The Detroit Lions’ Brad Holmes has a roster-building philosophy that feels straight out of Vince McMahon’s WWE
Detroit Lions GM Brad Holmes has a roster-building philosophy that reminds me of one of the most famous approaches in WWE history. It sounds strange at first, but the comparison explains almost everything about how Detroit builds.
Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes has a reputation among fans for refusing to chase big-name free agents, passing on blockbuster trades, and building almost exclusively through the draft. Lions fans hear it every offseason. They watch other teams sign splashy players and wonder why Detroit won’t do the same. But there’s a parallel here that might reframe the whole conversation, and it comes from an unlikely place: professional wrestling.
Before going any further, let me be clear. This comparison is strictly about how Vince McMahon ran the WWE as a business and a product for decades. That’s it. Nothing beyond that.
The homegrown talent philosophy
One of the most well-known narratives about McMahon’s WWE is that if he didn’t create it, he didn’t push it. When WCW folded and stars like DDP, Scott Steiner, and others came over, most of them never reached the same heights they had elsewhere. Some guys broke through. Chris Jericho and Booker T found world championship reigns. But more often than not, the WCW imports would come in, hang around for a while, and then fade into the background.
McMahon kept pushing his homegrown talent. The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, John Cena, The Undertaker. Those were the guys who headlined WrestleMania. Those were the guys who got the sustained push year after year. They were built from within, and they stayed on top.
You have to understand, that is exactly what Holmes does with the Lions. Aidan Hutchinson, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Jared Goff. These are the players Detroit has committed to building around, and the front office has shown zero interest in disrupting that core with outside acquisitions that might shift the direction.
The Carlton Davis example
Occasionally, the Lions will bring in an outside guy. They’ll make a trade. They’ll sign someone. But those players don’t usually stick around for a second contract. Look at Carlton Davis. The Lions traded for him, and it was a significant move at the time. He had a great year in Detroit. Then after one season, Holmes let him walk. It’s almost like Ric Flair coming over to the WWE, winning the championship, and then heading back to WCW. Davis came over, contributed, and then Holmes said go get your money somewhere else. Detroit signed DJ Reed instead and kept building.
That pattern repeats itself. The Lions bring guys in from the outside to fill roles, but the long-term investment always goes back to the players they drafted and developed.
Why it works
I get it. Lions fans want the dopamine hit. They want that adrenaline rush when your team lands a huge free agent. It feels great in the moment. It puts hope in your heart. But think about the WWE in the late 1990s. WCW beat the WWE in the ratings for 83 consecutive weeks. They had the NWO. They had these big, cool, shiny objects that made everyone ask why the WWE couldn’t do something like that.
And then the 83 weeks ended. The WWE won out because they made new stars. Edge, Christian, the Hardy Boyz. They built from within, and they came out on top.
Holmes isn’t the only GM who operates this way. You could point to Howie Roseman and the Philadelphia Eagles. Yes, they signed Saquon Barkley. But when you look at the full picture, the Eagles haven’t made as many blockbuster acquisitions as people think. They built their Super Bowl roster primarily through the draft and through developing their own players.
The Lions are on the right track
The big shiny objects are fun. Nobody is arguing that. But when you build through homegrown talent and commit to the players you know, that wins out over time. Holmes has been consistent in this approach since he took over as GM, and the results are trending in the right direction.
The Lions haven’t won a championship since 1957. That’s a lot longer than 83 weeks. But if the WWE could survive being beaten in the ratings for nearly two years and come back stronger by trusting its own development pipeline, there’s reason to believe Detroit can do the same thing. Holmes is building this roster the right way, and the homegrown approach wins in the end.
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