Detroit Lions GM Brad Holmes met with the local media on Monday during the NFL owners’ meetings in Arizona. In a roughly 30-minute session, Holmes covered a lot of bases on the team’s offseason, from the free agent acquisitions and moves to the upcoming NFL draft.
Here are some of the top takeaways from what Holmes had to say.
Free agency has opened up the draft options
The overriding philosophy from Holmes on who the team will draft in both of his prior seasons remains true.“We’re just going to take the best football player for us,” Holmes reiterated. However, the team’s success in free agency has opened up the potential player pool even more for 2023.
“Everything that we’ve done out of free agency,” Holmes stated, “I think we’re in a better position to really just sit and take the best player available, and just kind of add the right fit.”
He gave considerable credit to Detroit’s pro personnel department for helping identify the free agent fits.
Later, in a separate answer, Holmes reiterated the point,
“I do think (free agency) has given us the flexibility to really go in any direction we want. It’s a good spot to be in.”
C.J. Gardner-Johnson wanted to play for Aaron Glenn and Dan Campbell
Holmes was asked about how much the familiarity with new defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson was important. Gardner-Johnson played for two seasons under Lions head coach Dan Campbell and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn with the New Orleans Saints to start his career.
The short answer: a whole lot. The longer answer:
“C.J. was a name that we’ve heard Aaron Glenn talk about for the last couple of years,” Holmes said with a smile. “He’s always been a guy that, you know, I don’t want to say he’s the example — but that was the fit of what we’re trying to bring (to the secondary). He’s a real dawg and he’s another guy that’s a smart football player.”
Campbell later said,
“His familiarity with Dan (Campbell) and specifically AG (Glenn), that was a bigger seller and we’re very fortunate that he’s had that prior relationship.”
Holmes didn't think they'd be able to land Gardner-Johnson
In a follow-up question on the new safety, Holmes was asked if he thought at the beginning of free agency that bringing in Gardner-Johnson was a realistic possibility.
“The market came to a place where we were able to make it happen,” Holmes had stated.
“Our grades from our pro personnel department were sky-high, through the roof on what he did as a safety,” Holmes continued.
He further elaborated on Gardner-Johnson’s “positional flexibility — to play safety, to play nickel”, as being worthy of him consistently pestering Gardner-Johnson’s agent to make a deal happen. That’s even though Holmes expected him to “get top safety money, and we’re just not going to be in that market.”
For one year and $6.5 million, Holmes landed his coveted man.
A "unique position" to draft a quarterback
After emphasizing “transparency and communication”, Holmes had this to say about the possibility of drafting a quarterback to join Jared Goff in Detroit,
“I communicated with Jared at the end of the season about … we’ve got Jared, but we don’t have anything else behind him. Just letting him know that, look, we’ve got to get some more behind you.”
Then came the quote that launched a thousand Twitter posts,
“We are in a unique position, with all the picks that we have, to add maybe a pretty talented guy if we go that direction.”
He was quick to note,
“It doesn’t have to be first round, doesn’t have to be second round.”
Tracy Walker will be ready to start the season
Holmes provided a quick update on starting safety Tracy Walker in his recovery progress from a torn Achilles.
“We invested in Tracy, and he’s going to come back from his injury,” Holmes stated. “He’s on track. We fully expect Tracy to be back.”
Walker has been periodically posting videos of his progress that sure seem encouraging. Holmes’ words back up the notion that the Lions expect him to be ready to roll by September.
Replacing DJ Chark doesn't sound like a high priority
On the topic of replacing wide receiver DJ Chark, who signed as a free agent with the Carolina Panthers, Holmes didn’t have the same sense of energy or urgency in his answer as he’d brought to prior questions.
“I’ll say that that’s still a position we will still monitor,” Holmes responded. “You can never really have enough of those guys (receivers). Just to add more competition. But whether it’s Chark’s skillset or a different flavor, if it’s just the right football player — we’ll definitely continue to monitor it.”
He dismissively laughed off an inquiry if he had talked to free agent WR Odell Beckham Jr.
A telling quote on identifying Lions players
Holmes gave a very on-point answer when asked about what he specifically looks for in a potential Lions player aside from talent. He gave a succinct, soundbite-worthy answer,
“I’m a firm believer still that intangibles are the separators of success.”
Holmes cited wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown as someone who is a great example of a player they valued specifically because of his intangibles, including character.
Character risk is decided on a case-by-case basis
Holmes is a big believer in evaluating things on a case-by-case basis. That includes off-field or character issues as part of the evaluation process.
“It’s always case-by-case,” Holmes emphasized. “These kids are young college kids. I’ve read a lot of things about, from a brain standpoint–where your frontal lobes are developed at that point.”
He then looked back at his own time as a college football player at North Carolina A&T,
“Some of the things that I did in college, I probably wouldn’t want anybody to know about.”
He was nonspecific on any particular players, not addressing the Jalen Carter elephant in the room. He dodged saying anything when asked specifically about Carter, the talented defensive tackle from Georgia who has not had a good offseason.
