You can’t blame Brad Holmes for coming off a little subdued, defensive and sometimes even cagey during his annual predraft news conference Monday, April 13.
After all, the Detroit Lions general manager faces what could be his most consequential draft since 2022.
That year, the team was coming off a disastrous 3-13-1 season that launched the Holmes and Dan Campbell regime with all the success of a rocket that exploded on the pad.
Since then, the Lions have soared to great heights. But over the past two years, they’ve steadily lost altitude.
As Holmes took his place behind the lectern at Allen Park headquarters Monday morning, it had been 813 days since the Lions’ last playoff victory: a 31-23 win over Tampa Bay in 2023’s divisional round.
The next season, the Lions were one-and-done. Last season, they didn’t even qualify for the playoffs.
That would be enough to place a significant amount of pressure on Holmes as he prepares for the 2026 NFL Draft. But when you factor in all the other swirling issues – like contract drama with Taylor Decker and Frank Ragnow, cash and cap constraint and speculation of a rift with Campbell – there seems to be even more pressure for Holmes to become the difference-maker the Lions need him to be by nailing the draft.
One of Holmes’ unique actions that pointed to a difference in his draft approach this year was his recent decision to skip the NFL’s annual meetings. Holmes said he wanted to reclaim more time for draft prep, though he wouldn’t admit to skipping the meetings because of an added sense of pressure.
“It was really more in the past, where I’ve gotten – for our process, it’s a lot of time that you miss,” he said. “So by the time that you get back, I’m kind of in a makeup mode because of all the time that you missed for our process.
“So that’s why I kind of just said, ‘Look, in order for me to try to kind of avoid being in that makeup mode’ – because now you hop into draft meetings with the scouts, and it keeps rolling, but you’ve missed a good chunk of time for us.”
Make no mistake. The Lions are still a good team, even coming off a 9-8 season. They had five Pro Bowlers last season, with none older than 26. But they don’t have a third-round pick next week, and won’t pick until No. 17 in the first round when the draft opens on April 23.
With their financial situation strained due to the multiple contract extensions they’ve awarded to their top players, the draft remains the key cost-control mechanism for the Lions to find elite players at reasonable salaries.
The challenge for Holmes will be to fill his two most important positions of need – offensive tackle and edge rusher –without a lot of draft capital to work with this year. Seven of their nine picks come on Day 3.
Of course, few can imagine Bargaining Brad sitting on his hands that long. With two fourth-rounders and two fifth-rounders in his possession, it’s probably a safe bet that he’ll trade up into the third round, or higher.
But he might not have to force a trade to fill his two biggest positions of need. Though he might have to prioritize offensive tackle, because it’s one of the weakest positions in the class, and edge rusher is one of the deepest.
The strangest thing about Holmes’ demeanor on Monday manifested itself in the way he pushed back on a reporter’s request for his definition of premium positions.
“Well, based on what you guys have always said,” Holmes said. “No, but you guys tell us what the premium positions are, right?”
Holmes relented and agreed that quarterback, pass rusher and offensive tackle are premium positions. But he also pushed back on the idea of feeling pressure to target specific needs in the draft, once again espousing his long-standing “Best Player Available” approach, even though he offered an odd hypothetical defense for it.
“So you already reached for a player that you’re not as fired up about but it fits a certain position,” he said. “What if the player shows or demonstrates the reason you weren’t as fired up about him?
“So now you’ve reached for the guy and the guy’s not even performing up to standard – the same reason why you had reservations about him. Now you’re really in trouble.”
But Holmes only created this fear out of an imagined situation, because he said he hasn’t ever actually reached for a player to fit a position of need.
“I just know we’ve never done that, but I can only imagine,” he said, sounding like a kid who swears he hates brussels sprouts, even though he’s never tried them.
Judging by Holmes’ famous table-pounding antics during the draft, I believe the conviction and excitement about his picks is genuine. But pretending that not one of his 36 draft picks has ever been chosen based on need, even a little, is harder to swallow than gross imaginary brussels sprouts.
The only GM who’s probably ever done that was Matt Millen, who chose a receiver with his first pick three straight years with the Lions. And we know how that turned out.
It has been a busy year already. The Lions are looking for a new team president, they’re coming off a very disappointing season and they’re fielding increasing questions about their struggles and challenges.
Holmes can answer a lot questions and fix a lot of problems with one amazingly great draft next week. But hey, no pressure.
Contact Carlos Monarrez at cmonarrez@freepress.com and follow him on X @cmonarrez.
Feeling a draft?
What: 2026 NFL Draft.
Fast facts: April 23-25; Acrisure Stadium and Point State Park, Pittsburgh.
TV: ABC, ESPN, NFL Network.
Lions’ picks (overall pick in parentheses): Round 1 – No. 17 (17); Round 2 – No. 18 (50); Round 3 – none; Round 4 – No. 18 (118), No. 28 (128); Round 5 – No. 17 (157), No. 41 (181); Round 6 – No. 24 (205), No. 32 (213); Round 7 – No. 6 (222).
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Brad Holmes feeling pressure before Detroit Lions draft? He should be
Reporting by Carlos Monarrez, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
