Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes was deliberate in his approach to free agency this offseason. He now has his sights set on his second NFL Draft as Lions GM with the No. 2 overall pick at his disposal, along with eight total picks and five picks in the Top 100.
"It's not just narrowing it down to your top two," Holmes said last week at his pre-draft press conference. "You better have your top five. You better have your top 10 in place because you just don't know what's going to happen each day.
"We do have it narrowed down, and we feel confident where we're at with how we have it pared down. We'll just let the process unfold."
The Lions have two selections in the first round, one in the second, two in the third, one in the fifth and two picks in the sixth round. Three of their eight selections were awarded as compensatory picks (Rounds 3, 5 and 6) by the NFL for the loss of free agents last year.
"I would say that the cluster of players that we're looking at (at No. 2) are very, very evenly rated and graded," Holmes said. "Like I said, it's just what fits your team the best and what fulfills, who's the best football player, who may fill a need there or who's the best fit for the future and how you can be set up for success going forward.
"So, you kind of factor in all of those things. But you could call the bucket a lot of different things, I guess, but it's just a bucket that we feel really, really good about."
Here's a look at Detroit's eight draft picks for 2022:
- Round 1, Pick 2
- Round 1, Pick 32 (via the Rams)
- Round 2, Pick 2 (34 overall)
- Round 3, Pick 2 (66 overall)
- Round 3, Pick 33 (97 overall; compensatory)
- Round 5, Pick 34 (177 overall; compensatory)
- Round 6, Pick 2 (181 overall)
- Round 6, Pick 39 (217 overall; compensatory)
