5 Takeaways From Brad Holmes' Pre-Draft Press Conference

What Brad Holmes said about Lions' Draft strategy.

Feb 27, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Detroit Lions Executive Vice President and General Manager Brad Holmes. / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL Draft is just one week away, and anticipation is rising for what Brad Holmes and the Detroit Lions will do when they are on the clock.

Detroit's fourth-year general manager has quickly built a reputation for being one of the league's better drafters since taking over the helm with the Lions. As a result, many are eagerly awaiting what he will do in the 2024 Draft.

He offered some insight on the team's process and analysis of this year's Draft class during a media session Thursday.

Here are five takeaways from Holmes' pre-Draft press conference.

'Normal' CB crop

The cornerback position is one many believe the Lions will target early in this year's Draft. It has been an offseason of change for the team at this position, as starters Cam Sutton and Jerry Jacobs are no longer with the team.

Even after the Lions acquired two starting-caliber talents in Carlton Davis and Amik Robertson, they could still look to add young talent. Holmes has a background as a cornerback scout and shared his thoughts on this year's class.

"It's a solid group," Holmes said. "I don't think it's really far from, I made a comment the other week, just kind of looking at the whole class, I think it's very normal of previous drafts in terms of the guys that I think probably are true legit day one guys or day two guys. So I think it's pretty normal. Again, they're always different, but in terms of numbers of guys that are in those top rounds, I think it's very similar."

Trading up depends on fit

Holding the 29th overall pick, the Lions are set to pick later in the first round than ever before under Holmes. As a result, many wonder whether the savvy GM will make a move to pick a desired player earlier in the Draft.

However, he explained Thursday that there is more to the process internally than simply identifying a desirable player.

"First of all, it's gotta be the right guy. With how we've operated in the past, if it's just a player that we want, we're gonna go and get them," Holmes stated. "There are a lot of boxes that need to be checked. We kind of said it at the end of the season, everybody can't play here. It's gotta be identified, that player has to identify to us, okay he's checked all those boxes, he's the right pick, he's the right fit. And also, it's just, how high you talking? Is it way high? Is it just a few spots? Either one, when you trade up for a player you've identified them.But me and Dan have the standard from day one, it just has to be the right fit."

Need versus talent

The Lions have become known for their desire to prioritize fit over need in the Draft process. This has been shown on numerous occasions, with Holmes making what analysts consider to be 'luxury picks.'

However, this process goes deeper for the Lions. They have made it clear that their culture is not for everyone, and as a result are able to filter through their desired prospects to identify ones that tryly fit their culture.

"When we first got here, we had a ton of needs so we could go for the most talented guy, the guy that fit the most. We could've gotten so many different directions," Holmes said. "That resulted in a lot of young players having to play early and got a lot of experience. Really, with where the roster is now, I actually think you have more flexibility to not be anchored into a need. Again, we try to do the best we can in free agency in terms of plugging holes and pulling out the depth chart and doing all those things. We feel like we did a great job in free agency and we're in position to go in whichever direction we want to go. I actually get more comfort of how the roster is now, it's less of, 'We really need this.' No, it's even more -- we've always had best player and it's more emphasized now."

Finding 'Dan Campbell guys'

With the establishment of their culture, Holmes and Campbell have looked through the prospects to pick and choose the correct type of both player and person to add to the roster. It consists of thorough evaluations from scouts that set the precedent for what to expect from a prospect.

As a result, the Lions are able to identify who best fits the culture after a series of meetings and getting to know potential additions.

"Some of them, they declare themselves pretty early. I credit our area scouts, they do so much work on the front-end and the back-end where, they tee it up for us very, very well," Holmes said. "They kind of already have the kid nailed, they just say, 'Look, this is who this player is.' You might meet them and it lines up exactly. Some kind of declare themselves pretty early, some guys you sit down with at the Combine and you're like, 'Yep, this is exactly who the scouts said this kid was gonna be.' He knocked it out of the park, boom, boom, boom.

"Some, it might be a little different. Nothing on the scouts, but the kid might've been different, he didn't really show his personality. And then you might bring him in on a 30 visit. You might spend time with him at a Pro Day or something. That's happened in this process already, where, some of these visits, these Pro Day visits have been like, 'Oh, I feel a lot better about him.'"

Evaluating intangibles with changing landscape of college football

The world of college football is ever-changing, with Name, Image and Likeness deals and the transfer portal ruling the landscape.

As a result, prospects are staying longer at the collegiate level and sometimes suiting up for multiple schools along the way. This makes for an intriguing contrast to years past, where the Draft was dominated by underclassmen.

Holmes, who has been involved with scouting throughout his lengthy NFL career, explained what impact this change has had on the Draft and how it allows him to further evaluate players based on their respective backstories.

"Everybody has a different plight, a different story," Holmes explained. "I'm meeting a lot of these kids and sitting down with them to hear their reasoning for their decisions. It's been really fascinating because they've all been different. So on the surface, I used to think just that. But, no, when you really hear what went through these kids' decisions to jump in the portal, they're all different and I respect them. It's a lot more in-depth in a lot of cases."