Brad Holmes Just Did It Again
The Lions walked away from the draft with seven new players, and if you know anything about Brad Holmes by now, you know he wasn’t just throwing darts at a board. Three of those picks landed in the “elite” tier of the Grit Index, a fancy way of saying they’re exactly the kind of football players this franchise has been missing for decades.
Let’s be honest about what we’re looking at here. Holmes has now drafted seven players in the top 26 of the Grit Index across his last two draft classes. That’s not luck. That’s a systematic approach to building a roster with players who actually give a damn.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
Out of 400-plus prospects evaluated, only 30 earned “elite” grit scores of 9.0 or higher. That’s roughly 7% of the class. Of those 30, only six reached “upper elite” status at 9.5 or better.
The Lions secured three elite players while 15 other NFL teams got zero. The Bears grabbed four, which makes sense since Ben Johnson is over there now spreading the gospel of what actually works. Meanwhile, both the Vikings and Packers whiffed completely on elite grit players. You love to see it.
Blake Miller Is Everything You Want
Miller scored 9.67 on the Grit Index, ranking sixth overall and firmly in that upper elite category. The man started 54 straight games at Clemson, missed exactly one practice in four years, and that was only because he needed surgery on a broken wrist. He was back the next day.
An NFL scout put it perfectly: “The thought of letting down his coaches and teammates kills him.” That’s not just football character, that’s Lions football character. When Holmes moved Penei Sewell to left tackle, he needed someone who could protect Jared Goff’s blind side without missing a beat. Miller is that guy.
The Michigan Connection Runs Deep
Holmes doubled down on Michigan with Derrick Moore and Jimmy Rolder, even though their grit scores were more modest. Moore registered a 6.68 while Rolder came in at 6.97. Both were likely hurt by the chaos surrounding the Michigan program during evaluation season, which limited the flow of information to scouts and analysts.
Moore brings that relentless motor Detroit needs on the edge. Rolder is ascending fast and has the instincts to develop into something special. Sometimes the best picks are the ones where you see the trajectory, not just the current production.
Late Round Gold
Keith Abney in the fifth round might be highway robbery. The Arizona State corner scored 9.07, good for 26th overall in the entire class. He’s a competitive fire starter who takes pride in being an elite run defender and fights through contact at the catch point. For a fifth-round pick, that’s exceptional value.
Skyler Gill-Howard in the sixth round scored an absurd 9.42, ranking eighth overall. This is a guy who worked at FedEx for three years while playing college football, bet on himself twice through the transfer portal, and made it work. That’s not just grit, that’s Detroit grit.
The System Works
Look, this Grit Index thing isn’t perfect. It missed some context on players like Derrick Moore, where late-breaking scouting reports would have boosted his score significantly. And seventh-rounder Tyre West scored just 2.57, partly because information on deep prospects is always scarce.
But here’s what matters: Holmes is consistently identifying and drafting players who fit this culture. Half of his last 14 draft picks have scored at or near elite levels. That’s not an accident.
In a league where character concerns and work ethic questions torpedo careers, the Lions are stockpiling guys who show up every day and do the work. After watching this franchise draft players who didn’t care for the better part of two decades, that alone feels revolutionary.
Is Holmes building the right kind of culture or are we just getting fooled by fancy analytics again? Drop your take below.
Blake Miller starting 54 straight games and missing one practice because he needed surgery? That’s the kind of guy you build around. Holmes knows exactly what he’s doing with this culture thing and it’s honestly refreshing to see the Lions finally going after players who actually want to be here.
Look I’m not gonna say Holmes is a genius just yet, but he’s definitely onto something with this grit evaluation stuff. My question is can these mid-round guys actually develop into productive NFL players or are we just getting really good at picking guys with good character? Time will tell but I’m cautiously optimistic.
You know what the difference is now? Back in my day we just had no idea who was coming in. We’d draft a guy and hope for the best. Holmes has a system and it shows. This is what winning franchises do – they don’t just throw darts. The fact that the Packers and Vikings got zero elite grit guys while we got three says everything.
Skyler Gill-Howard working at FedEx while playing college ball and then transferring twice to make it? That’s Detroit right there. That’s the kind of grind this city respects and that’s exactly the culture Campbell and Holmes are building. I’m all in on this draft class.
Tyre West scoring 2.57 in the seventh round is a red flag though. I get that deep prospects are hard to evaluate but if we’re supposedly building this grit-focused roster, shouldn’t that still matter in round seven? Just saying not every pick is a home run and that one feels like a miss.