We are now under two weeks away from the start of the 2022 NFL Draft and NFL.com has released its Top 22 NFL General Manager Rankings for the upcoming season.
We were hoping to see where Detroit Lions GM Brad Holmes fell on the list but the writer, Gregg Rosenthal, did not include Holmes because he is “too new.”
Here is what Rosenthal had to say about Holmes.
Brad Holmes, Detroit Lions: Unlike Fontenot in Atlanta, Holmes’ first year in Detroit hit all the right rebuild notes. The Lions compiled a promising coaching staff and began to find young players to build around. Now they just have to do it again and they could be contending by Year 3.
Here are the Top 2 on the list. Click here to see the full rankings.
1) Brandon Beane/Sean McDermott, Buffalo Bills
The Bills’ transformation since McDermott’s hire in January 2017 could be taught in a college-level course on how to rebuild a franchise. McDermott helped to hire Beane in May of that year, and they’ve hit every right note since: from big trades (Stefon Diggs, moving up for Josh Allen) and savvy draft picks (Tre’Davious White, Dion Dawkins, Matt Milano) to knowing which veterans to reward (Jordan Poyer, Micah Hyde) and when to move on (John Brown, LeSean McCoy). The Bills have a defensive coach, yet prioritized building an offensive roster around Allen. They always seem to find value in free agency (SEE: this year’s pickups of Jamison Crowder, O.J. Howard, Rodger Saffold, DaQuan Jones and Duke Johnson).
No team is doing it better, and these two — along with Allen — deserve credit for helping to get funding for a new Bills stadium.
2) Les Snead, Los Angeles Rams
If I’m approaching this exercise like a Power Ranking, I’m giving extra credit to anyone who wins a Super Bowl by acting differently. You also get extra credit for wearing a T-shirt with your own adopted catchphrase about team-building — and having LeBron James take notice. Furthermore, you get additional love for being the one who drafted the greatest defensive player since Lawrence Taylor … even if Snead took Greg Robinson 11 spots ahead of Aaron Donald in the same draft.
Sean McVay’s ability to develop Snead’s mid/late-round gems into contributors is crucial, but there’s no question that the Rams’ approach to trade away all of their first-round picks since 2016 has worked. Since 2017, when McVay arrived, Los Angeles is second in total wins (including the playoffs), only behind the Kansas City Chiefs. Through trades and savvy cap management, the Rams are in a perpetual win-now mode that shows no signs of slowing down.
Nation, where would you rank Brad Holmes on this list? Or is it just too early to do something like that?
