Brad Holmes Already Thinking 2026: Lions GM Signals Aggressive Draft Plans
Well, this is new. A Detroit Lions general manager talking about moving up in the draft not because we’re picking in the top five, but because we might actually want to be aggressive about getting better.
Brad Holmes has made it clear he’s ready to wheel and deal come 2026 draft time. After what the source describes as a “rough 2025 season” that ended without playoff football in Allen Park, Holmes isn’t sitting around waiting for talent to fall into his lap.
And yes, I know what you’re thinking. We’ve heard this song before from Lions front offices. The difference is Holmes has actually shown he can evaluate talent and make moves that don’t blow up in our faces. Remember when he traded up for Jameson Williams? When he found Amon-Ra St. Brown in the fourth round? When he somehow turned a rebuild into a contender?
Holes Need Plugging, And Holmes Knows It
The report mentions there are “some holes that the team needs to figure out before the games begin to count in Week 1.” No kidding. Missing the playoffs after the run we’ve been on stings differently than the old days when we expected to be home in January.
Holmes has never been shy about making moves when he sees value. Trading up in the draft requires conviction about your targets and confidence in your evaluation process. After years of Matt Millen reaching for guys nobody else wanted, it’s still surreal to have a GM who other teams actually respect at the negotiating table.
The 2026 draft is still months away, but Holmes talking about potential moves this early tells you everything about his mindset. This isn’t a guy planning to sit back and hope the right players slide to Detroit’s pick. This is a GM who wants to go get his guys.
The New Detroit Way
Look, we’ve been burned before by front office bravado. We’ve heard promises about aggressive moves and smart drafting that turned into Charles Rogers and Joey Harrington. But Holmes earned the benefit of the doubt by actually building something in Honolulu Blue.
Missing the playoffs hurts. Hell, it hurts more now because we know what this team is capable of when everything clicks. But having a GM who’s already thinking about how to fix the problems instead of making excuses? That’s the kind of forward thinking that separates successful organizations from the Lions teams we used to suffer through.
Holmes has shown he can find value anywhere in the draft. He’s proven he can make trades that actually help the team. Now he’s signaling he’s ready to be aggressive about climbing the draft board when he spots a difference maker.
Trust The Process
The Lions organization has changed. We have a GM who plans ahead, a coaching staff that develops talent, and an owner who actually seems to care about winning. Holmes talking about potential draft moves before we even know where Detroit will be picking shows the kind of preparation that good organizations do behind the scenes.
Will it work out? Nobody knows. Draft picks are still educated guesses, and moving up costs extra resources. But having a general manager who’s thinking aggressively about roster construction beats the hell out of hoping somebody decent falls to us in the second round.
After decades of draft day disasters and conservative moves that kept us mediocre, having Holmes signal his willingness to trade up feels like progress. Even if the 2025 season didn’t end the way we wanted, at least we know our GM isn’t planning to sit on his hands and hope for the best.
So Holmes wants to move up in 2026? Good. Be aggressive. Go get your guys. We’ve watched this organization be patient and careful for long enough. Time to see what happens when the Lions actually go after the players they want instead of settling for whoever’s left.
Is Holmes playing 4D chess or are we setting ourselves up for another classic Lions draft disappointment? Drop your take below.
