VIDEO: Entire Detroit Lions draft war room sporting new ‘villain’ hoodies

GM Brad Holmes and the entire Detroit Lions front office were sporting hoodies poking fun at critics on Friday night.

Back in 2023, Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes showed up to the NFL Combine wearing a hoodie with the word “VILLAIN” sprawled across it. At the time, Holmes didn’t offer much of an explanation on the mantra, simply saying it was something their front office was adopting for upcoming draft.

On Friday during Day 2 of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Lions were a little less subtle with their apparel. Every single person in the Lions war room was wearing a hoodie with the words “POSITIONAL VILLAIN” written across them with a big lion in the middle.

Check it out:

The sweaters are clearly a reference to all the criticism the Lions front office received due to their 2023 NFL Draft class. Detroit was slammed for taking positions that were not deemed worthy of high-round picks like running back, linebacker, tight end and nickel corner. Of course, it ended up working out for the Lions in a big way, as RB Jahmyr Gibbs, TE Sam LaPorta and CB Brian Branch were some of the best rookies in the entire draft class last season. In fact, despite all the criticism, the Lions’ rookie class was so good that general manager Brad Holmes was named executive of the year by his peers.

It’s also quite interesting to see these new sweatshirts unveiled right after the Lions went the unconventional route of drafting back-to-back cornerbacks after addressing the position heavily during free agency as well. Detroit selected Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold with their first-round pick and Missouri cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr. in the second round.