As I wrote in this week’s Lions-Vikings preview article, “each loss has felt heavier than the last, often coming in ways that raise new questions rather than offering answers.” Christmas was no exception. If anything, it marked a new rock bottom—introducing the one feeling Lions fans hadn’t fully experienced in a while: a jaded numbness.
The outcome also shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise. The offense has been trending downward for weeks, routinely getting its teeth kicked in up front. There was no realistic reason to expect a broken, dysfunctional unit to suddenly fix itself against Brian Flores’ defense. I was among the few Pride of Detroit writers who felt another lump-swallowing was firmly on the table, even with Detroit favored by six points or more.
Now sitting on eight losses, much of what typically fills out this stock report has already been covered—repeatedly. The same underwhelming performances, the same structural issues, the same unanswered questions. With the Lions losing five of their last six games, sitting at 1–4 in the division, and officially eliminated from playoff contention, this week’s stock report will stick to mostly quick hitters (with one exception). The bigger takeaways have been beaten into the ground over the past two months.
Stock down: Brad Holmes, general manager
The Lions have made just 13 draft picks over the past two NFL drafts, tied for the second-fewest in the league—ahead of only Minnesota and a Vikings front office led by Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, whose draft record has drawn plenty of scrutiny. For comparison, the Ravens led the league with 20 picks in that span. Eight teams made 19 selections (ARI, BUF, GB, LV, NE, PHI, SEA, SF), while three more had 18 (HOU, JAX, LAC). More than a third of the league had roughly three additional picks per draft compared to Detroit. In total, the Lions accounted for just 2.5% of the 514 draft picks made over that period.
Holmes needs to do a better job of positioning both himself and the team for sustained success. No matter how sharp the evaluations are, the draft has always been a numbers game. Even Bill Belichick and the Patriots struggled late in his tenure by narrowing their boards too much and becoming overly rigid in their selection criteria. The Lions are already staring down a pivotal 2026 NFL Draft in which they currently hold only two top-100 picks.
Regardless of how “loaded” the roster is claimed to be, that’s a poor justification for limiting your number of bites at the apple—or lottery tickets to scratch. The priority should be finding the best football players, not just the most intriguing high-upside projects or hyper-specific role fits tailored to what was the Lions’ gritty identity. Failing to consistently replenish draft capital drains the well that identity was built from in the first place.
This will be a massive offseason for Brad Holmes—one that requires learning, adapting, and evolving as he enters his sixth year on the job.
Quick hits
STOCK UP
- Kelvin Sheppard, DC: The defense put Aaron Jones and Ty Chandler on ice and served Max Brosmer a tall mug of struggle sauce, abusing the UDFA rookie QB and a backup offensive line for seven sacks and a 48.0% pressure rate, while also keeping Justin Jefferson from wrecking the game. Outside of the back-breaking Jordan Addison end-around late, this was the Lions’ best defensive effort in a month—which only made the offense’s self-destruction more frustrating.
- Tate Ratledge, RG: Despite the lack of rushing success, Ratledge flashed real progress. He looks a tenth of a second quicker processing double teams and climbing to the second level, while continuing to stabilize in pass protection—where he may have been Detroit’s most reliable lineman on the day.
- Isaac TeSlaa, WR: TeSlaa continues to quietly stack performances. He hauled in another absurd, physical touchdown grab on fourth down, but his most impressive moment came on a 28-yard third-and-16 conversion early in the second quarter with the Lions down 7-0 and desperate for a pulse.
- Aidan Hutchinson & Al-Quadin Muhammad, DE: Both took full advantage of Minnesota’s backup offensive tackles, consistently generating pressure and both having a multi-sack performance. Hutchinson was relentless, while Muhammad made the most of his limited snaps.
- Roy Lopez, NT: [This Stock Up spot remains permanently reserved for Roy Lopez.]
- Derrick Barnes, LB: Barnes played downhill and angry, pummeling blockers, punishing runners, and even contributing as a pass rusher. His slick inside move against Donovan Jackson helped collapse the pocket on one of Muhammad’s sacks.
- Daniel Thomas, SAF: Thomas looked comfortable reprising the box safety role he thrived in at the college level. The pass rush and Brosmer’s reluctance to push the ball helped, but Thomas showed real burst triggering downhill—including aligning on the line of scrimmage on the goal line and also lighting up Aaron Jones on a swing pass.
STOCK DOWN
- Dan Campbell, HC: Santa went down with the sleigh. The offense looked just as discombobulated as it did in the first meeting with Minnesota—the game that ultimately led to John Morton being stripped of play-calling duties. Six turnovers, 3.6 yards per play, a 32.8% success rate, and five sacks allowed, all while failing to capitalize on facing Max Brosmer. Dismal.
- Jared Goff, QB: For a brief stretch, it looked like Goff might will the Lions past the Vikings defense, making improbable, and some off-script, completions on third-and-16, third-and-15, and third-and-9 en route to a fourth-down touchdown. After that, the wheels came off. Goff was responsible for four turnovers and five sacks, several of them self-inflicted as Brian Flores consistently got the better of him schematically. One of his most costly performances of the season at the worst possible time.
- Jahmyr Gibbs, RB: Gibbs has been completely bottled up during the three-game skid, totaling 81 rushing yards on 37 carries (2.19 YPC) with only two rushing first downs, plus a fumble and a drop in consecutive games. The scheme and blocking execution have also done him few favors.
- Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR: Thirteen targets turned into just 68 yards and another drop, an inefficient day by his standards. He did flash his usual reliability with conversions on third-and-9, third-and-15, and third-and-4, but those moments were the exception rather than the norm.
- Anthony Firkser, Shane Zylstra, Giovanni Ricci, TE: This talent-deficient group continues to weigh the offense down. Beyond being non-factors as receivers, each had multiple breakdowns in run and pass blocking that directly undercut the scheme from an execution standpoint. Too often, their missed assignments were the difference between a crease and a stuffed run. Ricci even chipped in a second fourth-down false start. Rebuilding the room behind Sam LaPorta needs to be a real offseason priority—several teams found competent, value-adding blocking TE3s before this season, and the Lions did not.
- Dan Skipper, LT: A rough spot start and not his best showing over the past two seasons. Ideally, the Lions invest this offseason in a future successor to Taylor Decker who can also be an immediate upgrade over Skipper as the swing tackle. It’s hard to imagine how this would have looked had Jonathan Greenard been healthy.
- Kingsley Eguakun, C: Two bad snaps resulting in fumbles, a costly fourth-down false start, and a steady diet of losses in pass protection. A noticeable step back from his Week 16 performance.
- Rock Ya-Sin, CB: Not a disastrous outing, but two penalties that gifted first downs and the 10-yard completion to Jefferson on third-and-5 late in the fourth quarter loomed large.
STOCK NEUTRAL
- Penei Sewell, RT: Aside from one likely misidentified blitz pickup that allowed Andrew Van Ginkel to log a sack, Sewell largely kept Goff clean from Van Ginkel and the interior defenders he drew. He also delivered a few bone-jarring blocks in the run game that were wasted by missed assignments elsewhere. If the Lions can sort out the offensive coordinator, stabilize the rest of the offensive line, and find competent blocking tight ends this offseason, they can still lean on the right side of the line for years—exactly as they envisioned.
- Jack Campbell & Alex Anzalone, LB: Campbell delivered his usual textbook thumps against the run, and Anzalone chipped in with a sack, but it was a solid—not particularly impactful—outing for the linebacker duo.
- Jalen Mills, SAF: Mills filled in better than reasonably expected after being released by Houston and was forced into a larger role when Thomas Harper exited with another concussion. He filled the alley well against Tyson Chandler multiple times and broke up a pass intended for Josh Oliver. However, a disastrous angle on Jordan Addison’s end-around took him out of the play and turned him into a speed bump for Amik Robertson trying to chase down Addison.
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