What was most important to GM Brad Holmes in selecting Detroit Lions’ 2026 NFL Draft class?
How does Holmes see Law fitting in?
Law was kind of a gadget player at Alabama before transferring to Kentucky as a senior where he made an impact as a receiver and special teamer, particularly with his ability to make plays after the catch.
“I think he could do multiple roles,” Holmes said of Law. “I think the easy low-hanging fruit narrative is that he’s that ‘gadget’ player. What was very interesting with Law was that the first time I saw him, that was 2024 when he was at Alabama.
“Me and (Lions Assistant General Manager) Ray (Agnew) were at the Georgia-Alabama game. I saw him out there on the field and I was just impressed about his build and how explosive he was. I had no idea who the player was. I just told Ray, ‘Who’s that number one out there?’ I was calling (Lions Director of College Scouting Brian) Hudspeth, our college rep, and I was like, ‘Man, is this guy an underclassman? Is he going to come out?’ And all that, and then he said, ‘No, he’s going to go back to school.’
“I didn’t think about him at all until last fall and he kind of popped up on that list. I was like, ‘Oh, this is the kid that I saw a year ago at Alabama.’ I was fired up about just what he did offensively. I had no idea about his special teams ability. That’s what really elevated him even more, and not just a return like a Leaf, (Kalif Raymond) but this guy can play gunner. He’s a four-phase special teams player. He’s another one, he’s a dog, man. He’s a football player.”
With the team beginning the first phase of the offseason program last week, is there any update on the injury rehab of safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch?
Joseph is rehabbing a knee injury that prevented him from playing the last 11 games of the season last year. Branch is coming off a torn Achilles suffered in December. The Lions didn’t add a safety in the draft.
“It wasn’t that we intentionally didn’t draft a safety because we feel good about them,” Holmes said. “I feel like they’re both trending in the right direction, but it just didn’t line up, just like it hasn’t lined up at other positions in the past.
“We didn’t ignore it. There were some good ones that were out there that just got picked before we were able to, but it just didn’t quite line up. And I didn’t really think that class was as deep, either, so it had to line up and you had to strike right.”
