Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Detroit Lions GM wants to build his football team with Alabama football players

Originally posted on Touchdown Alabama Magazine
By Stephen M. Smith | Last updated 4/26/24

The NFL Draft is being held in Detroit (Mich.) this year, and its football team has emerged as something special in the NFC South.

Brad Holmes, the general manager for the Lions, has found the secret to building a championship team. He selected three former University of Alabama players — Jahmyr Gibbs, Jameson Williams, and Brian Branch — in two previous drafts. All three assisted Detroit to NFC North Division title last season, its first since 1993.

Holmes continued with this formula on Thursday, trading with the Dallas Cowboys for the No. 24 overall pick of the first round. Detroit took cornerback Terrion Arnold from the Crimson Tide.

Arnold is excited to be a Lion, and Holmes is happy about keeping the Alabama trend going.

Three straight years of first-round Bama boys #NFLDraft | @AlabamaFTBL pic.twitter.com/zmYrhHuosU

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) April 26, 2024

“I never thought it would work out with the continuous Bama to Bama to Bama, but I am not surprised either,” Holmes said about taking Crimson Tide players in recent drafts. “We know how we want to build our football team, and those guys [Alabama] have been a stalwart powerhouse in the top college football conference for a very long time.”

Gibbs and Branch produced instant success as rookies in 2023.

Gibbs made Pro Football Writers Association’s All-Rookie Team and his first Pro Bowl. He collected 945 yards rushing, 316 receiving yards, and 11 total touchdowns. Branch posted 74 tackles, 13 pass breakups, and three interceptions.

We will see how Arnold does as a rookie, but the Lions know where the elite players in college football.

This article first appeared on Touchdown Alabama Magazine and was syndicated with permission.

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