When Brad Holmes was hired as general manager of the Detroit Lions, he made it very clear that his focus would be to build a contender via the NFL Draft. Up to this point, Holmes has stayed true to his plan, and the Lions roster has improved tremendously since the days of Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia. In fact, Holmes absolutely nailed the 2022 NFL Draft, as three of his selections have been named to an All-Rookie team.
What All-Rookie team did 3 Detroit Lions make?
On Thursday, The Athletic released their NFL All-Rookie team (pay site) for the 2022 season, and three Lions players made the cut.
The three Lions players who made the All-Rookie team are as follows:
- Aidan Hutchinson – EDGE
- Malcolm Rodriguez – LB
- Kerby Joseph – S
Here is what The Athletic had to say about Hutchinson, Rodriguez, and Joseph.
Aidan Hutchinson started to get home and affect the quarterback more consistently, en route to 9.5 sacks. Wink Martindale’s blitz-happy scheme, meanwhile, eventually unlocked Kayvon Thibodeaux (4.0 sacks), getting him free paths to the quarterback and allowing him to dominate tight ends who tried to block him on the outside.
Malcolm Rodriguez may have the best per-snap production of all the rookie linebackers: 58 solo tackles (seven for loss) in just 584 defensive snaps.
Joseph flashed his range in huge games against the Packers, picking off Aaron Rodgers three times in two meetings.
Folks, if Brad Holmes can continue to nail drafts as he has so far, the Detroit Lions are going to be winning big very soon.
