When Brad Holmes was preparing to interview for the Lions' GM job last year, he watched a lot of film of Matthew Stafford. And he loved what he saw. If it had been up to Holmes, the Lions would have kept Stafford and built a team around him once and for all. But it was up to Stafford, and Stafford wanted out.
And then Holmes learned to love him even more.
"He was very cooperative in the process. I've said it before, I was a fan of the player when studying him in preparation for this interview. And then how he handled things as a person, his professionalism, I became even more of a fan," Holmes told the Stoney & Jansen Show. "So throughout the process, it worked out for both sides and we're ready to move forward."
The Lions moved forward with Jared Goff and three extra draft picks, while Stafford has leaped forward with the Rams. After playing nearly flawless football through the first two rounds of the playoffs -- and winning the first two playoff games of his career -- he leads LA into the NFC Championship Game Sunday against the 49ers.
Stafford's success, while well-deserved, has an adverse effect on his former team. With each game the Rams win, the first-round pick they owe the Lions this spring decreases in value. The Panthers reportedly offered the Lions the eighth overall pick in last year's draft for Stafford, but Stafford 'squashed' the trade because Carolina wasn't one of his preferred destinations.
Asked about the veracity of that report, Holmes said, "Carolina had interest, but there was a lot of other teams that had interest in that trade. We won't get into the details of what transpired. Ultimately, we're just moving forward and we're going to take advantage of the capital that we have. At the end of the day, we just have to be smart.
"We have the draft capital that we received in the trade and Jared finished the season well and we're just moving forward. You can have all the draft capital you want, but you gotta pick the right players."
The Lions used the third-round pick they received in last year's draft to select CB Ifeatu Melifonwu. They have another first-round pick coming their way next year. No other team offered them three picks, including two first-rounders. So if Stafford ultimately got what he wanted, it's fair to say the Lions did, too. They also got a potential long-term replacement for Stafford in the 27-year-old Goff, who closed his first season in Detroit with a flourish.
Asked about Goff's future with the Lions, Holmes, who had a big hand in the Rams' decision to draft him first overall in 2016, said, "Jared is going to be just like every other player on our roster where he's going to have to continue to prove himself, which I have faith that he will."
Goff struggled in the first half of the season, but surged after Dan Campbell took over play-calling from former Anthony Lynn. He ranked third in the NFL with a 107.1 passer rating over his final five games, behind only Aaron Rodgers and Joe Burrow.
"Look, Jared, myself, Dan, our rookie class, we all made strides in being part of laying our foundation," said Holmes. "It all goes back to being better this year than you were last year. Happy for how Jared ended the season, but just like what our culture is, you're going to have to come back and continue to be better and prove it."
