Allen Park — Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes stepped to the podium on Friday night looking like a man who had just started a vacation.
Clearly, it felt good to finally fill the positional need that eluded the Lions in the draft during early rounds over the last few years.
After drafting Michigan edge defender Derrick Moore with their second-round pick — one day after filling their other biggest need, offensive tackle, by selecting Clemson’s Blake Miller No. 17 overall — Holmes said he wasn’t worried about filling holes on the roster. It just so happened that the best players available in each round made sense, roster-wise.
“It really did line up, just because we’ve always said, we’re just going to take the best player, so, look, if there was — I’m sure there was other tackles that were available … but these were the guys that we liked,” Holmes said. “When it blends together like that, it’s really nice. Couldn’t be happier, actually.”
The Lions have been on the search for another permanent edge partner to play opposite Aidan Hutchinson since drafting the Michigan product with the No. 2 pick in 2022. That year, the Lions also added Josh Paschal, who was released this offseason after four rocky seasons. Since then, Detroit has been unable to blend its need for a pass rusher with the best players available on Days 1 and 2.
There were certainly opportunities to do so. The most famous instance of Holmes passing up an edge rusher to draft a player with low positional value came in 2023, when the Lions abstained from drafting Iowa edge defender Lukas Van Ness to instead draft running back Jahmyr Gibbs. Three years later, Gibbs is the odds-on favorite to win Offensive Player of the Year in 2026; Van Ness, who went one pick later to the Green Bay Packers, is averaging just 23 pressures and a little over three sacks per season.
Last season, when the Lions’ need for an edge was reaching a fever pitch, the best player available wasn’t an edge rusher until Round 6 (Ahmed Hassanein, Boise State), resulting in a contentious media session in which Holmes reiterated his stance.
As Holmes has stated multiple times, they’re never going to draft a position over a player as long as he’s in charge. But for at least this year, he’ll be walking away from this draft knowing he satisfied the fanbase without reaching to do so.
“It’s hard to find guys that — I’m not gonna say we’re picky — we just have a certain type that we like, and he fits those boxes,” Holmes said.
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Brad Holmes: Detroit Lions didn’t chase needs in picking Derrick Moore
Reporting by Nolan Bianchi, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
