INDIANAPOLIS — It’s combine week, and the Detroit Lions are out in full force as things unfold.
We talked to Brad Holmes about the draft, free agency and pass rushers. Dan Campbell and his new coordinators spoke to local media for the first time since the 2025 coaching staff was formally announced. Things are different, for sure, but it was fascinating to hear and see how these new coaches operate.
A reminder of how the Lions approach the draft
It’s draft season, so, perhaps it’s worth a refresher before we inevitably forget. It’s easy to look at the roster, identify the biggest needs and pair this franchise with a prospect who plays said position. Where things differ between the Lions and public perception typically comes down to, well, patience.
“We’re not a needs-based drafting team,” Holmes said. “We just get the best football player for us so we don’t really get too fixated on positions.”
Not the first time you’ve heard that. Won’t be the last either. Holmes used the cornerback conversation as an example. He said the Lions had been looking for a young cornerback to build around since he got to Detroit. Makes sense. It was a weak spot. Many assumed they’d select Illinois’ Devon Witherspoon or Christian Gonzalez in the 2023 draft. But sometimes it doesn’t line up the way you want it to.
The Lions loved Witherspoon. He was drafted fifth by the Seahawks, one spot ahead of where they were slotted. So, Holmes traded down and took another player he loved in Jahmyr Gibbs — while adding capital to select Sam LaPorta. The Patriots took Gonzalez 17th, with the Lions up next at 18. Who knows if he would’ve been the target, but a few other corners were drafted in that range. None of them ranked higher on Detroit’s board than Jack Campbell, who was graded as a first-round talent.
Last year, things lined up. Terrion Arnold, their top cornerback in the class, also happened to be the top prospect on their board. They went up and got him at 24. In the second round, again, the top player on their board was a cornerback — Ennis Rakestraw Jr. Holmes went as far as to say that Arnold and Rakestraw were the top corners on Detroit’s board. The stars just happened to align. Don’t expect the Lions to drastically shift from the very approach that got them here.
So as we look at the roster and try to determine what the Lions need, the question you always have to ask is if they’d be sacrificing talent for need when the moment arrives. The answer is usually no.
That said…Holmes is a fan of this defensive line class.
“Me and Ray Agnew were just kind of looking at the totality of, ‘Yeah, it’s a lot deeper than what we can remember,’ at least in the past couple of years,” Holmes said. “That’s both inside and out for sure.”
Will Detroit’s extensions limit spending power in free agency?
The Lions under Holmes and Campbell have never been big spenders. They’re not typically operating in the Tier 1 category of free agency — the high-priced vets on long-term deals. So if that’s what you’re expecting, especially after the extensions the Lions have given to their own, feel free to join us here in reality.
“I mean, obviously, the free agency component, because we have so much that’s upcoming, I don’t really foresee us being — I don’t know what the line is of big spenders in free agency,” Holmes said. “I know that you guys have questioned me in the past about how much — what is a big spender for free agency? Well, a $6 million guy, an $8 million, $10 million, $12 million — that’s not pocket change, which, we’ve done that in the past. So I don’t know if that’s the $15 or $20 (million), I don’t know what that number is, but obviously, it does put a limit to how much you can actually spend externally in free agency when you’re trying to keep your guys that you know. Because what you want to do is you want to keep the known good players and you don’t want to compromise them to overspend on unknowns.”
That last part — overspending on unknowns — is pretty much the key takeaway there. The Lions do so much homework on the draft. But it’s not height/weight/speed. Every team has that information. They scout the person. What drives a player? Why does he play the game? How is he perceived by his teammates and coaches? Does he like football or does he love it?
That extends to free agency, too. You can watch a guy play, but if you don’t know who he is as a person and have to hand him $80 million dollars to get him, you could get burned in short order. It’s why the Lions have hit singles and doubles rather than swinging for the fences. It’s gotten them the likes of David Montgomery, DJ Reader, Amik Robertson, Kevin Zeitler or a Carlton Davis III via trade — good players they didn’t have to sell the farm or go bankrupt acquiring. Expect that to continue.
