Who Is More To Blame For Poor Defense: Brad Holmes or Kelvin Sheppard?

Unless you've been living under a rock, you're well aware that the Detroit Lions have had a major problem stopping opposing offenses the first two weeks of the 2026 season.

Through two games, Dan Campbell's squad has allowed a completely unacceptable 915 total yards and 71 points. Plus, the Lions have already permitted 13 total plays of 20-plus yards, including seven against the Bills in Week 2.

While Detroit's defensive woes can certainly be at least partially attributed to Kelvin Sheppard's shoddy scheming and poor play-calling, they are much deeper rooted. In fact, more than any other reason, the Lions’ lackluster play on defense is due to a lack of talent. And that shortcoming falls squarely on the shoulders of Brad Holmes.

The sixth-year GM did not do enough this offseason to put the team's defense in position to succeed on a weekly basis.

For starters, he did not adequately replace Terrion Arnold at outside cornerback. For as much as Arnold struggled in his time in the Motor City, he still was projected to have a major role in Detroit's secondary prior to his release. And no offense to the likes of Avonte Maddox, Roger McCreary and Rock Ya-Sin, but they don't possess the makeup of an impact cover corner.

Then, even more glaringly, Holmes did nothing to address the void at safety that exists with both Brian Branch (Achilles) and Kerby Joseph (knee) on the PUP list to start the season. The Lions front-office head honcho erroneously planned for life without the star safeties, failing to provide the organization with a sufficient safety valve for the injured defensive backs.

And those holes in the secondary reared their ugly heads in Week 1 and Week 2. Sheppard's unit allowed 410 yards and three touchdowns to Saints QB Tyler Shough in the season opener, and followed that up by permitting 248 yards and three TDs to Bills signal-caller Josh Allen.

The Holmes-constructed secondary has been hugely underwhelming through two weeks, and his pass-rushing department hasn't been much better.

The pass-rush's production continues to almost completely revolve around Aidan Hutchinson's ability to wreak havoc against opposing passers.

If he's getting home, the Lions are having success as a unit. However, if he's not, Detroit is struggling to get after the quarterback.

That is another Holmes-induced problem. He's had multiple offseasons now to supply Hutchinson with a proficient pass-rushing counterpart at EDGE. And time and time again, he has decided against prioritizing the position, a major misfire on the part of the Detroit front-office executive.

And Sheppard's defense continues to pay for it, struggling to get off the field on third and fourth down far too often.

Quite notably, Holmes also swung and missed on both Arnold and fellow cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr. with his first two picks of the 2024 draft. Rakestraw has made a minimal impact in his time with the Lions, suiting up for just eight games (all of which came his rookie season). And sad but true, the window is likely already closing on the Missouri product's time in Motown.

It all adds up to the fact that Holmes has clearly not built a strong enough defensive backfield or pass-rush unit. And that reality has been overwhelmingly evident against both New Orleans and Buffalo.

As a result, I'm going to place more of the blame on Holmes than Sheppard for the defense's embarrassing start to the 2026 campaign.

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