Holmes Does It Again: Betting on the Day 3 Sleeper
Look, we all know the drill by now. Brad Holmes finds guys on Day 3 that other teams somehow missed. Amon-Ra St. Brown in the fourth round. Malcolm Rodriguez in the sixth. Derrick Barnes in the fourth. The man has turned the final day of the draft into his personal treasure hunt, and frankly, it’s one of the few reliable sources of joy this franchise has given us over the years.
This time around, Holmes walked away with five Day 3 picks: Jimmy Rolder (LB, Michigan) in the fourth, Keith Abney II (CB, Arizona State) and Kendrick Law (WR, Kentucky) in the fifth, plus Skyler Gill-Howard (DT, Texas A&M) and Tyre West (DL, Tennessee) to close things out in rounds six and seven.
The Smart Money Is on Abney
If I’m putting money down on which of these guys has the best career, I’m going with Keith Abney II. And yes, I know what you’re thinking. Another cornerback project. But here’s the thing about Abney: he wasn’t supposed to be there in the fifth round.
The kid was ranked 61st overall by Dane Brugler. Trevor Sikkema had him 80th. Lance Zierlein put him at 85th, and even Daniel Jeremiah’s more conservative ranking had Abney at 98th. Those are Day 2 grades, not fifth-round afterthoughts.
Sometimes guys fall for reasons that have nothing to do with talent. Sometimes they fall right into Brad Holmes’ lap.
Immediate Need, Long-Term Upside
Here’s what makes Abney different from your typical late-round flyer: the Lions actually need what he brings. This isn’t a luxury pick or a developmental stash. With the way this secondary is constructed, there’s a legitimate path for Abney to see early playing time.
He’s got the versatility to play nickel, the tenacity to contribute outside, and the special teams value that keeps young DBs on the roster while they develop. That’s not just a recipe for making the team. That’s a recipe for becoming a foundational piece.
Jimmy Rolder deserves mention too. The Michigan linebacker has the raw tools and the inexperience that could mean serious upside down the road. But Abney has the combination of immediate opportunity and long-term ceiling that makes him the safer bet.
Which Day 3 pick do you think becomes the next Holmes hidden gem, or are we setting ourselves up for disappointment again? Let me know in the comments.
Abney falling to the fifth is exactly the kind of thing Holmes does that makes you wonder what everyone else was watching. If those other evaluators had him as a Day 2 guy and we grabbed him in the fifth, that’s just smart roster building right there. I’m here for it.
Look, I want to believe in the Day 3 magic as much as the next guy, but we’ve also had plenty of these “sleepers” that just didn’t pan out. Not saying Holmes doesn’t know what he’s doing, just saying let’s pump the brakes on the hype until we actually see these kids play.
This is what it looks like when you actually have a front office that does their homework. Used to watch us waste picks on complete head-scratchers, and now Holmes is finding guys that other teams passed on for no good reason. That’s the difference between then and now right there.
Abney at 61 overall by Brugler and we get him in the fifth? That’s the kind of value that wins you football games in the long run. Holmes keeps proving that you don’t need to blow all your capital early when you know how to identify talent late.