And there's the DJ Reader on the D-Line. Another team friendly 2 year/28 mil deal with only 9 guaranteed. He's almost certainly a significant upgrade and if it doesn't work he's gone next year. I think you still want to add a starting capable guard, even if it's a bottom tier starter. Then you can develop a replacement, or just snag one in the first round and you're set.

Another really really solid signing. You have to give a lot of credit to the front office for making good deals, but Campbell deserves a bunch too -- you have guys wanting to come play in Detroit which is such a change.

Dunno if they'll add another OL now or just wait since they tendered Awosika. If someone viable is out there and they can bring them in on a prove it deal or something without huge guaranteed money, sure, but otherwise they'll have other opportunities.

Definitely think OL will be a draft priority, otherwise if they find guys they like at DE, CB, WR or elsewhere they might get a little priority.

I guess we'll settle for a Pro Bowler (Zietler). Holy COW our o line best in the league if Ragnow can stay healthy.

If you'd like to drool a little, got this from the Lions subreddit, 22m analysis on how DJ Reader is a game changing addition to the d-line.

Eventually Holmes will make a dumb move, right? They can’t all be bangers, can they?

What Brad has been really good at it is not making any moves that if they don't work would hurt his ability to fix the team later. Short term contracts. Good value deals. In 2022 our starting CBs were Okudah and AO. It was bad. He brought in Sutton (if you haven't heard the news on him, google it. Not great. Likely done as a Lion), CJGJ, and Moseley. Moseley and CJGJ never played and Sutton was underwhelming. But the CB room was still slightly improved and it didn't cost any draft capital or significant cap space, so they went to the fuggin NFCCG despite getting poor to no production from three big FA gets.

Based on the contracts being handed out around the league I don't think Brad missed out any major FA gets. He hasn't signed any superstar FAs to big long term deals. More often than not those guys underperform that contract. See: Trey Flowers. Good player. But not as good as his deal, which really hurt the salary cap. Brad hasn't made those kinds of moves.

Cam Sutton gone. That was faster than I thought.

Headline for a piece by Carlos Monarrez in today's Freep: "Lions can't afford to waste their top pick on an interior offensive lineman". (I don't subscribe so I can't read the article, but pretty sure the headline speaks for itself).

Uhhhh, okay.

Thankfully Brad Holmes pays zero attention to the opinions of dumbass local columnists and will do whatever he thinks is correct, up to and including the possibility of picking an IOL. If he doesn't move up or down the centers from Duke or Oregon would be solid picks given Ragnow's injury history.

I don't think he will pick an IOL, but if the right guy is there, sure go for it. In this front office we trust, lol freep.

The thing I hate most about draft season is all the stories about "blockbuster Detroit Lions trade" with clickbait headlines designed to make it look like something happened but it's really just some nonsense a hack columnist dreamt up.

When it comes to the draft, here's what we know about Brad Holmes.
- He likes to address needs in FA so he doesn't feel like having to draft for immediate need.
- He has is own draft board and isn't afraid to stick to it.
- He isn't afraid to move up or down the board if he likes the deal and the way the board is running out.

So good luck figuring out what he's going to do. Especially picking at 29 there's pretty much no position off the table. Bob Quinn was a bit more predictable and tended to draft a high need position in round 1. It backfired a couple times with Okudah and Jarrad Davis. But I personally prefer Brad's approach for long term success. Yeah, you don't want to draft a guy that has no path to playing like QB or something dumb. But even a position like OT isn't off the table in round 1 for me. Back half of round 1 guys aren't always immediate starters. Decker is getting older and OT3 is a pretty important position all things considered. I wouldn't hate it if you think a potential future starter at the position slipped to 29. Brad is going to have some very tough decisions regarding salary cap next offseason and one potential option is to replace Decker. I would hate to backslide in O-Line play so you've got to make sure the guy is right, but at the same time the salary cap is still real despite what some say, and decisions are looming.

I would be pretty surprised, actually, if he doesn't move up or down. Just not the type to sit tight and see who drops into his lap - if he wants a guy he'll go get him. If he's not seeing what he wants he'll trade down.

agree, Booker. if he doesn't try to jump up a few spots and target someone specific, I'd actually be surprised as well if he stays put at 29 and doesn't drop down (assuming there's someone to trade with)

also perfectly fine with whatever position he decides to address. IOL, Edge, CB, Safety, whatever... about the only position's I would be annoyed by are QB and off ball LB

It would be quite a surprise if they took a QB or LB, given the recent drafting of Hooker and Campbell, but I wouldn't rule it out completely. I'd say <1% chance of QB, <5% of LB and to even hit those numbers it'd probably be a trade down into round 2.

Anyway, predictably smart moves today locking up St. Brown and Sewell. Those are anchor guys, great that they'll be around for years to come.

watched a lot of Jackson Powers-Johnson this season
found the following a fair summary

as is this

yeah that's pretty much why I listed those positions.

for you oline guys this sounded solid, imo

https://www.prideofdetroit.com/2024/...-detroit-lions