The NFL wasn’t happy that the Lions moved quickly to pick Aidan Hutchinson with the second overall pick in this year’s draft, but head coach Dan Campbell said he wasn’t concerned with that opinion because the team wasn’t going to go through the motions of “the whole dog-and-pony show” that is the first round of the draft.
Campbell wants to make sure that no one else in the organization is going to be going through the motions either. During a press conference at rookie minicamp over the weekent, Campbell said that he wants a roster free of players who are just along for the ride.
“We are trying to avoid floaters,” Campbell said, via Justin Rogers of the Detroit News. “We don’t want to draft floaters. Floaters are a guy who gets here and just kind of, there he goes, he’s just in the open ocean. We want guys that are highly competitive and they love ball. They’re not going to be perfect. They might not always say the right things. They mean well, but they love ball. They’ll do anything for it and do anything for their teammates. In that regard, I’m elated with the guys that we have and the vision.”
Campbell and General Manager Brad Holmes have done a lot of work to reshape the Lions since they were hired ahead of the 2021 season. Their 3-13-1 record last year is a testament to how big a task that is and the hope in Detroit is that Year 2 of the process results in more tangible results on the field.
Dan Campbell wants a roster free of “floaters” in Detroit originally appeared on Pro Football Talk