Lions GM Brad Holmes explains 'positional villain' hoodies worn in team's draft war room

Allen Park — At last year's NFL scouting combine, Lions general manager Brad Holmes gained attention from the media and the team's fan base for his wardrobe choice: A white hoodie with a silver Lions logo overlaid by the word "Villain."

Holmes has declined to elaborate on the meaning of the slogan, opting to keep the messaging internal. But Friday night the team's entire draft war room wore an updated version of the look, which now reads "Positional Villain."

Asked about the significance of the fashion choice after making the team's second-round pick, Missouri cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr., Holmes was a little more willing to elaborate.

"We are looking for villains, you know?" Holmes said. "When I got tipped on what positional value was (last year), I didn't even know what it was. It was just like a new analytic. When you guys showed me, I was like, 'Oh, wow.' As I thought about it, I was like, positional value? So you pick a position, but not a player? I was thinking, no, we're looking for football players."

Asked if he really had never heard the term positional value in relation to the draft, Holmes doubled down but acknowledged he understood the concept, in relation to selecting "premium" positions early in the draft. He just finds the logic of drafting position over player ridiculous, at its core.

"Like we talked about with free agency in the spring, you can win the headlines in March and April and all that stuff," Holmes said. "It's easy to draft the premium positions, whatever they are, quarterback, edge rusher, tackle, those positions. Say you draft only those positions, but they're not contributing to your football team. Did you win the draft? Did you win the draft because you drafted those positions, but they're not contributing to your football team? Or do you draft the best football players that are contributing to your team, making you a better football team? We're trying to draft football players that make us a better football team."

The commentary seemingly applies more directly to Detroit's 2023 draft, when Holmes selected a running back in the top half of the first round and an off-ball linebacker six spots later. Both choices bucked popular thinking and current drafting trends.

But Holmes would likely point to the first-year contributions of Jahmyr Gibbs and Jack Campbell as the team won its first division title in three decades before falling one game short of the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance.

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

@Justin_Rogers