Why Detroit Lions Changed Up Pre-Draft Process This Year

Detroit Lions general manager discusses changes made to the draft process this year.

Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes, left, and Lions head coach Dan Campbell head off the practice field. | Eric Seals / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Detroit Lions have made a couple of notable adjustments to their NFL pre-draft process this season.

General manager Brad Holmes, speaking with local reporters at his pre-draft media session, shared why the team did not schedule a local pro day and why he did not attend the annual owners meeting for the first time in his Lions tenure.

The sixth-year general manager indicated the process has steadily evolved over the last five years, but the aim is still the same: to let the film dictate the evaluation of a draft prospect.

Holmes indicated he did not want to feel like he was in "make-up" mode, like he was in years past.

“It was really more in the past, where I’ve gotten, for our process, it’s a lot of time that you miss. So, by the time that you get back, I’m kind of in a make-up mode because of all the time that you missed for our process," said Holmes. "So, that’s why I kind of just said, look, in order for me to try to kind of avoid being in that make-up mode, because now you hop into Draft meetings with the scouts, and it keeps rolling. But, you’ve missed a good chunk of time for us. So, that’s what went into it this year.”

No local pro day scheduled

Local pro days are another opportunity for scouts and coaches to evaluate draft prospects that visit a team's facility.

A local prospect could find his stock rising or end up on a roster as an undrafted NFL free agent.

Detroit made the decision not to schedule a pro day this year, after hosting them the past couple of seasons.

"Just internally we kind of made a decision to utilize that time for some other things, but still utilize the local visits as well. We still utilize the local visits, but we just made the decision really last summer to do away with the pro day," said Holmes. "And we’ll see how it goes. If we feel like we missed something by not doing it, we’ll look at it and adjust again.”

Detroit has hosted several local players on top-30 visits, including Michigan Wolverines wideout Donaven McCulley.

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