Brad Holmes has earned every bit of trust we have in him, but this cornerback situation is different
The Detroit Lions have a cornerback problem. Terrion Arnold is gone. D.J. Reed has a running mate spot next to him that is wide open heading into training camp, and if Brad Holmes thinks Rock Ya-Sin as a full-time starter is the answer, then we have a serious issue on our hands.
Holmes is the best general manager this franchise has ever had. That is not hyperbole. That is not recency bias. That is fact. But even the best GMs in football have to act when the roster takes a hit like this, and right now the cornerback depth chart looks like a prayer wrapped in duct tape.
The 2024 draft class was rough, but let’s not blow this out of proportion
Arnold was the consensus top corner in that draft. Holmes and Campbell did the work. The character checked out. The tape looked right. Sometimes a pick just does not pan out. That happens. You cannot predict the future, and you cannot torch a man’s entire body of work because one draft class did not hit the way it should have.
But that does not mean you get to shrug your shoulders and move on like nothing happened.
Rock Ya-Sin is a great depth piece, not a starting solution
Ya-Sin played well off the bench last year. He was solid in that role. But he started four games. Four. Not because he was hurt. Because he has never beaten anyone out for a full-time starting job over a full season. He is a quality rotational corner who can give you snaps. He is not someone you pencil in as your Week 1 starter opposite a top-tier corner and feel good about it.
And if Ya-Sin is the starter, what is the backup plan? Ennis Rakestraw, who has been hurt for two years straight? Nick Whiteside and Khalil Dorsey, two undrafted guys who have barely played NFL defense? That is not a depth chart. That is a gamble you cannot afford to take when you are trying to win a Super Bowl.
Holmes does not need to mortgage the future, but he needs to do something
I know the usual script. Next man up. We believe in our guys. Financial constraints. All of it. Set that aside. This is not the time for that.
No one is asking Holmes to trade four first-round picks for Sauce Gardner. That is not realistic and it is not necessary. But there are moves out there. Riley Moss in Denver. Kristian Fulton in Kansas City. Mike Hughes in Atlanta. Rasul Douglas is still a free agent. Do not waste a roster spot on Tre’Davious White or some guy who was good half a decade ago. Find someone who started and played well last year.
Arnold posted a 52.6 Pro Football Focus grade last year and a 50.8 the year before. If Holmes cannot find a corner who can beat those numbers and start 17 games, then he is telling us he does not want to win badly enough. I hate typing that sentence because it sounds like something a caller would yell into the WJR airwaves at 6:30 on a Tuesday morning, but this is the one time I will agree with that caller.
This is the test
The Lions have talked about being a Super Bowl contender. They have built a roster that can compete at the highest level. But if Holmes does not go out and fix this cornerback situation with a trade or a signing that feels a little aggressive, then they have failed this offseason. They are telling you they want to win, just maybe not as badly as you thought.
Holmes does not need to find a Hall of Famer. He needs to find a proven, reliable starter who can play 17 games and hold down the position well enough to help this team get over the hump. The options exist. The talent is out there. Holmes just has to go get one of them.
We will see what they do. But right now, the Lions cannot afford to sit on their hands.
So is Holmes about to pull off another under-the-radar move that makes us all look stupid for doubting him, or are we really about to trot out Rock Ya-Sin and two UDFAs and call it a plan? Drop your take below.
