Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes jumped up and pounded the table.
He charged around the Lions draft room, violently bro-hugging anybody he could find. Elbows flying — oops, sorry Dan Campbell. Pounding backs. Adrenaline fueled. Testosterone overload.
Same as last year when they landed Jameson Williams.
It’s a scene that never gets old for Lions fans, especially when it involves the moment this team acquires more talent.
Then, Holmes far-more gently hugged owner Sheila Hamp — hey, he’s a smart man. Never, ever body slam the owner.
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Holmes is a football guy, acting like a football guy, who Just loves the guys he drafts. And he had several reasons to celebrate this weekend — the Lions crushed it again.
You can quibble about who they took where — and yes, I’ve done my share of quibbling — but in the end, the Lions walked away with a lightning quick running back, a stud linebacker to anchor the defense, another tight end from Iowa (the latest version of T.J. Hockenson at a far cheaper rate) and a defensive back who can play in the slot. All four should get on the field right away; and I wouldn’t be surprised to see defensive tackle Brodric Martin contribute at some point.
“We didn’t acquire a running back in the first round — we acquired an elite weapon to keep our offense explosive in the first round,” Holmes said Saturday, wrapping up the draft. “We didn’t acquire an inside linebacker in the first round — we acquired a legit anchor to elevate our defense in the first round.”
Oh, and they took a calculated risk on a quarterback — thank goodness — who could turn into the QB of the future. If he gets healthy. If he develops.
That’s a heck of a draft.
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Now, win.
Holmes has done his part — this roster has been upgraded through free agency and the draft.
Expectations have risen. Windows have opened. And opportunity is right there.
Now, win.
No more excuses
In the first two days of the draft, Holmes traded up and down, backwards and sideways, grabbing as much talent as possible; and he’s getting better at it.
“I felt a lot more comfortable doing that this year,” he said Friday night. “You just learn as you go and as you get more experience.”
He drafted four of the top 45 players in this draft — a tremendous haul.
Bro-hugs all around.
“We draft players that we love,” Holmes said. “Sometimes you just really can’t control the emotion.”
With stunning quickness, Holmes has turned this team into a team that can win now, and it just happens to play in the NFC North, a division ripe for the taking.
The Lions have a capable, experienced quarterback in Jared Goff. They have explosive weapons all over the field, including a shiny new toy in Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs.
The Lions have a gifted offensive coordinator obsessed with trying to create explosive plays — even if, one of those explosive plays might be him jetting outta Detroit in the next year. So be it.
Just win now.
They have a talented offensive line. They have an absolute stud in Amon-Ra St. Brown and the latest product of the Iowa tight end factory, Sam LaPorta.
They have an improved secondary — mostly through free agency. They have several guys who can get after the quarterback. And they added Jack Campbell, the best linebacker in college football.
Now win.
“We are extremely proud of the success that we had last year, but didn’t make playoffs,” Holmes said. “That’s not good enough. So we got to get to the point as a football team where we can put ourselves in a position where we can get into postseason and hopefully make some noise.”
“Do you think you have the talent to do that?” I asked.
“Yes,” he replied.
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Expectations are soaring
The expectations should be clear:
1. Turn Ford Field into an ear-shattering madhouse every Sunday;
2. Win the NFC North;
3. Get a home playoff game;
4. Win a home playoff game;
5. Go make a ton of noise, as Holmes said.
Will they?
Certainly, there will be ups and downs, and injuries can derail everything. But this team has far more depth and has the talent to do it. Overall, I love what the Lions added in this draft.
Holmes seems to look for three things in every player:
1. Athleticism;
2. Having a special talent;
3. Loving football.
It’s Gibbs’ explosion.
It’s Campbell’s unusual mix of athleticism, instincts, intelligence and physicality. “Extremely instinctive, extremely smart, extremely physical, very versatile, he can do it in the run game and the pass game,” Holmes said.
It’s LaPorta’s versatility.
It’s Branch’s approach.
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And it’s even in Hendon Hooker, the quarterback taken in the third round.
“He was playing very, very urgent,” Holmes said, describing what he saw in Hooker. “He was playing violent in the run game. He was playing violent in that passing game. I just kind of like the nature of the way he was playing.”
Yes, he described his new quarterback as violent.
If nothing else sums up these Lions, that’s it.
OK. Wait. I have a better example:
“I can’t really explain the feelings right now,” Colby Sorsdal, a William & Mary offensive lineman taken in the fifth round, said. “I think I got hives a little bit because of how excited I am.”
Guys so happy to join a football team that they break into hives.
Now, win.
The journey from terrible to a championship is never a direct line.
There are baby steps along the way. Learning to win. Learning to handle expectations. Learning to become a champion. It’s never easy, and it’s all on Campbell now. It’s on these players. And that’s where the grit comes in.
Guys who love what they do
Here’s the dirty little secret of the NFL: not all these guys love football.
Actually, that’s the dirty little secret of college football, too.
It’s become clear that Holmes searches for guys who love this game.
Holmes talks about it constantly.
The Lions have done more than accumulate talent. They have brought together “football guys.”
Holmes talks about it so much, when he is talking about one player, he’s actually talking about all of them.
“Really what stood out about Brian was … there’s ‘football player’ in caps, and just black and white, that’s what he is, just the way that he plays the game,” Holmes said, talking about Alabama defensive back Brian Branch. “He just plays the game how we play it.”
So give Holmes credit once again.
Bro hugs all around.
Now, win.
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Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @seideljeff.
To read Seidel’s recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.