As soon as the Dolphins picked WR Jaylen Waddle No. 6 overall Thursday night, the celebration was on in the Lions' draft room. Brad Holmes, Dan Campbell and the rest of the staff knew what it meant: Penei Sewell was coming to Detroit.
"We knew it right when Miami made their pick," Campbell told FOX 2 Detroit. "We knew exactly what was doing down. We didn't need to worry about anything else. That was our guy."
The Lions waited to make it official, because that's what teams do when they're on the clock. Never know who might call with a trade. Never know what they might offer. But in this case, nothing was going to make Detroit budge.
"I will say at our pick, the phone rang from a couple of teams," said GM Brad Holmes. "But we just felt so good about Penei it wasn’t intriguing enough for us to risk not landing him."
There was a report Thursday afternoon that the Lions were pushing trade partners away by demanding too much for the No. 7 pick, but Holmes said he never heard that from other teams.
"I didn’t get the response that the asking price was high. Obviously didn’t go forward with some of them," he said. "I’d say before the draft it was a lot heavier, before round 1 started."
When it began, Holmes said the Lions zeroed in on three players they'd be "through the roof about" drafting seventh. Sewell felt like the longshot, until the Bengals drafted WR Ja'Marr Chase at No. 5. Then the draft's best offensive lineman fell in Detroit's lap, making Holmes' decision easy.
"He’s going to be an integral and impactful piece for our franchise for years to come," Holmes said. "He’s going to be a great addition to our offensive line. He’s just a transcendent talent. I can’t quite remember a guy that has feet like him in a long time.
"But it’s not just the athletic ability. He’s got the toughness, the grit, the strength, the intangibles that we’re looking for. We just love the makeup and we couldn’t be anymore jacked about landing Penei and how it all unfolded."
Their excitement was clear when they submitted the pick. TV cameras captured hugs, high-fives and fist-bumps in Detroit's draft room. Holmes all but tackled president Rod Wood. Campbell jumped to his feet and wrapped his arms around owner Sheila Ford Hamp. The Lions knew they were getting their guy. Now they officially had him.
"You saw Brad in there, Sheila. We’re through the roof," Campbell said. "We are through the roof. What you saw on TV was actually tapered down from what it was even before that."
There were other intriguing names on the board at No. 7, including QB Justin Fields, WR DeVonta Smith and LB Micah Parsons. All of them would have been good fits for the Lions. But none of them can anchor an O-line like Sewell, which is why the new regime in Detroit never gave thought to anything else.
"This is a big man who can move," Campbell said. "He has great feet, a temperament about him, an attitude. He’s a cornerstone player, man. He’s somebody you can build a team around, and that’s exactly why we got him.”