We’re all a product of our experiences, and Brad Holmes is no different.
Holmes, the third-year Detroit Lions general manager, was climbing the ranks of the St. Louis Rams scouting department a decade ago when the organization laid the foundation for the Super Bowl team it fielded in 2021.
In 2011, the Rams spent their first-round pick on defensive end Robert Quinn. In 2012, the team doubled down with another pass rusher, Michael Brockers. And two years later, the Rams went back to the defensive line, taking defensive tackle Aaron Donald with its second of two first-round picks.
Neither Quinn nor Brockers was around to win a ring when the franchise moved to L.A., but that trio formed the defensive foundation — with Donald as the anchor — of what the Rams would soon become.
Holmes, a defensive lineman in his playing days at North Carolina A&T, does not need reminders of how important big men are to a football team’s success.
With his first draft pick as GM, he took Oregon right tackle Penei Sewell, who made the Pro Bowl in his second season. The next year, Holmes at No. 2 overall picked edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson, the runner-up last season for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Bigs are harder to find than littles in the NFL, and teams that are strong in the trenches are typically strong overall. It’s with that philosophy in mind that I gave the Lions one of the best pass rushers in this year’s draft, Texas Tech defensive end Tyree Wilson, with the No. 6 pick in my second mock draft.
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I slotted Wilson to the Lions in my first mock, too, so not much has changed since Wilson sat out last week’s NFL combine to rest his surgically-repaired foot. But since I mostly wrote about the merits of drafting Texas running back Bijan Robinson after that first mock — Robinson didn’t make it to 18 in my second version, or he would have been my pick for the Lions again — I figured I should write about Wilson and the decision the Lions have to make at six this time around.
I do not believe the Lions are in first-round quarterback market, though I still contend that might be in the best long-term interests of the franchise. The Lions like Jared Goff, believe they can win big with him, and seem poised to bolster their roster in other areas with the No. 6 pick of the draft.
If Bryce Young somehow slid to six over size concerns, or C.J. Stroud was there despite a slew of quarterback-needy teams in the top 10, it’s possible the Lions could throw everyone a curve.
But for now, seven weeks before the draft, all signs point to them using the sixth pick for help on the defensive side of the ball.
There’s no sugar-coating just how bad the Lions were defensively last year, allowing 6.2 yards per play. They need help at all three levels and could benefit from adding one top-of-the-market player in free agency (someone like defensive tackle Dre’Mont Jones or linebacker Tremaine Edmunds).
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I’d put edge rusher at the bottom of the Lions’ defensive needs, but good teams don’t draft for need, especially at the top of Round 1.
Two defensive prospects stand head and shoulders above the rest this year, Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. and Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter. They should be the first two defensive players off the board, unless Carter slides over legal concerns. There’s a solid group of cornerbacks in this year’s draft, but Wilson is the third-best front seven player and I’m not sure it’s particularly close.
Georgia’s Nolan Smith has first-round pass rush ability, but missed significant chunk of last season with an injury. Iowa’s Lukas Van Ness is loaded with upside, but never started a game in college, something Holmes said he would be “a little hesitant” about. I like Clemson’s Myles Murphy, but most draft analysts have him going well outside the top 10.
Wilson missed three games and has a screw in his foot from fall surgery, though he said at the combine last week, “I’m real close to 100%,” and plans to work out at Texas Tech pro day later this month.
Wilson is big (6 feet 6, 271 pounds), long (86-inch wingspan) and versatile, capable of playing on the edge or kicking inside on pass downs. He had seven sacks each of the past two seasons. And he fits what the Lions are building up front.
Add Wilson to a pass rush group that already includes Hutchinson, James Houston, Josh Paschal, Romeo Okwara and John Cominsky (assuming he sticks around in free agency), and the Lions all of a sudden have an enviable mix of youth, depth and talent up front.
Lions coach Dan Campbell espoused the virtues of having a solid edge rush combo during his podium interview last week.
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“It’s big,” he said. “Any team wants those guys. You want to be able to apply pressure on both edges, and then you got to push the pocket in the middle, so I don’t think you can have enough rushers.”
The Lions don’t have enough rushers yet, and maybe never will. But adding Wilson would go a long way towards completing the defensive line room and allow the Lions to focus on other positions the rest of the draft.
At No. 18, I gave Maryland cornerback Deonte Banks to the Lions to fill a pressing need in the secondary, and with two second-round picks, they can concentrate on needs at guard, linebacker or tight end.
Wilson might not make it to six if three quarterbacks don’t go in the top five. But if he does, he should be the Lions’ first choice.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.