Brad Holmes' comments point to the idea that the Lions may not attack certain areas they're expected to attack in free agency and the 2025 NFL draft as hard as previously thought
The Detroit Lions season is over and it sucks, but now it's time to reload and get back to it. Free agency is up first in March and then the 2025 NFL Draft is right behind it in April. There are some clear-cut expectations for what people think the Lions will do, but by now […]
The Detroit Lions season is over and it sucks, but now it's time to reload and get back to it. Free agency is up first in March and then the 2025 NFL Draft is right behind it in April. There are some clear-cut expectations for what people think the Lions will do, but by now it's pretty clear that your expectations should be set for for the unexpected.
The biggest sign there is that everyone and their mothers are currently linking every pass rusher under the sun in free agency and the draft to the Lions and that might not be so simple. Lions GM Brad Holmes' comments from Thursday's year-end presser point to the idea that the Lions actually feel pretty good about what they have already.
"I mean, look, when you're down five defensive ends due to injury, I don't know who has a sixth, seventh, and eighth effective pass rusher. So when you get down that low, then yes, you can say, but you know, when we were at full health, I thought our pass rush was pretty good. I thought the whole defense, I mean, I think it was self-explanatory in terms of the numbers, of what we were able to produce before that attrition happened.
But obviously, we'll always look at all areas, and we'll always add competition in all areas. Look, you guys have seen us do it before. You know, we drafted an inside linebacker in the first round when we had a pretty damn good linebacker room at the time. You know, we doubled down like that. We don't really go into it with that mindset. We just try to just add the best players that we think is a fit."
In my opinion, the takeaway here is twofold. The Lions felt that their defensive line was pretty good before all the injuries. It's hard to argue that point. Things were going pretty well. What that could mean is that the Lions don't see edge rushers as priority number one. At this point, it might be safe to say that there isn't a priority number one in terms of finding positions and there never really has been.
That's the other part of the fold here and it is in relation to the second part of Holmes' comments when he talks about drafting Jack Campbell despite having a good linebacker room. The takeaway here is that the Lions are just going to pick players that they feel are going to be good for them and they don't necessarily care what position that guy plays.
Despite how hard we try to put the Lions in a box, they keep destroying the box and showing us that they are not a team that is going to do the thing that you think they should do every time.
With all that said, it doesn't mean the Lions won't go out and raft an edge rusher or sign one. But it's fair to look at the group when it's healthy and understand that the Lions aren't going to be staying up late at night and thinking about pass rushers and pass rushers only for the next few months. They might take one or sign one, but they also might draft a quarterback or a receiver or triple down at cornerback or safety. Whoever fits best.
Brad Holmes makes the game plan clear for whoever the Lions’ next defensive coordinator is
The Detroit Lions defensive coordinator search is on and while it may seem simple that the Lions would just go with someone currently on the staff like Kelvin Sheppard, the team is opting to be thorough in their search and interview outside candidates. There are some natural concerns when you bring in a candidate from […]
