A week before the 2026 NFL Draft, Brad Holmes pushed back on the idea that the Detroit Lions were changing some of their processes and approach to the draft because they were feeling pressure after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2022.
After three long days, the Lions wrapped up the draft Saturday, April 25, and their general manager finally came clean.
Yes, there was more pressure to do a better job this year because of last year’s failure.
“But when you miss the playoffs, you know, that might be something that might be the kick in the rear that you that you need at times,” Holmes said. “And so that right there, I had it written up on my office wall and all that kind of stuff. …
“I’m not saying I don’t have fire and in other drafts. But it was just a little bit more – I think the urgency needed to be pushed up on everything. And so it was just a little bit more fire on the intensity.”
Hey, when you have a message that’s so important it hangs in your office as a daily reminder – which I pray is on Holmes’ wall next to one of those “Hang in There” posters that shows a cute kitten holding onto a rope – you know things are grave.
So Holmes skipped the annual league meeting in Phoenix in late March. The Lions canceled their usual local pro day to look at area prospects. They also just canceled their three-day rookie minicamp, normally held in May.
All these moves were done in the name of efficiency. That’s not only a good thing but it’s just wise to revisit approaches that can get stale and lead to complacency. Holmes loves reading books about self-improvement and leadership, so it was probably a natural move.
That’s what made this draft one of the most important in Holmes’ career, because he’s not only feeling the heat for the first time in a long time, but the concern has to be creeping into his mind that the Lions’ Super Bowl window might indeed be closing.
This draft reflected some of that viewpoint. It was a focused, workmanlike effort short on wow factor but deep on focused positional needs that might could be the difference between making the playoffs or falling short again and then feeling magma levels of heat in Allen Park.
The Lions didn’t have a ton of high picks to work with. Just a first- and second-rounder on the first two days, followed by two fourth-rounders.
Holmes didn’t mess around. He made an obvious but necessary choice with his first pick that should stabilize the team’s most important unit: Clemson offensive tackle Blake Miller.
He followed that in the second by moving up to take Michigan edge rusher Derrick Moore, who will try to take some snap and production pressure off Aidan Hutchinson.
Productive linebacker Alex Anzalone departed in free agency, so Holmes took Michigan linebacker Jimmy Rolder.
There’s always a need for more cornerbacks, and especially with the uncertainty over Terrion Arnold’s possible involvement in a serious Florida legal case, so Arizona State corner Keith Abney II was the first of two fifth-round picks.
Holmes spent his second fifth-rounder on speedy Kentucky slot receiver Kendrick Law, who has kick- and punt-return experience, with the potential to replace departed free agent Kalif Raymond.
Holmes always pushes the “best player available” narrative because it’s a built-in defense mechanism against criticism. Other GMs like saying the same thing. But if GMs truly adhered to that philosophy, we’d have a ton more kickers, punters and long-snappers being drafted the first two days. And that would be insane.
There’s nothing wrong with targeting need, within reason. Holmes just likes to define that notion in the most extreme sense of irresponsibly reaching for a player based solely on position. There isn’t anyone who would advocate doing such a thing.
So maybe Holmes really did avoid reaching for a position, which is why he didn’t draft a safety, which is also a position of need based on the injury concerns for Brian Branch and especially Kerby Joseph, who has degenerative cartilage in his left knee.
“It wasn’t that we intentionally didn’t draft a safety because we feel good about them,” Holmes said. “I feel like they’re both trending in the right direction, but it just didn’t line up. Just like it hasn’t lined up at other positions in the past, we didn’t ignore it.
“There were some good ones that were out there that just got picked before we were able to, but it just didn’t quite line up. I didn’t really think that class was as deep either, so it had to line up and you had to strike right.”
Not adding at least one safety was Holmes’ only miss in this draft. And it might turn out to be a big one. Or not. The future of missed opportunities can be as opaque as the future of young, promising players.
At the very least, Holmes did as much as he could in this year’s draft, through updated approaches and sensible, focused picks to give the Lions a better chance of returning to the playoffs.
Contact Carlos Monarrez at cmonarrez@freepress.com and follow him on X @cmonarrez.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Brad Holmes keeps it simple and nails Detroit Lions’ 2026 draft
Reporting by Carlos Monarrez, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
