This week, the center of the NFL world is Indianapolis, site of the NFL Combine. Draft prospects, agents, coaches, general managers, etc. will be there. Some head coaches will not be present, and it's worth questioning the overall value of doing so.
Media sessions at the combine aren't always all that interesting or revealing. But if you wanted to read the tea leaves from Lions' head coach Dan Campbell when he spoke to the media in Indianapolis last year, you would have gotten a hint that running back D'Andre Swift was on the trade block.
"We’re going to start all over from scratch again. Let’s find another way to see if we can help him (Swift) stay on the field, you know? I already know he’s doing that for himself, so we’ve got to do that on our end. What can we do better by him? Can we?...."
It took a little time, and the selection of Jahmyr Gibbs to cement it, but Swift was of course traded to the Philadelphia Eagles on Day 3 of the 2023 draft.
During his podium time last year in Indianapolis, Campbell also had a frank and memorable quote about evaluating draft prospects at the combine. It's safe to say the Lions won't be wooed into drafting any "workout warriors."
"To me, you grade them off the tape, you don’t grade off somebody out here in pajamas, running the 40 with no defender around..."
2024 NFL Combine: When will Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes speak to the media?
Ryan Fowler of Bleacher Report and The Draft Network posted the podium schedule for head coaches and general managers at the combine. Campbell and Holmes will both be in Indianapolis, of course, and both will speak on Tuesday, Feb. 27 (times are tentative, and subject to change).
Dan Campbell: Tuesday, Feb. 27, 10 a.m. ET (Podium 5)
Brad Holmes: Tuesday, Feb. 27, 4 p.m. ET (Podium 4)
If we get anything of substance during the 15-minute podium sessions from the Lions' two most central figures on Tuesday, it will most likely come from Campbell, via another mark on his list of memorable quotes or some sneaky and unintended insight into a situation.