Brad Holmes tempered expectations ahead of free agency, then exceeded maybe his own. The Lions GM said Tuesday at the NFL owners meetings that "I truly believe this was our best free agency haul that we’ve had since we’ve been here."
"The reason why I say that is through our planning and process this year, we we literally were able to get every single one of our No. 1 targets," Holmes said. "It doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes you might strike out on one and you gotta go to plan B, plan C. No, we were actually able to land Plan A."
In their fourth offseason leading the Lions, Holmes and Dan Campbell added much-needed help to the defense in the form of cornerbacks Carlton Davis III and Amik Robertson and defensive tackle DJ Reader, and maintained their elite offensive line by importing Kevin Zeitler and keeping Graham Glasgow. Campbell said Tuesday that "every one of those guys fits us, and they fill a need that we have." They also preserve the Lions' cap flexibility in the future.
Starting in the secondary, which allowed the most air yards in the NFL last season, the Lions saw Davis as a trade target from the jump. They figured he might be available entering the final year of his contract on a defense with ascending young talent around him. So Holmes called Buccaneers GM Jason Licht and eventually landed a No. 1 corner for the price of a third-round pick (while getting two sixth-rounders back).
Holmes called Davis, 27, "a guy that we always liked that we thought fit our defense." Campbell said the Lions liked Davis so much that "we didn’t really want to throw at him" in two matchups last season. One of the better cover corners in the league when healthy, Davis allowed just five catches for 29 yards in those clashes with Detroit. In man coverage over the last three seasons, he's allowed a passer rating of 66.5.
"There’s things that he can do where he can take a little bit of his side of the field away at times," said Campbell. "That goes a long way for the rest of the defense and what (Aaron Glenn) is going to be able to call. So man, that’s going to help and that’s really something we feel like we haven’t had since we’ve been here."
The Lions were gouged by No. 1 receivers last season, especially when they started blitzing more down the stretch. Davis' ability to handle such matchups on his own, said Campbell, will allow the Lions "to tilt (the defense) from him a little bit and just say, 'Hey, you got this side of the field or you got this player,'" and deploy their safeties more creatively behind him. Kerby Joseph and Ifeatu Melifonwu can be swords as much as shields.
The Lions had also been engaged with corner Amik Robertson from the start of free agency. When they landed Davis and his $14.3 million cap hit, which they later reduced by restructuring his contract, they figured, "We're going to lose Amik," Campbell said. "We just traded for a cover" corner. But Robertson, who was drawn to Campbell and the Lions after playing against them with the Raiders last season and watching their run to the NFC title game, reached back out and asked, "Are we going to get this done or not?'" Campbell said.
They did, by agreeing to a two-year, $9.25 million deal.
"He wanted to come, because to him, he's coming in to compete to start. He wants to come in and earn his right. I love that about this kid," Campbell said. "He fits us 100 percent."
The 5'8 Robertson started out as a slot corner for the Raiders, but spent the last two seasons proving he could play on the outside. He's an option for the Lions to start opposite Davis after they released Cam Sutton last week. They also re-signed Emmanuel Moseley, who will have a say in this conversation. Holmes called Robertson "a pit bull," and he barks like it. Campbell said that he plays much bigger than 5'8.
"This guy plays like a big corner. He's aggressive, he’s competitive, he’s got good man-cover skills and he’s smart. He’s a ball guy. He’s a football player," Campbell said.
Adding Davis and Robertson together should aid the Lions' ability to play man to man, which is "no different than being able to run the ball or stop the run," said Campbell. "It's one of our core values." In other words, it will help them be who they are. And to do it a combined cap hit of $12.7 million this year -- and for a total of $10.5 million guaranteed -- leaves Holmes pretty satisfied in a market where top cornerbacks L'Jarius Sneed and Jaylon Johnson reeled in close to $20 million a year and more than $50 million in guarantees.
"When you look at the deals that a lot of these corners are getting during free agency, that’s when I was like, 'Oh wow, this thing is getting high now,'" said Holmes, who has several big-money players internally to pay in the months and years ahead. And while neither Davis nor Robertson is on the same tier as Sneed or Johnson, "to be able to land both was huge," he said.
The Lions literally went huge on the front of their defense by adding Reader. The mammoth of a defensive tackle should form a fearsome duo in the trenches with Alim McNeill. From the front office to the coaching staff to the scouts, Campbell said that the Lions "had full buy-in on Reader" as soon as they watched his tape with the Bengals: "This guy's relentless." They signed him to a two-year, $22 million deal, and not just to smother the run.
"His run defense is elite, and I think it’s at a whole other level among a lot of these other guys (at his position), but the pass rush is what really sold me," said Holmes. "There’s athleticism down in there where he can catch edges and push the pocket and harass the quarterback as well. I just think he’s going to open up so many things on our defense."
The Lions were already stout against the run last season. But they struggled to get after the passer outside of Aidan Hutchinson on the edge and McNeill on the interior. Reader and McNeill were two of the NFL's 10 best interior run defenders last year, per PFF, and Reader's 34 QB pressures would have been tied with McNeill for second on the Lions. He's another two-way weapon. He also has the leadership qualities that the Lions covet in their locker room.
"Everyone raves about him," said Campbell. "The idea of he and Mac opposite each other we feel like is going to help us significantly."
"Another guy that through that process, the Plan A target for us," said Holmes.
It would feel like a stretch to say the same for Marcus Davenport. The former first-round pick of the Saints looks more like a flier entering his seventh NFL season. But the defensive end did spend three years under Campbell and Glenn in New Orleans, and he does have tools the Lions need as an outside pass rusher. They signed him to a one-year, $6.5 million deal in hopes that he can form another strong pair on the defensive line with Hutchinson.
"What you’re getting is an athletic, explosive player with length," Campbell said. "And I think a lot of it is, 'Alright, who’s this guy opposite of Hutch that can really crush the pocket and close it down?' whether he makes it or he sends it to Hutch. So we felt like we got a complement to Hutch, we got a complement to Mac, and these guys collectively are going to make each other better."
Detroit's defensive signings do come with health risks. Davis has missed 16 games the past three seasons due to various injuries, Reader missed the end of last season after undergoing surgery on a torn quad for the second time in his career, and Davenport missed most of last season after needing surgery on his ankle.
Holmes would only contend that every NFL player comes with health risks, that "there's so much luck involved with injuries," and that the Lions would rather add the player whose skills they covet than the one who simply "hasn't missed any time."
"Availability is important, it is," he said. "But when you’re playing football, there is risk either way. Just because a player missed zero games the previous year doesn’t mean he’s not going to miss any games the following season. So if you’re picking between the two, why would you pick the player you’re less excited about?"
On the other side of the ball, Zeitler offers the best of both worlds, even at the age of 34. He's coming off a Pro Bowl season with the Ravens, the first of his lengthy career, and he's played in 146 of 151 games the last nine seasons. He contends, for his part, that "the biggest thing you can contribute to this league is availability." The biggest thing he can contribute to the Lions after signing a one-year, $6 million deal is his typically stout play on the interior of the offensive line.
The Lions wanted to keep Jonah Jackson, a Pro Bowl-caliber guard. And they tried to work out an extension multiple times dating back to last year. Holmes said they "were initially in the Jonah game, really before the season started, and couldn’t get anything done, and then we were in it to a point after the year."
Ultimately, Jackson's value outstripped Detroit's budget and he left for a $51 million deal from the Rams. The Lions wished him well and pivoted to Zeitler, knowing he could step in at right guard and Glasgow could slide over and replace Jackson on the left: "That was the Plan A," said Holmes.
Holmes and the Lions were intrigued by Zeitler when they saw for themselves how well he was playing for the Ravens last October. They just weren't sure if he'd fade at his age. They were sold when they watched him again toward the end of the year, knowing he might be a target in free agency, and Holmes realized, "Wow, no, he's sustained that for the whole season." Zeitler graded out as one of the best pass-blocking guards in the NFL, per PFF, and helped fuel the league's No. 1 rushing attack.
"You’re going to be hard-pressed to find a guy who’s played as long as he has and been as consistent and durable as he’s been," said Campbell. "Between Frank and Penei, he’s going to be a steady force in there, a consistent force."
Indeed, the Lions are inserting a Pro Bowl guard between a Pro Bowl center in Frank Ragnow and an All-Pro tackle in Penei Sewell on the right side of their offensive line, which was already one of the best in the NFL. And they have two of the steadier vets in the business to hold down the left side in Glasgow and Taylor Decker. The engine of one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL for two years running could be even more powerful this year.
"We just became a very veteran group, a very smart, consistent group," said Campbell. "Especially getting Graham back, and then we got Decker over there at left tackle, I feel like we have not stepped back as an O-line. We’ve probably taken a step forward, so that’s exciting."
Holmes talked conservatively before free agency began, downplaying the idea of many "high-price external adds." He stayed true to that and still gave a Super Bowl-caliber roster a jolt. Davis, Reader and Zeitler will be immediate difference-makers without handcuffing the team down the line, and Robinson might be another. The Lions are still eyeing reinforcements at safety and further help at corner after the loss of Sutton. They also might bring back receiver Josh Reynolds.
They had targets and hit them. Whether they aimed high enough remains to be seen, but the draft is where Holmes shoots for the stars. The more he finds, the fewer he has to import from other teams. The Lions are their own team, and they're better now than they were. Their "best free agency haul" will be the one that propels them to the Super Bowl, and it's now within their reach.