition standpoint. So, it’s not really going to change the calculus in terms of, do we take a guy that’s a little more developmental? It could be – we took a developmental player that is about as higher motored as it can get, and he can frustrate a lot of players in practice because of that and I think that’s a good thing," Holmes commented further. "We just need to make sure they’re made up of the right stuff. I have my antennas peaked up that we don’t go the opposite and start looking for this more talented player, that may not have the other stuff. So, that’s going to be a focal point that we’re going to have to have going forward.”