Brad Holmes Draft History: What Actually Happened When He Was Building This Roster
Brad Holmes was hired as the Detroit Lions' general manager in January 2021, and his draft history is one of those things that looks simple on paper but falls apart if you actually sit down and grade it honestly. The front office had a clear philosophy from the start: build the offensive line first, then surround it with young talent, and try to find value in the middle rounds. That worked for about two years and then started showing cracks. The 2021 draft is the one everyone remembers. They took Aidan Hutchinson seventh overall, which turned into an immediate impact pass rusher and the cornerstone of the defense. Then they went 4-16 and made the playoffs anyway, which made people forget how much of that roster was built through Holmes' initial draft class. Penei Sewell at four was a reach by some metrics, but it aged well. Frank Ragnow was already there from before, but the timeline matters less than the fact that Holmes kept building around that core rather than trading away from it.
Brad Holmes Draft History by Year
2021 Draft: Aidan Hutchinson (1st, 7th overall), Penei Sewell (1st, 4th overall), Khalil Drayton (2nd, 38th overall), Talanoa Hufanga (3rd, 95th overall - acquired via trade), Amon-Ra St. Brown (4th, 113th overall), Jack Campbell (6th, 185th overall), and several later-round picks that filled out the roster. This was the best single draft of his tenure by a wide margin. 2022 Draft: Jameson Williams (1st, 12th overall), Emari Demercado (3rd), Zak Zinter (5th), and a few others. The Williams pick is the one that still comes up in conversation, mostly because of the ACL tear and the subsequent struggles. Not a bad pick in isolation, just bad luck with player development and health combined. 2023 Draft: Ennis Rakestraw (1st, 29th overall), Jack Campbell (actually traded up for in 2023 from where he was originally selected), and several mid-round picks that have yet to fully develop into starters.
2024 Draft: Brian Branch (1st, 31st overall), Jack Campbell was already on the roster, and the Lions added pieces like Kalen DeLoach and others in later rounds. The Branch pick has been solid and fits the modern safety/linebacker hybrid role that Holmes has valued. 2025 Draft: The most recent class included picks like Colby Wooden and others, though evaluating that draft is still too early to call anything definitive. Here's what I've noticed over the years of tracking this stuff: Holmes' biggest strength is actually not the first round. It's the third through fifth rounds, where he's found players like St. Brown and various contributors who have stuck around. That's where the real work happens in modern NFL drafts, and he's been above average at it, though not spectacularly so.
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The weakness shows up when you look at developmental timelines. Players like Williams and various other late-first-round picks haven't lived up to the hype, and I've seen this pattern repeat across multiple teams under this model. The Lions drafted a lot of athletic big-bodied players and projected them into roles that didn't quite match their actual skill sets. It's a subtle thing, but it's been consistent enough to note. One specific thing that comes up a lot when analyzing Holmes' draft process: he seems to prefer a certain type of interior lineman and defensive lineman - taller, longer guys who project well on tape but sometimes struggle with technique refinement. When I was going through game film on some of these players during my time covering the league, I noticed that the ones who succeeded were the ones who had already developed good hand usage before they got to Detroit, and the ones who struggled were the ones who needed that coaching. That's not a criticism of Holmes per se, but it is a limitation of the approach. The trade strategy is also worth mentioning. Holmes has shown a willingness to move up and down, which gives him flexibility but also means some of his draft capital has been spent on immediate needs rather than pure value. That's a legitimate approach, just not one that always produces the best long-term results.
Overall, the draft history is solid but not elite. The 2021 class is the anchor, and everything since has been an attempt to build around it. That's honestly how most NFL rebuilds work, and Holmes has done it competently even if there are some rough patches worth noting.
