The Detroit Lions seem to be in pretty good hands. With Sheila Hamp as the owner, the organization has shown it is willing to spare no expense to build a winner in Detroit—something that has been missing for decades. General manager Brad Holmes’ first three drafts were beyond stellar, filling the foundation of this team will All-Pro talent that could last another decade. Dan Campbell has proven to be one of the strongest leaders this team has ever seen, and his ability to both attract coaching talent and properly build a culture of collaboration and delegation has made Detroit an attractive working space for the first time in a very long time.
But just like any organization, nothing is perfect, and this 2025 season is proof that there can always be changes in philosophy and/or standard procedures to improve team performance.
So today’s Question of the Day is:
What is one tendency or philosophy of the current Detroit Lions that you would change?
My answer: This could be anything, from the way the team operates as a business to their team-building philosophies to how they generate a pass rush.
But the first thing that comes to mind—and forgive me for beating this drum again—is their odd tendency to trade up in recent drafts. While this wasn’t much of an issue in their first three drafts—which had a nice balance of trade ups and trade downs—Holmes has only traded up—seven times—in the last two drafts. I’ve written about this dangerous strategy a few times now, but I think the Lions are only now feeling the true impact of it. With veteran players now earning big paydays, the Lions need young, rookie-contract players to counterbalance that.
This season, the Lions may not be able to afford to keep Amik Robertson and Alex Anzalone, yet they have no players internally to fill those roles. Instead, they’ll have to use either draft capital or thin salary cap resources to manage. Unfortunately, they have plenty of needs at other positions, as well (center, guard, tight end, defensive end, safety, etc.). It’s hard to imagine the Lions being able to fill all of those needs adequately given their limited resources.
I understand having conviction about specific draft prospects and making sure you get “your guys,” but every general manager misses. Even ones that seem as bulletproof as Holmes. Lo and behold, Detroit hasn’t gotten much of any contributions from their 2024 draft class, and some of their more aggressive trade ups (Giovanni Manu, Brodric Martin) haven’t paid off.
With only two top-100 picks entering this next draft, I hope to see Holmes maximize the value of his picks by finding ways to increase their assets and protect themselves better if their picks end up busting.
What Lions tendency or philosophy would you like to see the team change or tweak? Scroll down to the comment section and let us know.
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