The #Lions have agreed to terms on a 5-year deal with #Rams Director of College Scouting Brad Holmes as their new GM, sources tell me and @TomPelissero. A meteoric rise for Holmes.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 14, 2021
The Los Angeles Rams are losing one of their most important talent evaluators to the Detroit Lions. According to reports, the Lions are hiring Brad Holmes as their new general manager, agreeing to terms on a five-year deal.
Holmes has been the Rams’ director of college scouting for the last eight years and has been with the organization for the last 18. He helped identify players such as Aaron Donald, Jared Goff, Todd Gurley, Rob Havenstein, John Johnson and Gerald Everett, all of whom have played key roles in recent years.
He originally started out as a PR intern with the Rams when they were in St. Louis, rising the ranks over the last decade. Now a general manager in Detroit, Holmes has reached the pinnacle of his career.
The Rams won’t come away empty-handed from this departure, though. A new rule approved by the NFL in November rewards teams that lose a minority coach or executive to a head coach or GM job with two third-round compensatory picks – one in each of the next three years.
So the Rams will be adding a pick at the end of the third round in 2021 and 2022. Since they don’t have a first- or fourth-rounder this year as a result of the Jalen Ramsey trade, that additional pick will certainly help.