We knew the Lions identified Jameson Williams and made an aggressive move to get him, and now GM Brad Holmes has revealed key pieces of the plan.
Time will prove them right or wrong, but the Detroit Lions identified wide receiver Jameson Williams as someone they wanted in the 2022 draft. Then, as general manager Brad Holmes has already said, they had the perfectly aggressive mindset to move up to the 12th overall pick and get him.
Reviews of the trade with the Minnnesota Vikings have generally been good for the Lions’ end. They gave up picks 32, 34 and 66, and also got pick 46, and of course we now know what those picks yielded for each team.
It’s fair to assume Holmes did some work to decide how far up to trade, in order to assure he got Williams. Despite his ACL tear in January’s national title game, there was some buzz he could go 10th overall to the New York Jets.
Brad Holmes reveals work he did on trade up for Jameson Williams
In an interview with Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (subscription required, h/t to Lions Wire), Holmes revealed how the trade up for Williams came together.
"Holmes called four teams around No. 12, both before and after the Vikings pick, and all four said they were interested in moving down, with everyone realizing contingencies were attached.A few days later, Holmes followed up with Adofo-Mensah to finalize the parameters of the deal, and after working the phones the morning of the draft, he called the Vikings’ first-year GM around 3 or 4 p.m. Thursday from the Lions’ Allen Park practice facility."
As much as that kind of thing can get very overblown, Holmes clearly had no qualms about doing a deal where he gave up what practically amounts to two first-round picks with a division rival. Based on the timeline cited, the deal to move up to No. 12 was in place hours before that pick would go on the clock.
Things were certainly tentative if that was the case. But Holmes probably knew he wasn’t going to be able to move any higher than No. 12 (though it’s notable the Saints moved up to No. 11 and took wide receiver Chris Olave).
It became clear afterward Holmes was going to do whatever it took to get Williams. And after showing some of his work, he also got it done early.