Brad Holmes Recaps Detroit Lions' 2021 Draft

Here are the highlights of Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes' media session, following the conclusion of the 2021 NFL Draft

Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes did not feel like a monkey was lifted off of his back when the 2021 NFL Draft concluded. 

When asked by reporters, Detroit's new GM explained why completing the draft felt like an accomplishment. 

After the three-day process, Holmes met with the media to review the first draft class under his watch. 

Here are the highlights of his responses. 

On T Penei Sewell’s sentiment about opting out of the 2020 season: "I wasn’t going to punish anybody that actually decided to opt out. But, Penei was awesome in terms of providing his reasoning for the opt-out. There was a chance that he was actually not going to opt out and play, you know. But, there was other stipulations that kind of came into play, where it kind of turned out best that he did not and he went ahead and opted out. But, I will say that he’s a guy that loves football, and what his reasoning is and walking us through the process, it was everything that we would have expected."

On if there was one player he selected that he was shocked was still available: "I will say even down to Jermar Jefferson, even when we made the trade and got (selection) 257, I believe it was. I didn’t really think that he would still be on the board. So, we were very, very happy about him. I mentioned it last night, well I guess I’d say technically this morning, about Iffy (Ifeatu Melifonwu), where we got him at (selection) 101. Didn’t really expect him to be there, and so that’s one that we were extremely happy about.”

On if it feels like a monkey is off his back after completing his first NFL Draft as a general manager: “It’s not a monkey off of my back. It’s an accomplishment to get through the first one, and that feels good. It feels even better to do it with great people and think that we came away with some really good football players that we feel really, really good about."

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On how he will look back and define successful draft classes in his career: “There’s a lot of different ways you probably could break that success down. When you look back it, I’ve often looked at just play-time percentage. It’s more easy to see it as accolades, if they ended up being All-Pros, or Pro Bowlers and all that type of stuff. But, it’s a good barometer to see play-time percentage, games played, games started. That’s probably usually a quick reference to break down (the) success of past drafts.”

On if he can confirm that he made significant technology upgrades to the draft room and how that potentially helped in his first draft: “Yes, I did. I thought that it was necessary for the process that I wanted to have in place. I couldn’t be more thankful to (Lions Principal Owner & Chairman) Sheila (Ford Hamp), the Ford family and (Lions team president) Rod Wood for supplying the resources and providing everything that we needed to make sure that we have everything in order to have success. It was extremely helpful. We’re living in a virtual world. So, just from a remote standpoint, with the communication being streamlined through the use of technology and a lot of the other things, it definitely streamlined the meetings, and it made the meetings a lot more resourceful and vivid, for sure, and productive.”

On the importance of getting Lions C Frank Ragnow signed to a long-term contract: "I’ll never forget when it first got announced that I got the job, Frank, he reached out immediately. I told him, I said, ‘Man, huge fan of you. You play the game the right way.’ So, very important to get it done. I’m not going to comment on timetable right now. That would be a little bit premature. But, we’re not sitting back and waiting on that one.”

On the most important thing he feels he accomplished during this draft for the future of the organization: “Well, from the sounds of it, after we drafted (Amon-Ra) St. Brown, I felt like people finally would get off my ass about not getting a receiver. Besides that, no. We just achieved the goal of we stuck to what we said that we were going to do, and that’s just get good football players and get the best football players that fit what we’re looking for. I believe that’s what we set out to do, and that’s what we did. That’s what we feel good about."

On the fit he sees for LB Derrick Barnes in his scheme: “Barnes, he’s so intriguing, because, yes, he might have that approach and demeanor of, like you say, kind of that older school linebacker. But, that dude is fast. He’s explosive. He can really run. He’s got long arms. He can shed blocks. He plays with tenacity. He has a background as a pass-rusher, so he’s got the versatility to do a lot of different things and I think that that’s needed in today’s game. You look at Alim McNeill. He’s not just your traditional block-eating, space-eater. Like yes, he can do that, but he’s athletic. He’s got quickness, he can change directions. He does fit that mold that you kind of need in today’s game. Like Iffy (Ifeatu Melifonwu), he may look like just a press corner. But no, he can play in space, he can change direction. He’s got twitch, he’s got shorter movement. So, we do think that all these players that we selected, we are making sure that we are keeping up with how the game is evolving."

On what he thinks he’s learned from his first draft: “That’s a really good question. I will just say, coming fresh off of it, I think I learned that you have to surround yourself with great people, and you have to trust them. Coming up as a scout and a college director, you’re often tasked to do things by yourself or for yourself, and you have to do a lot of things and make sure that it’s right. In this chair, you don’t have the time to really do every single thing you want to. So, you’ve got to make sure that you’re on the same page and really trust the great people that you have surrounded yourself with. And, I believe that’s what we did. Our personnel department, I think those guys did a heck of a job with delivering the results that we wanted. Hats off to them. Without them, we would not have had the success that we did.”