If they weren’t already, Detroit Lions fans are becoming well-versed in the debate over positional value and draft slotting. After GM Brad Holmes drafted RB Jahmyr Gibbs and LB Jack Campbell — two lower-value positions — in the top 20 of the 2023 NFL draft, the consternation over draft value has been the predominant talking point around the Lions.
The argument has nuances and valid points, but the entire issue was summed up perfectly in a recent ESPN piece. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler got quotes from various executives and league insiders about each team’s draft haul and strategy. The section on the Lions and Gibbs stands out.
Fowler offered up this anonymously sourced quote about the Lions and draft value.
“They said the hell with value and just took good football players,” an NFC exec said. “That guy [Gibbs] is a player. When they tee it up on Sunday, I don’t think anyone will care where he was taken. And those players very much fit Dan Campbell’s toughness approach.”
There’s one phrase in that quote that bears repeating,
“When they tee it up on Sunday, I don’t think anyone will care where he was taken.”
That’s referencing Gibbs here, but it’s applicable to all the picks. The point of the draft is to add players that help your team win. Detroit might have done so with an awkward, unusual process, but there is no denying Gibbs, Brian Branch, Jack Campbell, Sam LaPorta and Brodric Martin all make the Lions a legitimate favorite to win the NFC North in 2023.
