In three offseasons as general manager, Brad Holmes has built the Detroit Lions into a contender from the remnants of the "Quinntricia" era. He's not without missteps or oversights, as you can say for all general managers. But he has pretty much nailed the draft three years running, and overall there haven't been any outright bad decisions that will hamper the Lions' continued rise going forward.
The Lions are on the verge of their first division title since 1993, and their first playoff berth since 2016. Overall, the Lions are now an organization others could (and should) model and try to hire people from as they may undertake their own rebuilds/resets. That's a credit to Holmes, and head coach Dan Campbell.
Former general manager Scott Pioli, in a piece for NFL.com, put Holmes on his list of the top-five candidates for NFL Executive of the Year this year.
Lions GM Brad Holmes easily makes list of top candidates for NFL Executive of the Year
Here's part of what Pioli wrote about Holmes.
"Holmes has routinely added the right pieces to build a playoff contender through free agency and, most importantly, the draft. A key component of Holmes’ success is that he has an aligned vision with head coach Dan Campbell. Holmes has put a premium on acquiring players who match the makeup and profile they collectively believe in."
Pioli noted the big impact of this year's draft class for the Lions (Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta, Brian Branch, Jack Campbell), what proved to be a "quite savvy" pivot to replace Jamaal Williams and D'Andre Swift with David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs in the backfield. It be interesting to find out if Pioli was so on-board with that running back pivot when it happened.
The other general managers on Pioli's list are Nick Caserio (Houston Texans), Chris Grier (Miami Dolphins), Eric DeCosta (Baltimore Ravens) and Howie Roseman (Philadelphia Eagles).