In a 20-minute span last Friday, the NFL Draft order changed quite a bit in front of the Detroit Lions and their No. 7 overall pick.
The San Francisco 49ers traded the No. 12 pick and two future first rounders and a third rounder to jump up to No. 3 where Miami was. Minutes later, Miami jumped back up into the No. 6 spot, giving up one of those first rounders they got from San Francisco, to take Philadelphia's spot at No. 6.
The 49ers' move was presumably for one of the top quarterbacks, but that's just an educated guess.
How might those trades have influenced Lions general manager Brad Holmes and his vision for the No. 7 overall pick?
"It doesn't really change what our focus is and what our approach is and what our plan is," Holmes said in a Zoom call this week.
It's important to know the quarterback class when drafting in the top 10, and Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell have done a lot of work on the quarterbacks this offseason, including attending a number of pro drays of the top signal callers. Having a good grasp on the quarterbacks helps everything fall into place.
"Things won't really surprise you so much when you start seeing that movement kind of go around in front of you, or whatever the case is, you're really not caught off guard," Holmes said. "Not saying that I knew things were going to happen, but when it happened and when they unfold, you're really not caught off guard, but it doesn't change really our approach in terms of what our plans are."
Holmes said he'll be ready for any scenario on draft day, whether that's trusting the process and taking the best player on his board at No. 7, or having an understanding about the trade market behind him and having a plan for those potential scenarios as well.
"We do our work that we do and make sure that we can do as much as we can in terms of making sure that we're aware of what's behind us, what's in front of us," Homes said. "Like I was saying earlier about knowing the QB class regardless of your circumstance, that all helps kind of make a better prediction or forecast.
"There's players that we feel really, really good about that you know, staying at where we're currently are, that we feel comfortable with selecting. So, that's not the sole focus in terms of that.
"But you've got to just be prepared for everything, and so, we kind of do our work in making sure that we're best prepared as possible in terms of what may happen for the teams behind us or in front of us."
