Dan Campbell, Brad Holmes Were 'Lone Wolves' on One 2023 Pick

Dan Campbell, Brad Holmes are not afraid to select players they are fond of.

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell talks to general manager Brad Holmes / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes has not hesitated to share information regarding the personnel department's draft philosophy.

Clearly, a prospect must check all the boxes. Among desired characteristics are grit, strong football IQ and a clear passion for the game.

Speaking at his annual pre-draft media session, Detroit's fourth-year general manager revealed how much he respects those in the war room willing to be the 'lone wolf' when having meetings on potential prospects.

"People, naturally, they want to agree and be likable. And it takes work to go against the grain. It takes a lot of work. And that's why I always have a lot of respect for the lone wolf," said Holmes. "When we're in there and everybody's saying, 'Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.' And it's one on some obvious prospect, it's that one person in that room that was like, 'I don't. Mhm' (showing concern). I'm like, 'I want to listen to him or I want to listen to her. I want to listen to that person because that was the lone wolf.' It takes a lot to be that lone wolf. I just have a lot of respect for that person."

Detroit has been able to create a level of sustained success drafting young players due to their process of collaboration and a willingness to listen to everyone's opinion.

In fact, there have been times when Holmes and Dan Campbell were the only individuals strongly clamoring for a player that the majority did not agree with.

Holmes noted, "Me and Dan were the lone wolf on a player we took last year, and it worked out, you know?"

Holmes and Campbell appear to be aligned in many of the personnel decisions that have been made the past three seasons.

"We loved the player. The rest of the group were like, 'No, no, no, get this guy at the same position. And so, it may be something that you already knew and you got confirmation. So it's I'm the lone wolf, and everybody else is completely different than me. No one really knows what I think," Holmes said. "And I'm listening to everybody. I'm like, 'Man, I need to go back and look, maybe I missed something, and I have the confidence and the humility to do that because I have so much respect for the process.

"It's an art form. The best thing about scouting is you get 20 people, ten people, however many looking at the same film in a dark room and you got ten different opinions. That's what's awesome about it," Holmes continued. "So, when I'm the lone wolf and everybody's the opposite, I'm like, 'Man, I need to look back and see if I missed something. If I hear the lone wolf that matched up with what I thought, I'm like. 'Well at least that person saw it, but everybody else still was the same'. But, if I saw something with what the rest of the group says, and the lone wolf says something different, oh damn right I'm going to go back and look and see, because that person is in the room for a reason. And I got a lot of respect for that persons evaluations."