Allen Park — When evaluating college prospects, there are three primary buckets general managers must weigh: College production, intangibles and physical traits.
The Lions put a heavy emphasis on the first two. They want players who have proven it on the field, but also have the intrinsic drive to constantly improve, one of the key component of high football character.
A recent example, at least from the latter rounds of the draft, would be linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez. He wasn’t the biggest or fastest player, but his production at Oklahoma State and his passion for the game were undeniable, which helped last year’s sixth-round pick quickly transition and produce as a rookie.
Physical traits without production is best described as potential or upside. It’s what we point to with someone like Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson, who might be the most athletic quarterback prospect of all-time, possessing a prototypical build, but having completed just 54.7% of his passes in college. Or there’s Pitt defensive tackle Calijah Kancey, who is both athletic and productive, but has arms far shorter than the threshold teams desire at the position.
“The physical traits — they’re higher at some positions, they’re more important at some positions,” Lions general manager Brad Holmes said. “At other positions, it’s a little bit you can get by where the physical traits might not be as good, but what I call kind of the central nervous system wiring is a little bit higher.
And while Holmes wasn’t talking about a specific prospect or trait, he said he sometimes needs to be reminded there are physical shortcomings difficult to overcome and that shouldn’t be ignored.
“There’s a balance, but it is the NFL,” Holmes continued. “You do have to have a balance of athleticism, a baseline of athleticism. Some positions you’ve got to have a baseline of length. There are some positions where you have to have a baseline there of speed, explosiveness. That’s not overlooked at all. My staff, they do a great job of bringing that up to me a lot because I can tend to go toward, ‘Man, as long as he’s playing football.’ But you’ve got to be aware, it is the NFL. You’ve got to make sure that these guys are able to match up physically.”
Part-time villain
At the scouting combine, Holmes went viral among the fan base for his wardrobe selection, a white Lions hoodie with the world “Villain” stenciled across the front in black, block letters.
“In the past, we kind of kept that lock key,” Holmes said. “… (Now) the whole world knows about it. The whole world doesn’t know what it truly means. In terms of the merch, in terms of the availability of it, I can’t really speak to that. I do like the fire that it started. It’s been pretty cool. I didn’t think it was going to happen. That wasn’t my intention, but it’s been pretty cool to see the reaction that everybody has kind of bought into the villain theme.”
Holmes was wearing another hoodie with a message on Thursday, “Support women and girls in sports.” It coincides with team’s ongoing efforts to recognize the impact of females within the organization, headed by owner Sheila Hamp.
Last month, during Women’s History Month, the Lions launched a women’s employee resource group called Women of the Lions. It included a panel discussion with five female employees from various departments: co-director of player engagement Jessica Gray, senior director of football operations Gina Newell, production manager Jessica Shlemon, senior vice president and general counsel Maggy Carlyle and team reporter Dannie Rogers.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers