Detroit Lions front office gets fresh praise in survey by The Athletic

For the work that's been done in building the Detroit Lions into what looks to be a sustainable contender, the front office and general manager Brad Holmes have earned a lot of worthy praise.

The Athletic recently surveyed 40 NFL executives and coaches to arrive at the top-10 front offices in the league (subscription required). Via a tiered voting system, with first-place votes worth 10 points, second-place worth seven, third-place worth five, fourth-place worth three and fifth-place worth one, the Lions came in fifth, behind the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles.

The Lions did not get any first-place votes, but they totaled 62 points and appeared on 20 of the 40 ballots.

Brad Holmes, Dan Campbell get props for building the Lions roster their way

It's abundantly clear Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell give zero mind to outside perception of the players they choose, with Holmes particularly going against the "expert" grain when it comes to draft picks when he sees fit. In talking about players with the appropriate prompt to do so,, Campbell often says something along the line of "he fits us."

The participants in The Athletic's front office survey acknowledged that alignment between general manager and coach, and credited it in-kind.

"Holmes and Campbell see things through the same lens, which has helped the GM acquire the types of players who will fare well for Campbell. They’ve built a roster that appears tough, selfless and talented."

"Detroit has done a great job of figuring out their style and getting guys who fit that in the draft and free agency", an NFC executive said.

"Detroit has done a nice job building it in their own image, which is unique to everybody else,” an executive said.

The general manager who was credited with the first quote above said something more specific about Holmes.

"As one general manager put it: “If you asked: Who is the No. 1 GM in the league right now, this minute? It might be him. I love the demeanor, love what he stands for.”

The Holmes-led front office, fully aligned with Campbell, has built the Lions' roster in the exact image it wants. People around the league are naturally noticing, and they will continue to notice.