On Monday, Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes held his pre-draft press conference, answering media questions for just about 15 minutes before heading back to work in preparation of the 2026 NFL Draft.
As an NFL general manager, you have essentially one goal for these press conferences: don’t say anything. Don’t give away your intentions, don’t make headlines, and say as little as possible to keep your intentions unknown.
If I’m being completely honest, I think Holmes pretty much nailed this
goal. Sure, a few headlines have been made and a couple quotes have gone viral, but I wouldn’t say I’m any closer to knowing what Holmes is going to do next week based on his comments. He successfully skirted many questions, and when he did offer answers, they were vague enough to keep people guessing.
But if there’s one quote that seemed to be informative or gain attention, it was the one regarding the team’s confidence in where they are at regarding their two biggest perceived needs: offensive tackle and defensive end. Here’s what Holmes said, particularly regarding free agent adds OT Larry Borom and EDGE Larry Wonnum:
“I thought Borom put out good tape last year. I don’t foresee that–I don’t have a crystal ball, but from the last thing I saw on tape, he’s got starter-level ability, and same as Wonnum. You’re talking about guys that have been starters in the NFL, but just kind of look at where the trend is going, where the arrow’s going. They’re still young. We feel good about both of them, so we don’t feel like we have to supplement them.”
That last part—“we don’t feel like we have to supplement them”—appears to indicate Holmes believes the team doesn’t NEED to draft an offensive tackle or defensive end early. So today’s Question of the Day is simple:
Do you believe him?
My answer: No. No I do not.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t think Holmes is going to reach for a position if his player isn’t there. He’s made it abundantly clear he’s not going to draft a player earlier than they want him. He will not sacrifice talent to fill a need, and his prior actions reflect that strategy. But you better believe he’s hoping the top talent available to him when they’re on the clock is either at offensive tackle or defensive end—and he just may trade up to ensure that’s how it plays out.
But there’s no reason to believe Holmes is being truthful with that answer for two reasons. For one, it goes back to having zero motivation to give away his intentions. Being honest here only hurts his chances to accomplish what he wants in the draft.
The other reason is to consider the question. He was asked, verbatim:
“At right tackle and defensive end, what’s your confidence level in Borom and Wonnum if those guys—that they can be every-down starters types? Or do you think you think you have to supplement them in the draft?”
If you’re an NFL general manager, there is only one way to answer that question. You just signed both of these players to your team. You are not going to immediately throw them under the bus and say they can’t be starters or that you don’t have confidence in their ability to be in the starting lineup. You have to profess full faith in them even if, behind closed doors, you want to upgrade those positions.
I am not reading Holmes’ comments as some sort of clear sign the Lions are going to avoid offensive tackle or defensive end, but rather a public support of the players he’s already added. To do anything otherwise would jeopardize his relationship with two players who haven’t even stepped on the practice field yet.
What are your thoughts on Holmes’ comments on Monday? Can we believe anything he said? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
