Inside the Article:
The 2023 NFL Draft will kick off on Thursday night, and Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes is very excited as he currently has the No. 6 and No. 18 picks in the opening round. Holmes and Lions head coach Dan Campbell has made it very clear about how important production and intangibles are when evaluating a prospect. During his pre-NFL Draft presser, Holmes also talked about how physical traits also help paint a picture of each prospect.
Key Points
- The 2023 NFL Draft kicks off this coming Thursday
- The Lions have two of the Top 18 picks in the opening round
- Holmes recently spoke to reporters about how physical traits play a role when evaluating draft prospects
Brad Holmes explains what matters when evaluating draft prospects
Here is what Brad Holmes had to say about evaluating potential draft prospects:
“The physical traits — they’re higher at some positions, they’re more important at some positions,” Lions general manager Brad Holmes said. “At other positions, it’s a little bit you can get by where the physical traits might not be as good, but what I call kind of the central nervous system wiring is a little bit higher.
“There’s a balance, but it is the NFL,” Holmes continued. “You do have to have a balance of athleticism, a baseline of athleticism. Some positions you’ve got to have a baseline of length. There are some positions where you have to have a baseline there of speed, explosiveness. That’s not overlooked at all. My staff, they do a great job of bringing that up to me a lot because I can tend to go toward, ‘Man, as long as he’s playing football.’ But you’ve got to be aware, it is the NFL. You’ve got to make sure that these guys are able to match up physically.”
Bottom Line: Painting a picture of an NFL Draft prospect
When it comes to a full evaluation of an NFL Draft prospect, multiple factors come into play. Not only is it important to look at a player's production at the college level and their intangibles, but physical traits are also important to consider. You can bet that Holmes and the rest of his scouting staff have taken a look at each player from all of these perspectives in order to paint a full picture.
