Brad Holmes Had His Guy and Nothing Was Going to Stop Him
The latest Inside the Den episode just dropped and we finally have receipts for what many of us already suspected. Blake Miller was always the plan at No. 17. Not Kadyn Proctor, not some mystery edge rusher, not a desperate trade up for Rueben Bain. Miller. That was it.
And yeah, the Lions tried to move up. They had a deal with Miami at No. 12. They had a deal with Baltimore. They had talks with Tampa Bay. But when the Rams took Ty Simpson, Brad Holmes exhaled and stayed put.
Here’s the thing. Detroit had a fully agreed trade with Baltimore that would have sent the 17th pick, the 118th pick, and a 2027 third rounder to move up to No. 14. Everything was ready. If they really wanted Bain that badly, they would have pulled the trigger. They didn’t. They waited. They got Miller.
The Kadyn Proctor Noise Was Just That
I know some of you were sweating about Proctor. I know the smoke was thick. But nothing in the pre-draft process suggested the Lions liked him beyond basic due diligence. That felt like agent work. And it worked. Proctor got drafted high. Good for him.
But Miller was always Holmes’ guy. And when you trust Brad Holmes, you trust the process.
Derek Moore Was the Top Edge Target on Day 2
Going into day two, Derek Moore was at the top of the Lions’ board for edge rushers. They got a little nervous and tried to trade up to No. 43 with Miami, but the Dolphins shut that down because they wanted the pick. Miami took Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez. Detroit pivoted, moved up with the Jets, and grabbed Moore at No. 44.
Good thing they did. Baltimore took Zion Young at No. 45.
The Ravens have Jesse Minter. They have a bunch of former Michigan guys. They had Moore’s defensive line coach from college. Of course they were going to be all over him. The Lions knew it. They jumped them.
I know some fans came out of draft weekend thinking Zion Young was the move, but Moore was the guy Detroit always liked. And again, when you trust Brad Holmes, you trust the board.
Day 3 Was a Masterclass in Hitting Targets
The Lions had five top targets going into day three. They walked out with three of them. Jimmy Rolder, Keith Abney, Kendrick Law. That is execution.
While waiting at 118 for Rolder, there was some fear he might not be there. The Chargers called to see if the Lions wanted to move back to 123. Detroit said no. Los Angeles traded up over them and took Travis Burke, a tackle from Memphis. Which makes no sense, because another tackle did not get selected until 127 when the 49ers took Carver Willis from Washington. The Chargers could have just waited. But hey, not our problem.
The Lions got Rolder at 118. From there, the plan was to grab Keith Abney, then trade back up for Kendrick Law. And that is exactly what they did.
Abney was one of those picks where everyone in the room was asking the same question. What is he still doing here? Why is he still available? Brad Holmes said it himself in the video. The value was too good to pass on. He was right.
Beyond that, Detroit had serious interest in Skylar Gil-Howard and Tyree West. They got both of them later in the draft.
This felt like one of those drafts where everything fell the right way. The Lions stayed patient, trusted the board, and executed. Now we wait to see if it all works out on the field.
We will find that out sooner rather than later.
So was Brad Holmes playing 4D chess or did the draft just fall into his lap? Drop your take below.
