Brad Holmes on What Separates Great NFL Players from the Rest
If there’s one thing Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes has made clear, it’s that talent alone doesn’t define a great football player. Since taking over alongside head coach Dan Campbell, Holmes has built a team based on a specific identity—one that goes beyond just being the biggest, fastest, or strongest.
During his season-ending press conference, Holmes hammered home his philosophy on player evaluation.
“We have to get past just looking for the most talented player,” Holmes said. “In my opinion, that’s the prerequisite of evaluation. That’s the—who’s the fastest? Who’s the strongest? Who’s got the most height? That’s a very coherent thing to do. No, it’s how do you find the right intangibles in a football player? And that’s what’s made us who we are.”
Holmes and the Lions have built a winning foundation by identifying players who have the mental toughness, determination, and passion to thrive in the NFL. Those qualities are what separate great players from the average ones, according to Holmes, and they have become the core of Detroit’s roster-building strategy.
In a recent interview with Local 4 News in Detroit, Holmes doubled down on that belief.
“Talent is easy to identify, it’s easy to find,” Holmes said. “This guy’s big and he’s strong. Okay, I get that, all these other hundreds and thousands are big and strong too. But who has the makeup and drive and determination and competitiveness and passion for the game that we’re looking for?”
He went on to emphasize the importance of handling adversity.
“It’s not just about how much talent you have, it’s about how much determination, how you’re gonna face adversity. Are you gonna sink down in a hole? Are you gonna just rise to the occasion? And do you have the mental toughness and mental fortitude to do that? Those intangible qualities, that’s what we look for. In my opinion, that’s the separation between being a great player and being just an average player.”
This mindset has been the backbone of Detroit’s resurgence under Holmes and Campbell. While every NFL team looks for those elusive intangibles, few seem to have honed in on them quite like the Lions. That clarity in vision has allowed them to build a roster of players who fit their mold perfectly—and it’s paying off in a big way.
