Brad Holmes has been pretty impressive with undrafted players
We talk a lot abut how proficient Detroit Lions General Manager Brad Holmes has been when it comes to drafting players and making trades, but there's a part of his game that I think deserves some highlighting and that's spotting talent in the undrafted free agent world. Every year there's a relatively large group of […]
We talk a lot abut how proficient Detroit Lions General Manager Brad Holmes has been when it comes to drafting players and making trades, but there's a part of his game that I think deserves some highlighting and that's spotting talent in the undrafted free agent world.
Every year there's a relatively large group of players that enter into the NFL Draft and wind up going undrafted. There's always a mad scramble after the seventh round concludes and players get scooped up like the balls in Hungry Hungry Hippos.
Holmes has signed 40 undrafted free agents after the draft since becoming the Lions GM. 20 of them are currently at camps around the NFL. Yes, some of those are from this years class. Don't worry, I've got numbers for the guys from the last two years separately.
Previous to this year, Holmes as signed 25 undrafted free agents. 8 of them are currently on rosters. That's a 32% success rate. That might seem low, but you have to understand how hard it is to make a roster from this point. It's hard to make a roster if you've been drafted. There's no guarantees.
Some of the highlights for Holmes have been players that have gone on to play some major games in the NFL. Cornerback Jerry Jacobs is at the top of that list. He's been a very good player and is on his way to being a starter in the NFL.
While A.J. Parker is now with the 49ers, he's another highlight. He was a part of that very good 49ers defense last year.
Then there's Brock Wright. The Lions wound up using him a lot last year and he'll wind up making the Lions 53 man roster again this year. He's a solid back up tight end for the Lions.
2023 might prove to be his most fruitful group yet. Chase Cota, Starling Thomas, Dylan Drummond and steven Gilmore all have a chance to make the Lions 53 man roster. Even if they don't, they'll join guys like Conor Galvin, Trevor Nowaske, Brandon Joseph and Brad Cecil as guys that could be sticking with the Lions as part of the teams practice squad.
While none of these guys may turn out to be Pro Bowlers outside of Jacobs, Holmes and the Lions were able to simply find guys that can contribute to the team or in the league. It's not something that happens all the time.
Featured image by Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
