NFC North general managers ranked from worst to best

1. Brad Holmes, Detroit Lions

Now, that is how you rebuild a roster.

Brad Holmes took over a Lions team that had gone 14-33-1 in the previous three seasons. Holmes joined forces with new head coach Dan Campbell to bring winning football back to Detroit.

The wins have, so far, been hard to come by, but there's good reason to believe they are on the way in 2023. Detroit enters an unfamiliar situation of being tipped to win the NFC North.

And that's in large part down to the roster-building by Holmes.

Holmes' first move was to trade Pro Bowl quarterback Matthew Stafford, a transaction that brought back several premium draft picks and quarterback Jared Goff.

He has built one of the league's best offenses -- the Lions ranked fourth in yards per game and fifth in points per game last term. They have a dominant offensive line, a strong run game, and a talented receiving corps led by Pro Bowler Amon-Ra St. Brown, who Holmes drafted in the fourth round in 2021.

Detroit's 2022 draft class offers a ton of promise. First-round pick Aidan Hutchinson is already a star, having made 9.5 sacks as a rookie. Safety Kerby Joseph had an excellent first season, making four interceptions. Sixth-round pick James Houston chipped in with eight sacks in only seven games.

This offseason, Holmes rebuilt the secondary by signing cornerbacks Emmanuel Moseley and Cameron Sutton and added safeties C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Brian Branch.

Holmes' work to this point has been excellent. Now, the Lions need to deliver a division title.

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