Brad Holmes Almost Pulled the Trigger on a Trade Up, Then Changed His Mind at the Last Second
After the Lions grabbed Clemson tackle Blake Miller with their first-round pick, Brad Holmes did what Brad Holmes does. He grinned and told us exactly what happened behind the scenes, because this front office doesn’t play games with transparency.
“We did, yeah,” Holmes said when asked about potential trade-up scenarios. “Look, we talked to teams up—way up—and we just kinda talk about and try to see if we can be at peace with what the capital is that you’d have to expend. But, yeah, we definitely explored strongly about trading up.”
Translation: Holmes was ready to make a move until the math didn’t make sense anymore. Which is exactly what you want from your general manager.
The Rams Weren’t Impressed With Detroit’s Offer
According to reporting from The Athletic, the Rams were one of the teams Holmes called about moving up. Los Angeles, who shocked everyone by taking Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, apparently weren’t blown away by what Detroit put on the table.
“The Detroit Lions had interest in moving up, a team source said, but the return didn’t excite in a draft that thinned out considerably by Day 3 due to so many college players returning for name, image and likeness compensation.”
So the Rams said thanks but no thanks. Fair enough. But here’s where it gets interesting.
The Ravens Had a Deal That Fell Through at the Last Second
Baltimore general manager Eric DeCosta revealed that his team had an agreement to trade back, but the other team backed out once they were on the clock. DeCosta wouldn’t name the team, but the details line up perfectly with what Holmes was trying to do.
“We had something on the table, but inexplicably they told us they’d changed their mind,” DeCosta said. “They changed the deal and made another offer that wasn’t as good, and we passed.”
The Ravens would have moved from 14 to 17 in a trade with Detroit. The compensation involved extra fourth-round picks in future drafts, which makes sense since the Lions didn’t have third-rounders to trade. And most tellingly, the trade fell through right after the Rams made their shocking quarterback pick.
Les Snead Accidentally Did Holmes a Favor
Holmes admitted that once the Rams took Simpson, he felt good about getting Miller at 17. Which means his ex-colleague in Los Angeles unintentionally saved him from spending extra draft capital on a player he was going to get anyway.
That’s the kind of luck this franchise hasn’t historically enjoyed. But it’s also the kind of smart, flexible decision-making that separates this front office from the disasters of the past.
Holmes explored his options aggressively, had deals in place, then changed course when the board fell his way. He didn’t panic. He didn’t overpay. He just adapted and got his guy without giving up additional assets.
This is what competent management looks like, and honestly, it’s still weird to see it in Honolulu Blue.
Did Holmes make the right call backing out of that Ravens trade, or should he have been more aggressive? Let me know what you think below.
