What Brad Holmes Quietly Revealed About Detroit Lions During The Draft

The Detroit Lions front office and coaching staff took a long, hard look at their process and their decisions over the course of the last 12-16 months.

A season that resulted in the team failing to qualify for the postseason was a staunch reminder that any missteps in decision-making and veering away from their identify, even it was ever so slightly, would have dire consequences.

General manager Brad Holmes felt the sting of the team regressing and made it a point all throughout the offseason to remind himself of the Lions' true identity.

Speaking with reporters after the conclusion of the 2026 NFL Draft, Holmes was asked what was the most important thing that was accomplished over the course of three days in late April.

“It was just that, it was just finding gritty football players," said Holmes. "Getting back to – I’m not saying we forgot about our identity, but just making sure that was at the top of mind. That’s why every single player that we took, there were sometimes where we were writing notes and I write down, ‘This guy is a football player.’ I go back and I’m reading my notes through all the guys that we’ve picked, and I’m just highlighting that I said that about every single one of these guys.

"And so, as long as me and (Lions head coach) Dan (Campbell) are seeing it the same way in terms of they’re football players that fit us, I would say that is the overall theme," Holmes commented further. "And look, that is competitiveness, so however high that these guys take it in terms of climbing the depth chart, I do think that they’re going to have the ability to potentially make some people uncomfortable.”

Campbell indicated the roster needed to be reminded that no spot is safe. With several free agents added on prove-it type deals, there are going to be a multitude of competitive position battles.

Rookie Blake Miller is going to battle Larry Borom for the starting right tackle spot, while Keith Abney has an opportunity to be the team's starting nickel cornerback. Veteran Roger McCreary and Ennis Rakestaw will both will be battling for that spot also.

With added competition and adding players to the roster in the draft who fit the team's identity, the hope is the feeling when the 2026 regular season ends will be vastly different than in 2025.

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