Justin Fields, Ohio State (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
The Detroit Lions proved their commitment to Jared Goff, by not selecting a quarterback in the draft. But was that by design?
Fans of the Honolulu Blue and Silver have been pretty happy with Brad Holmes’ debut as the man running the Lions draft room. He stepped in and has bolstered the offensive and defensive lines. It’s the groundwork of a championship contender.
Teams that win in the trenches are usually pretty good at running the football and playing solid defense. The battle for the line of scrimmage is not only a war for an important piece of sports real estate but it’s also about controlling the game.
Let’s just say that it appears the Detroit Lions have more capability of controlling the line of scrimmage today than they did before the draft. Brad Holmes did what the Carolina Panthers did last year; concentrate on an area of need.
Now full disclosure is that the Panthers’ whole draft last year was defense. However, it showed the type of progress that Lions fans everywhere would envy.
Meanwhile, Brad Holmes went to the trenches with three straight selections to add an immensely talented offensive lineman and fortify the defensive line. Four out of their seven draft picks were used to start the defensive upgrade. It should not be lost on Lions fans that Holmes got a talented prospect to plug in at linebacker as well, which helps solidify the defensive front seven overall.
Finding a way to improve the defense to just average would be a huge win for Holmes and new head coach Dan Campbell. Defense wins championships, even in this age of high-tech offenses and rules that make playing defense very difficult.
There is still work to be done before the defense will be ready to vie for a championship. And that’s alright because there is still work to be done on the offense before it will be ready to strafe defenses with any kind of prolific success.
One of the biggest questions surrounding the offense is quarterback Jared Goff. Everyone seems to be convinced that he is nothing more than a placeholder. Yet Brad Holmes passed on highly regarded Ohio State passer, Justin Fields. Does this mean that Goff is the Lions quarterback of the future?