Jason_R

They kind of are though. The place where they have the least depth is DT. So they got a DT.

If he makes the team, Martin would end up being one of the 15-20 biggest players in the NFL. And Holmes seems to believe he has unusual athleticism for his size. It seems like Holmes paid too much and drafted him too soon, but he’s filling roles now, not gaping holes. No need to take fliers on sixth rounders who are going to get cut.

The 2023 Lions could become the new greatest show on turf.

Exactly. And head to head Seattle proved on the field it was the better team. Maybe someday they will use power rankings for tiebreakers instead of head to head results, but according to the NFL’s rules, and on the field, Seattle was the better team last year. I think Detroit will beat Seattle this year (at Ford Field) and I certainly don’t think Seattle will score 48 on Detroit again. The only point I’m making, though, is that it is foolish to assume that Detroit is categorically better than Seattle.

Then why did the NFL’s rules allow Seattle to go to the playoffs and not Detroit?

Woulda coulda shoulda. Seattle was a better team than Detroit last year. They arguably had a better draft than Detroit this year. I think most people would put Detroit’s free agent haul over Seattle’s but the Seahawks added a lot of defensive talent. Detroit may end up being better than Seattle this season, but any ranking that has Detroit in a tier above Seattle simply can’t be taken seriously.

All of this talk about career trajectory and Goff being more likely to succeed thank Geno reminds me of a bowler trying to control the path of his ball by leaning back and forth. They’ll play the games they play and have the seasons they have. But Seattle had a better season last year that Detroit and they may have had a better draft than Detroit.

Martin remains a head scratcher. Gibbs was not a surprise (since I read Charlie Campbell) but there is always the possibility of your RB getting dinged. OTOH, if he and Jaymo can get on the field at the same time for a few seasons with Johnson as OC, this may be the new greatest show on turf. You can probably pencil in Jack Campbell as the anchor of the LB corps for a decade. Tell me when he is going into the team’s ring of honor that they picked him five slots too early.

Still Geno Smith put up 48 points on Detroit in their last contest. I don’t expect that to happen again, but Detroit is not the only team who drafted players and signed free agents.

Yeah, until proved otherwise on the field, Seattle is better than Detroit. They may have had a better draft than Detroit too.

Yes, he was BPA. And they were able to trade back a few times and still get him. I wasn’t thrilled with the pick but I’m not sure there was a clear difference maker they could have taken other than him.

Now we have two QBs on prove it deals! And two QBs who can teach each other lessons.

Vikings are more likely to win seven games this year than they are to win thirteen. Holmes picked the LB so high to compete against teams like Philly, Seattle, Carolina who destroyed us on the ground last year.

If the Lions do not win the North it will be a failed season. Let’s hope the NFC East and West are bloodbaths.

Yes, one could imagine an unscrupulous book maker (is there a scrupulous one?) selectively revealing information like this to alter their odds of paying out. I don’t know how the NFL/NFLPA can allow these suspensions to stand.

Priceless. 😂 Think Howie Roseman will make the DL coach send Carter a belated birthday card? But seriously, that may be the interesting thing that Dan Campbell mentioned.

This is a good point. It’s become clear that Holmes does not think about positions, he thinks about players. This is why he’s not looking for the best rounded player at each position. He could have gotten Bijan, who was clearly the best rounded RB in the draft and who he could have picked at six. Instead he is looking for players who have certain traits that are off the charts for their position. Gibbs’s speed, Campbell’s athleticism, Laporta’s elusiveness, Branch’s versatility, even Martin’s size.

Know who else has drunk the kool aid? Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell. They are smashing it by the pitcher. I think they came into the draft, after shoring up the secondary in free agency, thinking that their only real weakness was stopping the run. That (and their apparent decision that Carter was undraftable) is the only thing that accounts for them taking Campbell so much earlier than everyone else had him. It seems like he was the guy they felt like they could not miss out on. Now they hope to have game changing players at every level of the defense. There was some griping in the thread about how they were not drafting for "today's NFL" with a RB and LB early, but clearly their goal is to recreate the greatest show on turf. Today's NFL is about scoring, and they have the personnel to lead the league in scoring. Gibbs and Jaymo are two of the fastest players in the NFL. ASB is a pass receiving machine. Montgomery and Laporta are also both above average in speed and are reputed for breaking tackles. You have players who can score from anywhere on the field, players who can extend drives, and a coaching staff that can stress any defense. I still scratch my head about the Hooker pick, but with their UDFA signing of Adrian Martinez, it seems they are serious about having a mobile QB... even if just for the practice squad. I also scratch my head about trading up for Martin. It fits into the narrative that Holmes is sometimes too locked into the guys he loves, but then again I don't know who else was on the board at that time at 6'5" and 335 lbs. We know Holmes likes physical traits and character, and Martin has them.

Maybe adding a guard from William and Mary hints that they’ll try to bring on a Princeton man as an UDFA WR.

Fly, Uga, fly.

Didn’t think they’d get anything for Swift. But also didn’t think they’d trade a fourth and two fifths for a guy who would have been there at 122.

Brad Holmes has something to say.

They don’t want well rounded. They want players who are great at the things they want the players to be great at.

Positional value questionable. Entertainment value off the charts.

Stocking up on athletes.