Brad Holmes Builds Like Vince McMahon Pushed Talent and Honestly It Makes Perfect Sense
Brad Holmes does not chase big names in free agency. He does not trade the farm for a flashy veteran. He builds through the draft, keeps his homegrown guys, and lets outside talent walk when their deals are up. Lions fans see it every offseason. Other teams sign the splashy free agents and you sit there wondering why Detroit won’t just do something.
But there is a comparison here that might make the whole thing click. And it comes from professional wrestling.
Stay with me.
If Vince Didn’t Make It, Vince Didn’t Push It
One of the most well-known things about how Vince McMahon ran WWE for decades is that if he didn’t create it, he didn’t push it. When WCW folded and stars like DDP and Scott Steiner came over, most of them never reached the same heights they had elsewhere. Some guys broke through. Chris Jericho won world championships. Booker T got his run. But more often than not, the WCW imports came in, hung around for a while, and then faded into the background.
McMahon kept pushing his homegrown talent. The Rock. Stone Cold Steve Austin. John Cena. The Undertaker. Those were the guys who headlined WrestleMania year after year. They were built from within and they stayed on top.
That is exactly what Holmes does with the Lions.
Aidan Hutchinson, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Jared Goff. These are the players Detroit has committed to building around, and the front office has shown zero interest in disrupting that core with outside acquisitions that might shift the direction.
Carlton Davis Came Over, Balled Out, and Then Left
Occasionally, the Lions will bring in an outside guy. They will make a trade. They will sign someone. But those players do not usually stick around for a second contract.
Look at Carlton Davis. The Lions traded for him and it was a significant move at the time. He had a great year in Detroit. Then after one season, Holmes let him walk. It is almost like Ric Flair coming over to WWE, winning the championship, and then heading back to WCW. Davis came over, contributed, and then Holmes said go get your money somewhere else. Detroit signed DJ Reed instead and kept building.
That pattern repeats itself. The Lions bring guys in from the outside to fill roles, but the long-term investment always goes back to the players they drafted and developed.
The Dopamine Hit is Not a Strategy
I get it. Lions fans want the dopamine hit. You want that adrenaline rush when your team lands a huge free agent. It feels great in the moment. It puts hope in your heart.
But think about WWE in the late 1990s. WCW beat WWE in the ratings for 83 consecutive weeks. They had the NWO. They had these big, cool, shiny objects that made everyone ask why WWE could not do something like that.
And then the 83 weeks ended.
WWE won out because they made new stars. Edge, Christian, the Hardy Boyz. They built from within and they came out on top.
Holmes is not the only GM who operates this way. You could point to Howie Roseman and the Philadelphia Eagles. Yes, they signed Saquon Barkley. But when you look at the full picture, the Eagles have not made as many blockbuster acquisitions as people think. They built their Super Bowl roster primarily through the draft and through developing their own players.
Homegrown Wins in the End
The big shiny objects are fun. Nobody is arguing that. But when you build through homegrown talent and commit to the players you know, that wins out over time. Holmes has been consistent in this approach since he took over as GM, and the results are trending in the right direction.
The Lions have not won a championship since 1957. That is a lot longer than 83 weeks. But if WWE could survive being beaten in the ratings for nearly two years and come back stronger by trusting its own development pipeline, there is reason to believe Detroit can do the same thing.
Holmes is building this roster the right way. The homegrown approach wins in the end.
Do you trust the process or are you still mad we didn’t go out and overpay someone in free agency? Drop your take below.
