The city of Detroit is hosting the 2024 NFL Draft, and Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes has issued a stark warning about how the hometown team may fare when the first round begins on Thursday, April 25.
Presumably, tens of thousands of Lions fans will throng Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza for the celebrations, giving Holmes pause during the team’s pre-draft press conference.
Because the Lions could be in a good position to trade out of the first round to obtain draft capital this year and in the future, Holmes simply hopes fans don’t boo or hold it against the head management if such a move occurs.
“That’s something that, we have to do the right thing for the organization,” Holmes told SI.com’s Christian Booher. “If it makes sense, it lines up, and it’s the right thing to do, then we have to do the right thing. So, if that happens, and the fans have been waiting all night for this pick, and we get an offer we can’t refuse, we’ve got to do the right thing.”
“We hope our followers will forgive us. We won’t expect immediate forgiveness right away, but perhaps we’ll be able to move past it once the season begins and that player is out there. “I completely understand that.”
Brad Holmes and the Detroit Lions have a strong recent NFL draft record.
Since taking over as general manager, Holmes has done an outstanding job of rebuilding the roster and considerably increasing talent through the draft.
In the three years since Holmes became GM and built the Lions into the reigning NFC North champions, Detroit has added the likes of wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, offensive tackle Penai Sewell, elite edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson, emerging deep-threat Jameson Williams, safety Kerby Joseph, explosive and elusive running back Jahmyr Gibbs, thumping linebacker Jack Campbell, burgeoning tight end Sam LaPorta, and dominant safety Brian Branch, to name a few, through the NFL.
If the Lions do move back and continue to add to their future NFL Draft war chests, Holmes may have enough firepower to keep adding young, dynamic, and, most crucially, affordable players to one of the league’s most intriguing lineups.
