Brad Holmes has built a strong nucleus in Detroit, consisting of a variety of impact players drafted by the organization.
Holmes’ drafting prowess was arguably best demonstrated during his inaugural draft as Lions GM in 2021. He used the aforementioned draft to nab a pair of All-Pro selections: offensive tackle Penei Sewell in the first round and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown in the fourth round.
Altogether, the popular Detroit front-office executive has selected seven players that have gone on to become either Pro Bowlers or All-Pros. It has provided the Lions with one of the best young cores in all of football. Plus, it has helped transform the organization into a winner, with a total of 27 victories and back-to-back NFC North championships the past two seasons.
Now, the Ford family-owned franchise has turned its attention to retaining its core talent. It signed three of its 2021 draft picks last year, including Sewell and St. Brown on the day before last year's draft in Detroit. Meanwhile, the Lions inked defensive tackle Alim McNeill, a 2021 third-round pick, to a contract extension after their Week 6 win over the Cowboys last season.
The organization intends on also locking up EDGE Aidan Hutchinson and safety Kerby Joseph, two cornerstones from the team's 2022 draft class. Hutchinson and Joseph each played integral roles in Detroit's franchise-best 15-2 campaign a season ago. Hutchinson recorded a team-leading 7.5 sacks in a five-game, injury-abbreviated season, while Joseph secured a league-leading nine interceptions.
Lions president Rod Wood discussed the franchise's desire to retain the two young stars on Monday during a pre-draft event hosted by the Detroit Economic Club.
“We'll start working on that,” Wood said of a new deal for Hutchinson. "And we have a track record of extending our own players, which we've done recently with Sewell and St. Brown and McNeill, and I think that Hutch is likely to be coming up soon.
"We've got Kerby Joseph who's also due for an extension. And that's going to be the challenge is we built this great foundation of players and we've benefited with many of them being on rookie contracts and now they're all becoming second-contract players, which you have to plan for. And we've been doing that really for the last three years. So, we're ready to keep all these guys here for the long haul and keep this foundation in place and keep building, as I said, with more players picked this week.”
As for a new contract for Hutchinson being announced prior to the draft commencing Thursday, Wood wouldn’t tip his hand.
“No comment,” Wood said. “He will be here (for) the long haul, I can assure you of that.”
The 2025 NFL Draft kicks off Thursday from Green Bay, Wisc., at 8 p.m. (EST). And barring a trade, Wood and the Lions will pick for the first time at No. 28 overall.
