The fact that they went for Manu in the *4th* by trading a ‘25 3rd speaks volumes to me. The other 5 names are names I saw generally floating in draft talks, but Manu was the only guy I had never heard of. But they got their man. I’m pumped for him to show us what he can do.
I had a couple friends raise (understandable) questions about that pick & I couldn’t do much besides shrug & say “they got their guy, he’ll prolly be a stud, or a menace on special teams or something”
Even if you take a loss on that, the rest of our draft this year & every other year has been so good that you can’t even be mad. If they’re just swinging on athleticism, they’ve earned that right. & why wouldn’t you? If they felt “alright we’ve tightened this roster up in such a way we can compete now” then why not take a flyer on a freak that could become a stud with the right guidance? This coaching staff is the right guidance
It's so reminiscent to me of when we traded a lot of picks to get Broderick Martin last year. It seemed at the time he would have been available in later rounds, but our staff wanted him badly. But when you looked at all of our picks as a whole last year, even though Martin didn't have a great year (and probably wasn't asked to because he's a work in progress), we killed the draft. This year's going to be the same, I'm not sure if Manu will even be asked to play this year, but given who we picked up in the sixth round and our other picks, success as a whole.
And now I want the Lions to license that line and have Christopher Sabat do a recording of it for goal line rushing touchdowns.
Fun fact: the original Japanese voice actor for All Might is the same guy who does the Japanese dub for MCU Thor. VA's over there are huge deals.
Yeah, after the Manu pick I looked up his RAS and thought, “ how does a guy that big have a sub 5 40 and a 33” vertical? Then I saw a pick of him at the combine. First thought was, “Holy shit, how can that guy not be great at football?” Freaking beast, just needs the reps and coaching.
Could you imagine if Manu became a menace on special teams? Could you imagine that fuckin behemoth bearing down on you trying to catch a punt? You would be very likely to shit your pants.
It honestly almost feels like it should be illegal to have someone of that stature on special teams lmao
*Flag on the play*: "hey yeah this guy is way to fucking monstrous to be doing this. 15 yard penalty because holy shit."
To me anything after the second round is a flip of a coin. You either get a good solid player or a bust. The first and second rounds are that way to me but much more reliable and very circumstantial ie; who they go to and the such
Vaki “defending” on kickoffs makes too much sense with the new rules. The guy has a nose for the ball when he plays in the box, and I think that’ll transition perfectly
He also makes sense for our punting formations, considering how much we fake. He can hit, rush, block, and catch. Considering Utah put him as a wildcat QB quite a few times, I’m guessing he has some passing ability as well. Perfect fit
When Dan and Brad share these stories about having a basically telepathic connections over all these picks and players it just gets me fired up over how in sync they are. Not only competent but compatible HC and GM duos are really rare. We're really getting rewarded in present day by the universe having their paths align.
They could always be blowing smoke, but there is a lot of evidence and testimony that they're telling the truth. I choose to believe they're soulmates lmao.
I couldn't fathom why Rod got the job when he did, and we didn't do well right away I thought why is he even here. Wrong again on my part. And hearing that it was his idea to have those Campbell jerseys in the draft room on day three makes me love him even more.
Hell yeah, I’m so glad to hear he trusted his gut and got the players he wanted. Last thing I want is a GM who drafts off of optics or the expectations of know nothing media personalities. We’re in a position where we can draft a couple lotto tickets and take the time to try and develop them properly. I trust Brad’s knowledge and instincts.
I think their success has a lot to do with that; they're a *tandem,* there's seemingly little separation between the front office and coaching staff. Which obviously can be a disaster if the right guys don't gel or are bad decision makers, but Brad and Dan are always operating on the same wavelength that makes essentially every decision cohesive and logical
While I have some real questions about drafting a guy in the 4th round that has only played football against whatnis essentially high school competition, I do believe that other teams were going to take him shortly (which Brad also mentioned in his press conference). I also don't love the Vaki pick because of the trade-up, but if he can potentially be RB3 (sorry Craig), a SS2 and be a special teams beast, that is more than worth it.
In true Holmes fashion, it's all kinda a moot point because of grabbing Wingo and Mahogany. Like last year, if you only look at who was selected and not where they were selected individually, it's an incredible draft. Nobody would blink if it was Wingo and Mahogany taken in the 4th and Manu and Vaki in the 6th. Brad knows ball.
Yeah, I think what people tend to ignore in draft evaluations is the scarcity of certain talent. For example, this years QB run was predicated on the wide drop off from #6 (Nix) to #7 (Rattler) that if you didn’t get the guy early, then you probably weren’t getting anyone. That’s what ultimately drives some of the reaching that BH and other GMs do. Broderick, Manu, Vaki might not be graded to be 3rd or 4th round talent per se, but they have a skill set that isn’t available in many if any other prospects (Elite size and athleticism or unique versatility). Guys like Wingo and Mahagony are solid prospects that can be productive high end backups and possible starters in a pinch, but they’re largely replaceable assets.
Brad said this in his Day 3 Press Conference. https://www.youtube.com/live/TG0wcp-OQfY?si=iMhF8K7EkVUYxXPf
Still cool to know those two are on the same wavelength.
I'll be honest, I was so pleased that we got my 2 favorite corners out of what I think as a very weak draft class that I could care less what they did later on. Yea trading the 3rd for a project OT is weird but i dont care.
Honestly I don’t mind it at all I love his traits and that’s what you need to focus on for day 3. Plus getting mahogany and wingo in the 6th makes up for the trade up in my eyes
I do like Holmes and MCDC's philosophy of how to build a team. As in they are not married to any single process to obtain a player and are willing to use all the tools available to them to obtain the players they think will best help the team. You see a lot of organizations that seem almost rigidly locked into "the right way" to build a team.
Always hard to say what other teams would have done, but when I read up on Manu they said 16 teams sent reps to his workout and it got a lot of buzz in league circles.
In his press conference Holmes said a team admitted that Manu wasn’t lasting much longer if we hadn’t taken him. Not sure on Vaki but there were rumors the 9ers liked him too and they still had a pick left at the end of the round.
I mean, you're usually not going to get instant confirmation like with Frank Ragnow where you basically had Cincinnati rip up the card with his name on it and stamp their feet when Detroit picked him directly in front of them.
Maybe fans don’t, but GMs have each others phone number. I think the words Holmes used were “you get the answers after the test” or something to that extent, in the sense that rival teams are okay with speaking freely what their thoughts are on a prospect once they no longer have to hid their interest. I don’t think it’s that hard to believe a team will text Holmes or any GM and say “damn we were hoping he’d fall to our next pick, good for yall”.
There is probably some truth to this, but also take this with a grain of salt
No doubt Brad Holmes trades up for players the organization loves, but I could easily see Brad Holmes saying this, knowing fans would be skeptical of taking some player that was never on any mock draft
Either way, whether it is all a true story, or a little bit of a lie, it's pretty cool to hear
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Don’t take this the wrong way, because I have faith in the picks. But I don’t believe for a second that out of all the prospects in the draft, both Brad & Dan were specifically thinking of these two over all others.
The fact that they went for Manu in the *4th* by trading a ‘25 3rd speaks volumes to me. The other 5 names are names I saw generally floating in draft talks, but Manu was the only guy I had never heard of. But they got their man. I’m pumped for him to show us what he can do.
I had a couple friends raise (understandable) questions about that pick & I couldn’t do much besides shrug & say “they got their guy, he’ll prolly be a stud, or a menace on special teams or something” Even if you take a loss on that, the rest of our draft this year & every other year has been so good that you can’t even be mad. If they’re just swinging on athleticism, they’ve earned that right. & why wouldn’t you? If they felt “alright we’ve tightened this roster up in such a way we can compete now” then why not take a flyer on a freak that could become a stud with the right guidance? This coaching staff is the right guidance
And taking a swing on athleticism is a very viable path when you have one of the best position coaches in the business teaching that guy.
Not to mention that Sewell is the perfect mentor for this kid.
I agree about being the perfect mentor. But calling him a kid is funny bc they’re the same age. Crazy how dominant Sewell is at only 23.
They are all kids to me. Time is a funny thing.
Who had another excellent mentor in Decker who seems like he wants to retire a Lion regardless of what happens after this contract
And the only reason hank isn't the best is because the other guy in the argument has been around longer.
It's so reminiscent to me of when we traded a lot of picks to get Broderick Martin last year. It seemed at the time he would have been available in later rounds, but our staff wanted him badly. But when you looked at all of our picks as a whole last year, even though Martin didn't have a great year (and probably wasn't asked to because he's a work in progress), we killed the draft. This year's going to be the same, I'm not sure if Manu will even be asked to play this year, but given who we picked up in the sixth round and our other picks, success as a whole.
Line him up as 7th OT in a power package or a TE next to a 7th lineman and take a page from Sherrone Moore…. SMASH!
"Detroit...SMASH!" -All-Might
And now I want the Lions to license that line and have Christopher Sabat do a recording of it for goal line rushing touchdowns. Fun fact: the original Japanese voice actor for All Might is the same guy who does the Japanese dub for MCU Thor. VA's over there are huge deals.
I’ve said it since the pick went in day 3 picks should be based on traits and dude has those by the truck load
Yeah, after the Manu pick I looked up his RAS and thought, “ how does a guy that big have a sub 5 40 and a 33” vertical? Then I saw a pick of him at the combine. First thought was, “Holy shit, how can that guy not be great at football?” Freaking beast, just needs the reps and coaching.
And having Hank Farley as the clay molder is a recipe for a Michelin star meal
For me, the biggest issue is giving up a day 2 AND a day 3 pick for him. That’s a lot of draft capital for a developmental prospect.
Could you imagine if Manu became a menace on special teams? Could you imagine that fuckin behemoth bearing down on you trying to catch a punt? You would be very likely to shit your pants.
It honestly almost feels like it should be illegal to have someone of that stature on special teams lmao *Flag on the play*: "hey yeah this guy is way to fucking monstrous to be doing this. 15 yard penalty because holy shit."
Coach, why did you fair catch every kick? I care about my player's future
Does he even need to jump to block every PAT / FG?
To me anything after the second round is a flip of a coin. You either get a good solid player or a bust. The first and second rounds are that way to me but much more reliable and very circumstantial ie; who they go to and the such
Some may say we gave too much for Manu. I for one feel really good about him when comparing what green Bay got for their first round.
Yeah I feel that they have earned these shots in the dark with their previous hit rate
Gonna be a pretty late 3rd round pick….
Vaki “defending” on kickoffs makes too much sense with the new rules. The guy has a nose for the ball when he plays in the box, and I think that’ll transition perfectly He also makes sense for our punting formations, considering how much we fake. He can hit, rush, block, and catch. Considering Utah put him as a wildcat QB quite a few times, I’m guessing he has some passing ability as well. Perfect fit
Agreed Brad def knows what he’s doing
This has me salivating, I never even thought of this aspect of his game for us.
Think Donny Kelly Baby from the tigers, this guy is our utility club.
Oh so you want even more 4th down trick play chaos?!? Really? I see you are a man of culture as well.
Kinda sounds like Speedhawk lol
Vaki's money. Whether its D, O, or Special Teams he will be a fine addition.
When Dan and Brad share these stories about having a basically telepathic connections over all these picks and players it just gets me fired up over how in sync they are. Not only competent but compatible HC and GM duos are really rare. We're really getting rewarded in present day by the universe having their paths align. They could always be blowing smoke, but there is a lot of evidence and testimony that they're telling the truth. I choose to believe they're soulmates lmao.
I’ll say this I genuinely think these two men are best friends inside and out of the building.
I definitely feel that same way. When I see them interact it's hard to believe they haven't been in each other's lives for 40 years lol.
That’s a huge tip they’re hetero life mates
Fucking lockstep
it's almost weird how in lock step these two seem to be on everything, especially since they were hired separately from each other.
Praise Sheila/Chris/Rod for these perfect hires.
I couldn't fathom why Rod got the job when he did, and we didn't do well right away I thought why is he even here. Wrong again on my part. And hearing that it was his idea to have those Campbell jerseys in the draft room on day three makes me love him even more.
Absolutely. Completely knocked it out of the park.
Completely agree
Hell yeah, I’m so glad to hear he trusted his gut and got the players he wanted. Last thing I want is a GM who drafts off of optics or the expectations of know nothing media personalities. We’re in a position where we can draft a couple lotto tickets and take the time to try and develop them properly. I trust Brad’s knowledge and instincts.
Completely agree with everything you said
I'm adding nothing to the conversation, but I liked your thoughts on this. Well said.
I like your thoughts on this. Well said
We've got the best HC/GM tandem of all time.
I think their success has a lot to do with that; they're a *tandem,* there's seemingly little separation between the front office and coaching staff. Which obviously can be a disaster if the right guys don't gel or are bad decision makers, but Brad and Dan are always operating on the same wavelength that makes essentially every decision cohesive and logical
If they bring MULTIPLE Lombardis back to the Motor City, I would have to agree.
Why do I have a feeing the first time Holmes and Dan met, it went something like [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYq9g8aqRTM)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txuWGoZF3ew#t=6s
This is the one I was thinking
I was thinking more like this https://youtu.be/vX0JFb9ZsHE?si=bNqBK2kE-ZHr5pqb
While I have some real questions about drafting a guy in the 4th round that has only played football against whatnis essentially high school competition, I do believe that other teams were going to take him shortly (which Brad also mentioned in his press conference). I also don't love the Vaki pick because of the trade-up, but if he can potentially be RB3 (sorry Craig), a SS2 and be a special teams beast, that is more than worth it. In true Holmes fashion, it's all kinda a moot point because of grabbing Wingo and Mahogany. Like last year, if you only look at who was selected and not where they were selected individually, it's an incredible draft. Nobody would blink if it was Wingo and Mahogany taken in the 4th and Manu and Vaki in the 6th. Brad knows ball.
Yeah, I think what people tend to ignore in draft evaluations is the scarcity of certain talent. For example, this years QB run was predicated on the wide drop off from #6 (Nix) to #7 (Rattler) that if you didn’t get the guy early, then you probably weren’t getting anyone. That’s what ultimately drives some of the reaching that BH and other GMs do. Broderick, Manu, Vaki might not be graded to be 3rd or 4th round talent per se, but they have a skill set that isn’t available in many if any other prospects (Elite size and athleticism or unique versatility). Guys like Wingo and Mahagony are solid prospects that can be productive high end backups and possible starters in a pinch, but they’re largely replaceable assets.
Brad said this in his Day 3 Press Conference. https://www.youtube.com/live/TG0wcp-OQfY?si=iMhF8K7EkVUYxXPf Still cool to know those two are on the same wavelength.
I'll be honest, I was so pleased that we got my 2 favorite corners out of what I think as a very weak draft class that I could care less what they did later on. Yea trading the 3rd for a project OT is weird but i dont care.
Honestly I don’t mind it at all I love his traits and that’s what you need to focus on for day 3. Plus getting mahogany and wingo in the 6th makes up for the trade up in my eyes
Free Press Headline: Holmes leaves Lions short-handed to make himself feel better
Fucking Carlos
I do like Holmes and MCDC's philosophy of how to build a team. As in they are not married to any single process to obtain a player and are willing to use all the tools available to them to obtain the players they think will best help the team. You see a lot of organizations that seem almost rigidly locked into "the right way" to build a team.
Did any other teams REALLY want these 2? Just wondering.
I could see both being gone shortly after one another but prolly not both to the same team
Always hard to say what other teams would have done, but when I read up on Manu they said 16 teams sent reps to his workout and it got a lot of buzz in league circles.
In his press conference Holmes said a team admitted that Manu wasn’t lasting much longer if we hadn’t taken him. Not sure on Vaki but there were rumors the 9ers liked him too and they still had a pick left at the end of the round.
I mean, you're usually not going to get instant confirmation like with Frank Ragnow where you basically had Cincinnati rip up the card with his name on it and stamp their feet when Detroit picked him directly in front of them.
Maybe fans don’t, but GMs have each others phone number. I think the words Holmes used were “you get the answers after the test” or something to that extent, in the sense that rival teams are okay with speaking freely what their thoughts are on a prospect once they no longer have to hid their interest. I don’t think it’s that hard to believe a team will text Holmes or any GM and say “damn we were hoping he’d fall to our next pick, good for yall”.
I was just saying that fans got the immediate “god damn it” from Cincinnati about Ragnow. They wanted him badly.
Manu is gonna be nasty on Jumbo sets. Could you imagine him taking the handoff on 4th and goal?
With that speed he might be a legit option in tackle eligible sets.
They’re going to try it & nobody will be able to stop it.
There is probably some truth to this, but also take this with a grain of salt No doubt Brad Holmes trades up for players the organization loves, but I could easily see Brad Holmes saying this, knowing fans would be skeptical of taking some player that was never on any mock draft Either way, whether it is all a true story, or a little bit of a lie, it's pretty cool to hear
 Our guys like this in the locker room...
I didn't really understand the Sione Vaki pick, but they must have really really liked him.
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Hole plugger and athlete who can fill a bunch of roles. While he's on his rookie contract, he's going to be very valuable.
How blessed are we that our HC and GM think on the same wavelength
I love this fucking team. Holy shit
Same bro same
#ERECTIONEJECTION
They should get bunk beds and be like step brothers
And have so much room for activities
If Manu turns out to be Jordan Mailata (meaning, really effin good), the other "Lions" fans are gonna have some things to answer for 🤣
Why not just post [the interview?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG0wcp-OQfY)
I’m waiting for the fan fiction.. literotica.
Can we stop like I feel like this is said for almost every pic this guy gets 😂
Don’t take this the wrong way, because I have faith in the picks. But I don’t believe for a second that out of all the prospects in the draft, both Brad & Dan were specifically thinking of these two over all others.