Piff Perkins
Veteran
A criticism of Holmes I do have is the way he clears the runway for his guys. Even accounting for taking the best player available in drafts it still seems like he gives guys too much space instead of adding depth (and competition) in certain spots. Like Levi going through multiple years of bad injuries and we didn't do shyt to draft another three tech until this year. Or Paschal being the last day one or two edge guy we drafted. I am NOT comparing LaPorta to them, given he's literally a top 3-5 TE in the league. But we've drafted one TE since 2021. Brock Wright is one of the better #2 TEs in the league but why don't we have another young (drafted) guy on the roster who can potentially step up. The Lions did a lot of research on TEs during the 2025 draft too, which makes it even weirder. There have been multiple really good TE drafts since 2023 which was a highpoint for the position.
Even at safety...yea we drafted two elite ones but I don't get why we haven't prioritized getting another one in here for flexibility. Even if you want to re-sign your guys you can't guarantee that Branch doesn't take more money elsewhere. Just like we couldn't guarantee Kerby would want to re-sign. What if he wanted to bet on himself and bounce? Seems like the only position where we've been proactive is LB, where we've drafted 3 guys (and hit on all 3). Which allows us to be flexible with Anzalone in a way we really can't be flexible with other guys/positions.
Yes it's a great roster, yes Holmes has drafted spectacularly. Better than just about anyone. But we've burned too many day 3 picks that could have gone towards taking guys who could help us. We trade pick 130 in April, it goes to the Jets and they take Malachi Moore. who is basically baby Branch. Not hard to see why Aaron Glenn wanted him lol.
