Lions News: Anonymous NFL execs criticize Detroit Lions draft moves

While it’s safe to say most people are pretty high on whatever Brad Holmes does at this point, some NFL executives speaking anonymously to The Athletic aren’t so sure.

Several people in the industry provided their unfiltered draft thoughts to The Athletic’s Mike Sando to offer their perspectives on where each franchise is heading.

When it came to the Detroit Lions, execs compared their method of attack to that of the Kansas City Chiefs, who bolstered their offensive line after losing Super Bowl LV.

“They fixed a problem, but at what cost?” an exec told Sando. “You are never one player away.”

Well, it wasn’t just one player, but three at the cornerback position, between draftees Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw Jr., as well as the addition of veteran Carlton Davis.

“I like both those corners they drafted, but they gave up a lot,” another exec told Sando. “I felt they could have waited at 29 and maybe gotten their guy or taken Kool-Aid McKinstry or Nate Wiggins.”

While The Athletic writer included a compliment from one person about Detroit’s willingness to go for it, another believes Holmes was acting a little big for his britches.

“One exec thought the Lions trading a 2025 third-round pick to the Jets for University of British Columbia tackle Giovanni Manu at No. 126, and then using another fourth-rounder for combination safety/running back Sione Vaki, bordered on arrogance,” Sando writes.

And onto the rest of your notes.

• Couple of Terrion Arnold film breakdowns for you, if you haven’t gotten your fill yet:

• “The Lions showed how good they were last season by coming within a whisker of getting to the Super Bowl. Now comes the tough part: Dealing with being a hunted team.” Detroit jumped up a spot in Pete Prisco’s post-draft power rankings over at CBS Sports.

• There is no shortage of unique Dan Campbell stories and the latest shared by Alex Anzalone on “Green Light with Chris Long” certainly fits that mold.

• FYI:

• Speaking of schedules, the NFL schedule release is right around the corner. A to Z Sports’ Mike Payton breaks down what we know (like that it was released on May 12 in 2022 and May 11 in 2023) and predicts what might happen.

• Another from Mike — he recently sat down with Jason Cabinda to discuss this year’s draft haul.

• “However, the similarity of the opponents is simply at surface level. This battle has much deeper intrigue.” One Lions match up made Kevin Patra’s list of top 10 games he’s looking forward to in 2024 over at NFL.com.

• You absolutely LOVE to see it.