In the Lions' third straight win last week against the Jets, seven of their draft picks this year saw the field. All eight of them have seen the field this season. Of the 15 players Brad Holmes has drafted since taking over as Lions general manager, 12 have logged snaps this season and at least 10 have had a real hand in the team's recent turnaround. The Lions hired Holmes for his ability to hit on picks. Looks like they hit on a GM.
"There’s a lot of people in this building and I’m just a piece of it, that’s all I am," Dan Campbell said Tuesday on 97.1 The Ticket. "We have some great coaches and support staff, and I’ve got a damn good GM."
Holmes, the former director of college scouting for the Rams, did inherit some good pieces on offense from Detroit's prior regime. But the defense? Yikes. His predecessor Bob Quinn drafted 21 defensive players over his five-year tenure with the Lions, only two of whom were starters in his final season on the worst defense in the NFL.
Holmes has drafted 10 defensive players in Detroit. Five of them have been starters this season, on a defense that's getting better by the week. Aidan Hutchinson has been every bit the can't-miss player the Lions envisioned at No. 2 overall. They've also found keepers in third-round defensive tackle Alim McNeill, third-round safety Kerby Joseph and sixth-round linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez. Second-round defensive lineman Josh Paschal could be another.
That's to say nothing of sixth-round edge rusher James Houston who's been terrorizing quarterbacks for the past four weeks and undrafted corner Jerry Jacobs who's been a pitbull in the secondary. Not to discount waiver wire claim John Cominsky and bargain-bin free agent Isaiah Buggs, both of whom have wreaked havoc in the trenches. Detroit's defense still has a long way to go, but almost every move Holmes has made has helped. His only big miss is spending a second-round pick on injured defensive end Levi Onwuzurike.
"Brad and I had a vision of what we wanted to do, and we don’t have anyone (above us) telling us how we’re supposed to do it or what you need to do," Campbell said. "This was all about how we wanted to build it. And the first thing is, get the right type of players."
For the Lions, no one epitomizes the 'right type of player' more than Amon-Ra St. Brown. Holmes raved about his competitive spirit when they drafted him in the fourth round last year. He has since become one of the best receivers in the NFL and the headliner of a deep cast of weapons at a position that was a glaring weakness for the Lions just last season. If Holmes whiffed on his first round of receiver signings in Breshad Perriman and Tyrell Williams, he has hit on Josh Reynolds and DJ Chark. And 12th overall pick Jameson Williams is still on-deck.
The right type of player is also fiery offensive tackle Penei Sewell, Holmes' first draft pick. It's spirited running back Jamaal Williams and fearless return man Kalif Raymond, two of Holmes' first free agent signings. It's special teams ace C.J. Moore, who returned to the Lions this season after being cut out of training camp because he was so confident in what Holmes and Campbell are building in Detroit. It's even Jared Goff, Holmes' first trade acquisition who's looking more and more like the Lions' long-term quarterback. Holmes viewed him as such from the jump.
"People talk about culture, you gotta have the right people," said Campbell. They gotta be made a certain way. When you do that and they believe in what you believe in and they’re people who don’t want to give in, they just want to get better and they focus on the job at hand, good things are probably going to happen. You just don’t know when it’s going to happen. And listen, we’re reaping the benefits right now."
Campbell deserves plenty of credit himself for rallying this team from a 1-6 start. (So do vets like Taylor Decker and Frank Ragnow who were here under the prior regime.) It wasn't all that long ago that Holmes' draft record was coming under scrutiny. The Lions were young and vulnerable in the first half of the season, a threat to themselves more than anyone else. Now they're young and dangerous. They're growing up one game at a time, a group of talented, strong-willed players assembled by a smart GM.
"You have these qualities about you as a team," said Campbell. "And even when you’re not winning, when (the opponent knows they're) playing a team that's going to play their ass off, they’re relentless, they’re snap to whistle, they finish plays, you know you’re going to be in for a dogfight. Those are the teams that are tough, man."
Listen live to 97.1 The Ticket via:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Smart Speaker