Most Detroit Lions fans generally think the team, and GM Brad Holmes, did a pretty good job adding helpful players in the 2023 NFL draft. A lot of national media pundits and draft analysts don’t see it that way, however.
Between the concepts of positional value and other players available for the slots, much criticism has been levied at Holmes and Detroit. So it’s refreshing when a national pundit — one who also happens to have been a long-time, successful NFL GM — heaps praise on the Lions and their draft.
Enter Rick Spielman. In his “With the First Pick” podcast for CBS Sports with Ryan Wilson, the former Vikings GM and brother of Lions senior exec Chris Spielman, rails against the negative noise directed at Detroit’s draft.
It’s very true with second-round pick, Iowa tight end Sam LaPorta. LaPorta was a surprise pick met with some consternation, but Spielman states LaPorta, the No. 34 overall pick, is a “potential offensive rookie of the year.”
Spielman notes,
“I think they have four starters in their first four picks. I think they drafted the future quarterback, once Goff is done, in Hendon Hooker. Then Brodric Martin is an underrated nose tackle.”
He continued on Martin and why it’s a good pick,
“They struggled some versus the run. I think as he grows and learns — he may not be ready Week 1 — but as he develops, I think he’s going to have an impact at the nose tackle position, especially in the run game.”
Wilson pushed back a little on Spielman’s lofty praise. After noting that the Lions finished 21st in his draft grades, to which Spielman offered an incredulous guffaw, Wilson efforts to justify his low grade by noting that first-round picks Jahmyr Gibbs and Jack Campbell “went much higher than everyone in the media thought.”
Spielman would have none of it. It’s a fun, slightly awkward moment when the former GM attacks the draft media, as represented here by Wilson, about how to judge and grade drafts.
Check out the full discourse via YouTube
