DETROIT — Lions general manager Brad Holmes is a simple man when it comes to this draft thing. He sees a player he likes, he interviews a player he likes, he takes a player he likes.
When you’ve developed the track record Holmes has, it’s hard to argue with the practice. The Lions have truly become a best-player-available franchise. And sometimes, that approach involves doubling up on a certain position. That was cornerback this year. After trading up for Alabama’s Terrion Arnold on Thursday’s Day 1, Holmes and the Lions walked away with Missouri’s Ennis Rakestraw Jr. on Friday with pick No. 61.
He was just as ecstatic the second time around.
“I hate to sound like a broken record, but again, thrilled with how it fell tonight,” Holmes said Friday. “Obviously, Ennis was a guy we had ranked very, very high. He’s another one that we didn’t think was going to make it that far. We didn’t even know if he was going to make it out of, really, the first night. But when he was still there starting today, I didn’t think he was going to last that long.”
Two picks, two cornerbacks. That’s the quick synopsis of Detroit’s 2024 draft so far, but to Holmes, it goes so much deeper than that. He believes he got two steals — almost at a loss for words on both nights, as he reflected on the players he just added to the organization. That they’re both cornerbacks, well, that comes with its own backstory.
Since Holmes’ arrival in 2021, the Lions had never taken an outside cornerback in the top 100 across three drafts. The closest would be Ifeatu Melifonwu in 2021. He’s now a safety. For the Lions, a team whose secondary has never been able to put it all together, that’s been a glaring weakness. But Holmes, a former area scout tasked with evaluating cornerbacks, has made it clear he’s not going to draft one just to draft one. That’s not how this goes. That’s not how the Lions got to where they are now.
“You can win the headlines in March and April and all that stuff,” Holmes said. “That’s easy to draft whatever the premium positions are — quarterback and edge rusher and tackle and those positions. Say you draft only those positions, but they’re not contributing to your football team. So, did you win the draft? Did you win the draft because you drafted those positions? But they’re not contributing to your football team.
“Or do you draft the best football players that contribute to your football team that make you a better football team? We’re trying to draft football players that contribute and make us a better football team versus just those.”
With the selection of @MizzouFootball CB @EnnisRakestraw in the 2024 @NFLDraft, the @Lions have now selected a cornerback with their first two picks of a given Draft for the first time in the Super Bowl era.#OnePride pic.twitter.com/k7UHsTdPlE
— Detroit Lions PR (@LionsPR) April 27, 2024
You’ll often hear the phrase, “Don’t scout the helmet, scout the player.” Holmes’ philosophy is essentially, “Don’t scout the position, scout the player.” He proved that at last year’s draft.
The Lions had a long-term need at corner, and many believed the team was enamored with Illinois CB Devon Witherspoon at No. 6. Turns out, the Seattle Seahawks were, too, selecting him at No. 5. Witherspoon had the mindset, the swagger and the physicality the Lions look for when evaluating the position and learning more about the man beneath the helmet.
But instead of selecting another cornerback viewed to be on Witherspoon’s level in Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez, Holmes traded down to No. 12 and took the next highest player on his board — Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs — while adding tight end Sam LaPorta with the extra capital. That was his process. The result? Both made the Pro Bowl as rookies.
It’s what makes his investment in the position this year all the more notable.
Holmes said Arnold and Rakestraw were his No. 1 and No. 2 corners in the class. Arnold, widely considered to be a top-15 prospect overall, fell to No. 24. The Lions traded a 2024 third-rounder to get him, welcoming him to Detroit with open arms. With the loss of capital, an obvious move to recoup picks would be to trade down from No. 61. But instead, Holmes was monitoring Rakestraw as Day 2 unfolded. He said he didn’t think he’d last long in the second round. He said he considered coming up to get him. Ultimately, his patience was rewarded.
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Rakestraw is a feisty, physical corner. Perhaps the most physical cornerback in the draft. While Arnold has the bigger personality, one that matches his on-field play style, Rakestraw is more reserved. The voice is soft-spoken, but the words speak volumes. He’s aggressive in the run game, can use his hands to disrupt timing at the line of scrimmage, offers inside-outside versatility at the cornerback position and is wired the way the Lions like their corners to be.
“I call myself the ‘tone-setter,’” Rakestraw said Friday. “My defense used to call me the firecracker of the team, because yeah, I’m a corner, but I’ll come up and set that edge. I’ll hit you like a linebacker. I just let my presence be felt every play that I’m out there.”
A Holmes corner if there ever was one.
“Ennis was still there, so we went ahead and got him,” Holmes said. “Again, we don’t really care (about) the position. It’s just, we take the best player.”
Holmes has a way of making oft-debated draft matters sound minute in the grand scheme of things. A year ago, he said it’s easier to get worse at quarterback than it is to get better — referring to how teams chase the next big thing. He stood behind Jared Goff when the Lions were struggling early in the Holmes-Dan Campbell era. Goff just helped this franchise win its first playoff game in 32 years. Fans at the draft were chanting his name before the event kicked off.
He’s often said he believes in drafting “football players” — not guys who play football. It’s why the Lions have developed a type among the draft community, with experts labeling certain players as a “Dan Campbell guy” or a “Brad Holmes guy.” That only happens when you’ve established a philosophy that’s proven successful over time, sticking to a set of principles that have guided you well.
“It’s hard for us, it’s hard for me and Dan, it’s hard for our staff, to have a guy that’s a really good football player that fits for us and you say, ‘Ah, no, we already took at that position. Let’s get this other player (who’s) not as good as this player at this position,’” Holmes said. “It’s hard to sleep at night, to do that. That’s how we’ve operated so far to this point and that’s what we’ll keep doing.”
(Top photos of Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw Jr.: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images and Denny Medley / USA Today)
