SideLion Report has ranked the five biggest steals Brad Holmes has found since becoming Detroit Lions general manager in 2021, and the list turns the spotlight back on how much of the roster was built outside the premium rounds. Only players taken after the first two rounds were eligible, a filter that keeps the focus on the kind of draft value that has helped reshape Detroit.
Malcolm Rodriguez landed near the center of that conversation. The linebacker was the 188th overall pick in the sixth round out of Oklahoma State in 2022, and he has already appeared in 50 games across four seasons with 25 starts, 163 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, five quarterback hits, two forced fumbles and three sacks. His 2024 season ended with a torn ACL, and his 2025 return was limited, but he could be in line for his first full starting job since his rookie year in 2022 after Alex Anzalone left in free agency.
That is the kind of return Holmes has made a signature of his first years in Detroit. The list comes with obvious names left out, including Aidan Hutchinson, Penei Sewell, Brian Branch and Sam LaPorta, because the exercise was built to isolate the draft-day finds that came later. It still points to a broader reality: Holmes' work has given the Lions a massive infusion of talent, and the value has not come only from the top of the board.
Jack Campbell is another reason that argument has held up. A member of Holmes' inaugural draft class in 2021, Campbell was taken 113th overall in the fourth round out of Purdue and became part of one of the franchise's most memorable playoff moments when he intercepted Baker Mayfield in the 2023 divisional round to send the Lions to the NFC championship game. In a 2025 NFL draft cycle that already has Detroit's roster under fresh scrutiny, those swings from Holmes continue to define the way the team is viewed.
The tension in the list is that Detroit's most useful depth and some of its biggest moments have come from players who were never expected to carry that kind of weight so quickly. Rodriguez was described as a solid, productive fan favorite when healthy, and Campbell has already delivered in a spot that mattered most. If Holmes keeps finding that kind of value after the early rounds, the Lions' draft story will keep looking less like a gamble and more like a plan.
