Lions GM Brad Holmes discusses trade history, development and red flags one week before draft

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ALLEN PARK, Mich. — We’re a week away from the 2025 NFL Draft, which means we’re either a week away from the Detroit Lions adding a pass rusher or drafting a running back in the first round.

Jokes aside, you never quite know what Lions GM Brad Holmes has up his sleeve. You can try to read into his comments. We certainly have. However, he prefers you just sit back and enjoy the show.

“You’re always trying to figure out what we’re going to do,” Holmes said during his pre-draft press conference. “…When you go to see a movie, you don’t know what the movie (is about) — you’ve never seen the movie. That’s the excitement. So, you’re fine just watching the movie. Whether the movie’s good or bad. …But I don’t understand why people can’t just watch the draft. Like all right, I don’t know what’s going to happen, but watch the draft and get your popcorn ready and enjoy it.”

“Watch the draft and get your popcorn ready.” pic.twitter.com/wntTRKXgXX

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) April 17, 2025

On Thursday, Holmes spoke with local media to preview the draft. Here’s what we gathered.

The edge position

We’ll start with what is undoubtedly Holmes’ favorite question this offseason: the edge rusher position.

He’s answered about a dozen of them since the season ended, and for good reason. From the outside, the Lions brought back Marcus Davenport — a talented pass-rusher but one who’s only played six of a possible 34 regular-season games over the last two seasons. Holmes said he’d like to use 2022 second-round pick Josh Paschal as more of an interior pass-rusher than on the edge. They released Za’Darius Smith because he was too expensive and are currently playing the waiting game with his agent. There’s no guarantee of a return. With a week to go before the draft — an avenue to draft young, cheap talent — Holmes insists the Lions won’t reach for a pass rusher just to say they selected a pass rusher.

The Lions have been linked to an edge rusher in the draft for these reasons and more. But Holmes used his media session to share some qualms with this line of thinking.

“What I won’t do is what I’ve been saying that I won’t do that I know you guys get frustrated with me not doing, is looking at our depth chart, like black-and-white names but no football being played, but looking at a depth chart and seeing a position and then saying, ‘Man, you’ve got to get that position,’” Holmes said. “But a player has to play that position. That’s why I’ve always been saying, look, we want to get good players.”

“You can draft a pass rusher every round. You could. It’s easy. That’s just like if a coach told me, ‘Man, we want a guy that’s 6-4, 250 pounds.’ To get a guy that’s 6-4, 250 pounds, that’s easy. You want a guy that’s 6-4, 250 pounds, yeah, I don’t know if he’s a good football player, but here’s 6-4, 250 pounds. Where the same as, yeah, you can draft a defensive end. If the player playing defensive end is not what we feel is going to be the right guy to really contribute to the football team, then what are you guys going to write about that player? You guys (will say), ‘Man, that’s not working.’ So, we’re not going to reach on players just to fill a position. That’s what we don’t do.”

The thought process is sound. There’s a common phrase, “Don’t scout the helmet, scout the player.” For Holmes, you don’t draft a position, you draft the player.

It worked out in 2023, when the Lions passed on corners and edges for a running back, linebacker, tight end and safety. Three of those players are now Pro Bowlers. Other years, like last year, it works out perfectly. When corner was still considered a long-term need, the Lions traded up for the top corner prospect on their board — Terrion Arnold — then drafted their No. 2 corner in Ennis Rakestraw Jr. at No. 61. Holmes said they were the best players available when it was time for those selections.

In a class where there appears to be an abundance of depth at edge, it’s possible the stars align again and one (or more) is added. That might be the ideal scenario, from the outside looking in. Holmes has said he’d like to add multiple pass rushers, multiple times this offseason. Both Holmes and Campbell said they’re not done adding along the defensive line. They’ve talked about adding depth after last year’s injury-plagued season. Those comments, and the depth chart, are why those external conversations about pass rushers have been so frequent. When your roster is so strong, it’s easier for others to fixate on certain positions that seem more glaring than others.

We know Holmes won’t draft a player he doesn’t love. That’s been made clear. Don’t be surprised if Detroit’s first-round pick is a prospect who plays something other than edge or guard or DT. Holmes has to remind us this every year, without actually saying it.

But if they don’t add one in the draft, they’d need to look elsewhere or continue waiting for things to line up perfectly on draft weekend in the future. It’s why all eyes are on next week and what the Lions do.

Holmes’ draft trade history

Historically, Holmes has traded up more than he’s traded down. We often hear stories about Holmes fixating on certain players, too. He said he wanted to trade into the first for Levi Onwuzurike in 2021. He said the Jameson Williams trade conversations took place in advance, since it was a big jump from No. 32 to 12. He traded up for Terrion Arnold last year, said he had conversations about trading up in the second round before drafting Ennis Rakestraw Jr. and traded for both Giovanni Manu and Sione Vaki.

You have to think the reasoning for this is because Holmes locks in a player he likes, and doesn’t subscribe to drafting certain positions — as previously mentioned. It’s an interesting conversation considering where the Lions are now and the strength of their roster.

Say there’s one player left with a first-round grade on their board at pick No. 20. He’s not likely to make it to 28. Would it make sense to part ways with a third-rounder to get that player — especially if he also plays a position they could use more depth at? Or if the Lions are sitting there at 28 and a team wants to come up for, say, a quarterback. In a year like this, where a player you could get at 28 might be there at 34, would it make sense to trade out of the first?

“Yeah, it’s always — it’s really case-by-case, year-to-year. …It just depends who might be in striking range. …So, it could be moving back, it could just be staying patient, it could be, ‘Oh, didn’t think this guy would (be there)’ — then you go up. You prepare for everything, so you go through all those scenarios and then you just kind of have to be ready for anything.”

We’ll see what’s in store in a week.

Developmental vs. ready-made

One topic that came up Thursday dealt with the Lions navigating how much time a prospect might need before he’s ready to contribute.

The Lions have done it all types of ways. They’ve drafted guys who were early contributors like Penei Sewell, Aidan Hutchinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, Jack Campbell, Sam LaPorta and Brian Branch. They’ve drafted players they were going to need more time — from Derrick Barnes and Jameson Williams to Brodric Martin and Giovanni Manu. But with the Lions emerging as a true contender, and how the depth was tested last season, does Holmes plan on limiting swings at the developmental/project types?

Since Brad Holmes arrived in 2021, the Detroit Lions have spent 10 of their 15 top-100 draft picks on defense. (Junfu Han / USA Today / Imagn)

“It’s a fair question,” Holmes said. “It’s got to be the right project. It’s got to be the right developmental upside guy that might not be ready to go because there’s a ton of them in every draft. (Lions OL Giovanni) Manu is just one of those guys that was like, man, was really appealing and we had a lot of love for in the process and kind of just — we were in position to take him. But look, Derrick Barnes was developmental when we took him and was kind of still learning how to play the linebacker position and all that kind of stuff. So it all goes back to the right intangibles and who we feel is a good football player. But I totally understand.”

The key difference now is that the Lions’ roster is much stronger than it was five years ago. That means Holmes and company have to weigh using a coveted spot on a guy who might not play for a year or two vs. a player who could help immediately. Additionally, last year, the Lions had to make the roster math work amid a series of injuries, while guys like Martin, Manu and Colby Sorsdal were healthy scratches.

The cost of being good.

“When we first started in ’21, we didn’t have as much talent on the roster at the time and all those young guys had to play,” Holmes said. “And then we were fortunate enough to have all those additional picks after the Goff trade and I thought we made good use of those picks. Those guys are really, really good players that were like immediate impact. So we don’t really go into like, ‘Man we’ve got to get high floor, ready to go but the ceiling might be a little lower.’ Or, ‘We’re just going to take developmental guys.’ There’s no problem taking a developmental guy. Like I said, some of these guys, man you can take a late-round pick and it’s got to be the right guy or it’s going to be hard to make the roster.”

Evaluating prospects with red flags

Each year, you hear about certain prospects with character concerns or off-field issues. The Lions have typically steered clear of those. As a result, Holmes was asked about the team’s approach to those instances and how they go about gathering information and conducting background checks.

“That’s a good question. It’s a lot more in-depth and a lot harder than some people may think,” Holmes said. “I do think it’s case by case. In terms of character evaluation, I wish it were as easy as seeing a headline. But there’s so much more depth and detail and research that’s involved. It’s literally — I tell our scouts — in terms of character, it’s year-round. It’s a house you have to build year-round and leads all the way up to the draft, really. I have always said it’s case-by-case. Everything you may read may not be what actually happened and that’s the actual details of it or whatever the case is. That’s just it. It’s case-by-case. It’s a lot of depth. It’s a lot of research. I don’t want to get into specifics too much in terms of our process. It goes so much further than what’s available in the news.”

There are certain prospects who would fit into this mold this year. Holmes and the Lions do their homework, but it’s an inexact science. The Lions believe in their process and keep it close to the vest, but they do cast a wide net when evaluating prospects and what they’re about.

Why the Lions still conduct top 30 visits

Recently, new Jaguars GM James Gladstone said his team won’t be conducting top 30 visits. NFL teams are allowed to host up to 30 prospects on pre-draft visits each cycle to learn more about them, hence the name. Gladstone comes from the Los Angeles Rams front office tree, spending years with Rams GM Les Snead. The Rams don’t conduct 30 visits, either. These visits must be reported to the league and are often leaked to insiders, which is why the Rams don’t get involved anymore.

Holmes also came from the Rams tree. However, the Lions still host prospects on 30 visits. He explained why.

“I’m not surprised that Les goes that route. Back when I was there, we were doing them, but just knowing Les, I’m not surprised that he doesn’t do them anymore,” Holmes said. “I do think that you still get some value there in terms of yeah, it gets put out in the media, and it’s like, ‘Oh, you brought in this player.’ Those players are brought in for so many different reasons. It could be just the makeup, how well they retain football. It could be just the personality, how well they are going to fit in the locker room. They are human beings. They’re human beings that you are going to have to work with, so it goes past just what their job is on the football field. And it’s human beings that you have to really invest in.

“They’re really young kids that may need some growing up or development here or there. They come from all different backgrounds. It’s another opportunity to kind of dig deeper into the human being besides just the 15 minutes at the combine. That’s what I feel great about is that our scouts do such a great job with that stuff, by the time we get to the combine, we pretty much kind of know what it is. But it’s good to feel it, too.”

Really good insight from a guy whose organization emphasizes character — perhaps more than most.

Other news and notes

• Holmes said he hasn’t received any calls from teams trying to come up to No. 28.
• Holmes on adding youth and competition at WR: “The only thing about receiver is I always felt like receiver is one of the more voluminous positions in each draft. It’s probably more of those guys that are veteran free agents that are available after the draft as well. But yeah, just to add one, just to continue to add youth. We’re happy with the guys we have — very happy with the guys that we have — but obviously it’d be great to get younger.”
• Holmes on the pass rusher class: “I think there’s some good players at that position. I won’t get into specifics or details about the actual players, but I know some will go before our pick, some might be available at our pick. Just like previous questions I’ve fielded, it might be an opportunity to trade back if that position is there. But yeah, there’s some good football players there.”
• Holmes on his approach to using trade value charts: “I don’t want to speak for everybody, but I would think most people have a chart. We have a chart. …We’re kind of like, ‘It’s in the range. This is the player that we want, this is the deal we want to do,’ and then we do it.”

(Photo: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)

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