Do you agree with Brad Holmes’ best player available approach?
Does Detroit Lions GM Brad Holmes have the right NFL Draft strategy, or does it need to evolve?
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 01: Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes answers questions from the media during the NFL Scouting Combine on March 1, 2022, at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, IN. (Photo by Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images If the latest mock draft roundup is any indication, just about everyone thinks the Detroit Lions will go offensive tackle with their first-round pick on Sunday . As a reminder, of the 72 mock drafts that Erik Schlitt looked at over the past week, 70 of them had the Lions selecting an offensive lineman.
Take away the three that slotted guard Vega Ioane to the Lions, and that’s 67-of-72—or 93%—who expect Detroit to take a tackle. Whether a tackle will be the best player on the board at 17 overall is debatable—and truly unknowable—right now. However, Lions general manager Brad Holmes has said time and time again that they do not prioritize positions in the draft.
They take who they deem is the best player. Whether that’s actually true or not is up for debate, too, but Holmes’ has made it clear that’s the company line. “I’ve always said the reason why we always go (for) the ‘best player available’ approach is because there is only one draft, and the roster’s going to change every single year,” Holmes said this past week.
“Every single year it’s going to be new needs, contracts are going to expire, things are going to happen. So, what may not seem as an immediate, ‘I need this right now or this year,’ that might not be the case for the next year. So, that’s what’s been our approach on that.