It will be harder than ever for the Lions to fill holes in their fourth draft under Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell. That is, they only have so many holes to fill. The roster has grown exponentially from when Holmes and Campbell arrived in 2021, to the point that the Lions won't have to think twice about drafting the best players on the board next month.
Not that they've ever drafted for need.
"Since we’ve been here, we’ve really been, man, 'Draft the best player available.' And I don’t think this year is any different," Campbell told reporters Tuesday at the NFL owners meetings. "I think what’s unique is, those first two, three years, we did have a lot of holes. So it just naturally worked out. Because you've got eight holes, your odds are pretty good that you’re going to get a guy that’s going to fill a hole."
Campbell went on to acknowledge that "every team in this league’s got warts" and "nobody is a perfect roster, but we’re the best we’ve been in four years. We feel like, man, we’ve got a lot of those holes filled."
One spot where a question mark has been raised is cornerback, where the Lions released Cam Sutton last week after he was charged in Florida with domestic battery by strangulation. Sutton, who was at the Lions facility in Allen Park when his arrest warrant was issued, remains on the run. Campbell declined to comment on the situation after it was addressed Monday by team president Rod Wood, but did acknowledge that "it brings up a little urgency for another player that can compete."
"Certainly there’s still some guys we’re looking at in free agency that can bring in some competition, and that may or may not be done before the draft," he said. "But as far as everything else goes, we’re ready to go into the draft and see if we can come away with something in there."
You can bet they will. The Lions' first three draft classes under Holmes and Campbell produced two first-team All-Pros in Penei Sewell and Amon-Ra St. Brown and three Pro Bowlers in Aidan Hutchinson, Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam LaPorta on last season's team that reached the NFC title game. That's without mentioning key starters like Alim McNeill, Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch, which itself is without mentioning rising young players like Ifeatu Melifonwu, Jameson Williams and Jack Campbell. You get the point.
Campbell said it's "been pretty special" to watch the roster evolve, because "you're not you’re not always able to stay with the same guys" in the NFL.
"It doesn’t always work that way. You hope to, that means you’re probably having success, so we’re doing a few things right here," he said.
The Lions have climbed in three years from three wins to nine to 12, finishing with a franchise-best 14 last season including the playoffs. They are one of only two teams in the NFL, along with the Ravens, that had a losing record in 2021 and has made successive strides since. Steady growth isn't easy, "but nobody ever lost hope, nobody ever got down, nobody ever thought we couldn’t do this," said Campbell.
"We’ve just all grown together. I think the hard thing is going to be when it comes time to -- these guys we’ve invested in and been around for so long -- when you’re going to have to make hard decisions. That’s when it’s going to get real difficult," Campbell said. "We’re still in a nice little window right now, but that time will come and that’s going to be very difficult because you know what those guys are about and what they’re made of and they really started this with us."
To Campbell's point, the Lions still have all of the aforementioned players on rookie contracts. That should allow them to keep the core of the team intact for another year or two. But the bill will eventually come due on their best players, and the Lions won't be able to afford all of them. They also have a quarterback to pay in Jared Goff.
They just lost Jonah Jackson, a draft pick of the prior regime, to this very dilemma. Much as they would have liked to keep the Pro Bowl-caliber guard, Jackson got a $51 million deal from the Rams that didn't fit the Lions' long-term budget. The money Detroit saved will eventually go toward an extension for a player like Sewell.
Meanwhile, the Lions could very well find Jackson's future replacement in next month's draft. They just won't have to reach for an immediate starter, having imported Pro Bowl guard Kevin Zeitler on a one-year deal and re-signed Graham Glasgow. This remains a young team on an upward trajectory, but urgency is rising to reach the summit.
In addition to corner, Campbell said that the Lions are "still going to look for safety help" ahead of the draft: "That’s not over either. Our eyes are there as well." He also said that Branch, who played mostly nickel last season, has the "flexibility to play the safety position" moving forward, so the Lions could address that need within. Ditto wide receiver, where Josh Reynolds remains on Detroit's radar in free agency.
"We’re still in contact with J-Rey," Campbell said.
The Lions have already filled their most pressing needs, adding a No. 1 corner in Carlton Davis III and perhaps a No. 2 in Amik Robertson and fortifying the defensive line with DJ Reader and Marcus Davenport. The offensive line could be even better with the addition of Zeitler. It all adds up to a well-oiled roster as the draft descends on the Motor City.
Detroit will try to top off the tank next month.