Did Brad Holmes give any tips about the Detroit Lions’ draft?

Mayor of Detroit Mike Duggan announces Ennis Rakestraw Jr., a cornerback from Missouri, as the Detroit Lions' pick at no. 61 overall in the second round of 2024 NFL draft in Detroit on Friday, April 26, 2024.

It’s lying season.

That was probably my first thought after Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes stepped away from the lectern Monday morning after his pre-draft press conference.

Like most Holmes press conferences, there wasn’t much that could be consider “BREAKING NEWS.” Holmes sidestepped the questions that would require too revealing of an answer, and when he did answer a question, he typically went the route of the most obvious, least controversial answer—even if some may be reading too much into his answers.

That said, there are likely kernals of truths scattered across his 20-minute press conference. So, on this week’s PODcast, our crew tries to separate fact from fiction. We dig through each main takeaway from Holmes’ session and see which comments could reveals something about the team’s intentions in next week’s draft and which answers can be thrown right in the trash.

We begin with the discussion on offensive tackle and defensive end. Does Holmes really mean it when he downplayed the team’s needs at those positions or is he just saying what he needs to say? What about his comments that you can never have enough offensive tackles?

Holmes also provided some interesting comments about the growing age of draft classes due to NIL. He openly admitted that they have to seriously consider the ramifications for a 25-year-old prospect who will be approaching their 30th birthday when looking for a second contract. What does that mean for someone like Miami defensive end Akheem Mesidor, who turned 25 earlier this month? How about Miami’s Keionte Scott (24) in Round 2?

Finally, we talk about Holmes revealing that he changed up his pre-draft process this year, including getting rid of the team’s local pro day and skipping out on the owners meetings. What’s the justification for that? What does it mean that Holmes is changing things up?

That’s all in the first segment.

In the second segment, we highlight some NFL Draft prospects outside of the OT and EDGE positions that could interest the Lions in the first two days of the draft.

Check out the entire show on your favorite podcasting platform, and don’t forget to leave us a review on Apple podcasts! Or you can listen to the show in the Spotify embed below.

There’s a lot more Lions and Brad Holmes discussion on the video version of the PODcast, which is available over on our YouTube page and Twitch channel. There’s about a full hour extra of the show there. Make sure to check it out and subscribe!